Countries in Cluster 3
Opportunities for Bible engagement
People see religion as an important part of their daily life in this majority-Muslim context. There are stable minorities of Christians and all self-identified Jewish people in the Patmos Cluster 3 sample live in Israel.
The Christian respondents showed a warmth towards the Bible, with high agreement about the personal relevance of the Bible and its value to wider society.
Seven in ten people are searching for a sense of meaning in their life
76% say they enjoy learning from people who think differently from them
85% of Christians are confident they could talk about the message of the Bible with friends and family
Challenges for Bible engagement
This is a challenging context for Bible engagement. All other religions are minority groups in a context where over 90% of the population identify as Muslim.
Where we were allowed to ask, most respondents showed little interest in learning more about other religions or beliefs.
Almost half (45%) of those who are not Christians agree Christianity is essentially a Western religion
64% would not be happy for a child in their family to attend a school connected to a different religion or belief from their own.
The polity score, developed by Systemic Peace, measures levels of political freedom. The global average polity score is 4.6; Cluster 3 averages a much lower score of -1.9
How will this affect Bible engagement in Patmos Cluster 3?
Patmos data reveals a spectrum of Muslim engagement with Islam, from devout to nearly secular.
Due to restrictions on whom we could ask questions about the Bible, discovering perspectives on the Bible outside the Christian community has been challenging. Christians report high confidence in engaging with the Bible. While Bible use and church attendance vary, all Christians consistently show warmth towards the Bible. Jewish respondents showed a range of religious beliefs and attitudes, with just over a third being particularly receptive to new ideas and searching for a sense of meaning in life.
Key question:
What strategies can be developed to support Christians living under pressure in majority-Muslim contexts, ensuring they continue to grow in their faith and Bible engagement?
Understanding our audience groups
We have identified audience groups within each Patmos Cluster. In Cluster 3, we found 12 distinct audience groups. The chart below shows the distribution of these groups across Patmos Cluster 3.
Key question:
As you look across these different audience groups, who might God be calling you to?
Learn more
Read about each audience group by downloading The Patmos World Bible Attitudes Report.