Introduction
Lebanon’s political and social reality has made it exceptionally difficult for non-religious and atheist individuals to form any meaningful identity in the country, as they are an unrecognized group and, as such, lack many basic rights which, by law, are restricted only to recognized sects. This is because Lebanon has historically done little to evolve the archaic system established in the early 20th century. Even though the system was created to ensure balance between the sects, it only created tension due to its sectarian nature.
About the Project
This research study is conducted by Freethought Lebanon with the financial support of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. It is the first study of its kind on the various aspects of discrimination against atheists, agnostics, and freethinkers in Lebanon.
For more than five months, Freethought Lebanon collaborators have been examining areas of discrimination and human rights violations in Lebanon for the last decade, with an emphasis on the last three years (2018 – 2020).
Media Analysis
TV representation of atheism in Lebanon has been lackluster at best. While the constitution protects freedom of belief, atheism is highly stigmatized, a reality further fortified by how media outlets cover the topic.
While the internet might have slowly taken over the TV around the globe, TV stations are still the most prominent news medium in Lebanon. A recent assessment showed that the vast majority of the population, 96%, rely on TV for news headlines…
Case Studies
Forty case studies were conducted with victims of discrimination against atheists in Lebanon. The discriminations happened in a variety of places, from households, to work and neighborhoods. These case studies showed different forms of psychological and physical abuse, and had severe consequences on the victims. This indicates that the discrimination against atheists in Lebanon is a serious phenomenon that needs proper action to be taken…
Survey
This paper reports the results of an online perception survey conducted by Freethought Lebanon regarding the discrimination against atheists in Lebanon. The AAOR code of ethics was followed before and through-out the data collection, as well as in the data handling and analysis. The entries of the randomly selected 644 participants were analyzed, and the results suggested mostly moderate to severe levels of discrimination against atheists. A correlation analysis was conducted suggesting a dependency of the discrimination on multiple parameters like age and geographical location…