Encyclopedia of Law and Religion

I. Social Facts Pakistan emerged as an independent state in August 1947, inheriting those contiguous regions of British India that had a majority Muslim population. The consequence of the partition of British India was a country divided into two wings of unequal sizes—“West” and “East” Pakistan, with a huge inhospitable neighbor bordering both wings of Pakistan. After a nine-month secessionist civil war and a pro-Bengali Indian military intervention, East Pakistan attained sovereign independent sta…

I. Social Facts The Republic of Palau is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean that is part of Micronesia. It includes several hundred islands within its territory. The population of approximately 21,000 people is spread across four islands, the most populated being Koror. The population is 70% native Palauan. The remainder is predominantly Filipino. There also exist a small number of continental Asian ethnicities including Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. Palau’s religious demographic is dominated by Christian faiths. As of the 2005 c…

I. Historical Background The Palestinian Authority was established in 1994 as a consequence of the Israeli-Palestinian “Peace Process”, or as it came to be known, the Oslo Accords. Elections played a very important role in the construction of the Palestinian Authority right from the start. The first round of general political elections for the Legislative Council in 1996 resulted in Fateh winning a clear majority of 55 out of 88 seats of Parliament. …

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I. Social Facts With about 3.8 million inhabitants, the Republic of Panama is one of the smaller nations in the Americas, and its population is especially devout. Due to the nation’s history of continuous immigration and its geographic location in Central America, people from different places with different religious backgrounds have influenced the country and its culture enormously, and thus created a diverse cosmopolitan presence which makes Panama’s religious makeup unique and exceptional. Many …

I. Social Facts Papua New Guinea’s population amounts to 6,552,730 people. The predominant faith of the nation is Christian. 69% of the population identify as Protestant and 27% as Roman Catholic. Less than 1% of the population practices the Bahá’í Faith, with the remaining 3.3% professing indigenous or other beliefs. The Protestant faith can be further divided into several major religious groups. Evangelical Lutherans make up 19.5%, members of the United Church are 11.5%, Seventh-day Adventists are 10%, those of the Pentecostal faith 8.6%, and the Evangelical Alliance 5.2%; the remaining 14.9% consists of various smaller Christian faiths. Even though most people profess the Christian faith, many integrate Christianity with indigenous beliefs and practices. II. Historical Background The inhabitants of Papua New Guinea are ext…

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I. Social Facts Paraguay has 6.5 million inhabitants, of which 89.6% belong to the Roman Catholic denomination. 6.2% are Protestant, mostly Mennonites of German origin, and 1.1% belongs to other Christian denominations. 1.9% of the Paraguayan population adheres to other (non-Christian) religions, and 1.1% has no religious affiliation. Indigenous Paraguayans of various ethnic backgrounds comprise 1.7% of the population. Within this group almost 10% have no religion; this high percentage reflects an …

I. Social Facts Peru defines itself in its Constitution as a democratic, social, independent, and sovereign Republic. Located in South America, it has as bordering countries: Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Chile. Its population is approximately 30 million inhabitants spread out in three natural regions (the coast, the mountains, and the jungle) divided into 24 political regions. Its legal regime is of a unique and indivisible state and its government is unitary, representative, and decentr…