ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 begins with a summary of the main findings of the book. It then discusses some limitations of the study, particularly the challenge of quantifying a concept like ‘religion’. It also focuses attention on the fact that the essence of a religion is highly dependent on the context in which it exists. The chapter then provides a more qualitative assessment of the role of religion in politics in different parts of the world. The primary attention is directed towards the question of how religion is used instrumentally by political leaders such as Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, and Vladimir Putin. In addition, the chapter discusses the challenges religious persons face in secular societies, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa a decade after the Arab Spring, as well as religious conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia and the Pacific.
