Despite the intensity of the current discourses surrounding religion, because of religious extremism, francophone Belgians do not demonstrate extreme views. Though there are substantial differences between communities, according to Le Soir data. Muslims (majority is from foreign descent) have a more positive opinion of religion than Catholics and non-believers.

46% of francophone Belgians interviewed for the newspapers survey believe that religion advocates peace, whereas 43% believe that religion advocates violence. Based on these results, religion is a nuanced subject in Belgium, especially across different social groups. 94% of Muslims interviewed believe that religion does not advocate violence, whereas only 54% of Catholics and 47% of non-believers are of the same opinion. When asked if religion causes people to isolate themselves within their religious communities, 50% of non-believers and 33% of Catholics said yes, whereas 78% of Muslims and Others said no. Read more

However, a survey Commissionned by Foundation « Ceci n’est pas une crise » (This is not a crisis) and published by from newspaper Le Soir found that Four out of ten Belgians believe that the Muslim community is ‘fairly associated’ to the terrorist acts. Read more