Understanding the Worldviews of the Saudi Arabian Public

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This project seeks to understand and analyze the worldviews of the citizens of Saudi Arabia. To this end, it carries out a comprehensive survey of the attitudes and value orientations of a representative national sample of 1500 adult Saudis, using face-to-face interviews. The survey instrument is a close-ended 19-page questionnaire that covers such issues as those related to family, parent-child expectations, women and gender relations, interpersonal trust, religion, politics, individual and national identity, the relationship with the outside world, modern education, economic development, and religious and social tolerance. Saudi Arabia is host to two of the holiest cites in Islam, Mecca and Medina, the world's major producer of crude petroleum, a moderate Arab country, and a U.S. ally. Thus, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plays a vital role in the world economy, politics, and culture. In the context of the comparative value survey data collected from several other Islamic countries in recent years, this study helps to illuminate and explain how such diverse factors, as the country's stewardship of the holy cites and centrality in the world of Islam, the specific religious, tribal, and political dynamics of the Saudi Kingdom, and the oil-driven rentier economy, have shaped the value orientations of the Saudi public toward work, family, women, politics, religion and religious practices, and other significant social and cultural issues. By attempting to understand the worldviews of the Saudi public, this project will not only contribute to the social scientific study of this significant Muslim nation, but will promote inter-cultural understanding and a peaceful relationship between U.S. and Saudi publics as well.