Young people are changing Iraq. But what kind of state do they want? Read the results of Enabling Peace in Iraq Center (EPIC)’s latest national survey of 1,062 eligible Iraqi voters ages 18 – 40 on their views toward religion and a secular state.

New polling data outlined in these pages and the focus of the report confirms Iraqis’ aspiration for secular rule. In polling conducted in July 2022, the EPIC found that a substantial number of Iraqi respondents – 47 percent – said the system should be a secular democracy with a clear separation between religion and state, while another 41 percent wanted a democratic state where religion is a source of legislation but religious parties are banned from government.