Research Conclusions
Christians Fears & Concerns
Christians mainly identify themselves as Lebanese and Christians
significantly more among the females.
They don’t see themselves as Arabs. Voters of Jbeil, Kesrwan and Metn
consider themselves “world citizens” more than other Cazas. And voters of
Jbeil, Kesrwan and Baabda identify themselves as “Pheneocian
descendents” more than other Cazas.
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Despite how they identify themselves, the majority feel proud of being
Lebanese.
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The main concerns of the Lebanese Christians today are the Security
Situation and the Economic Situation.
Specifically the security situation is more significant among females and the
voters of Kesrwan, Baabda, Metn, and Jezzine.
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To them the main dangers on their future is the “weak state” and the
“corrupt and inefficient politicians”. These factors reflect negatively on the
economic situation.
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Besides the Lebanese Christians also consider the illegal weapons a great
danger on their future.
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Specifically, those who mentioned that Hezbollah weapons is a dangerous
factor on their future, considered it as the 1st danger.
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The Lebanese Christians are mainly interested in issues related to the
situation and presence of the Christians for example: (their future, land
selling, size of their power, leadership).
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Also they are interested in living in peace with everyone around them.
they refuse any kind of war and consider the illegal weapons with the
different parties (Palestinians, Hezbollah, Salafists…) as a danger on their
future.
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They want good relationships with everyone but also have a strong
leader that can defend the Christians.
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To 39%, Hezbollah is to Shiites what Salafists are to Sunnites.
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One third of the Lebanese Christians are still optimistic about their
presence in Lebanon and don’t consider themselves threatened because
they believe that they emerged from this region and are the core
founders of Lebanon.
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However the other two thirds who are afraid is because they consider that
the Islamic presence in Lebanon currently has an advantage over the
Christians in terms of increased population, powerful roles, and unified
leaders. They see that the Immigration of the Christians , the absence
of a strong leader , and the continuous disputes between the political
parties are threatening of situation of the Christians.
Political Forces Assessment
40% of the Lebanese Christians believe that the government performance
didn’t change from before in terms of the security and economic situations.
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Also to 42% these two issues has worsened.
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However, 18% see that the performance of this government was better in
some ministries that worked for the interest of citizens.
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The Lebanese Christians love Freedom, Independence, Democracy, and
Resistance.
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While they fear Sectarianism , Integrism, Integralism, Wilayat el Fakih,
and Muslim Brotherhood.
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To the majority Lebanese Forces is still the strongest political party and
the one working for the benefits of the Christians.
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On the other hand, to the majority Hezbollah works with an Iranian agenda
and its weapons are dangerous to Lebanon and the Christians in specific.
Moreover it is working towards changing Lebanon into an Islamic state.
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Despite the fact that Christians refuse any type of war and they want to live
in peace with everyone, they disagree that Hezbollah weapons issue should
not be discussed as it can lead to a civil war.
After 30 years of his assassination, Bachir Gemayel is still considered
the political leader who played a positive role in the history of Lebanon
significantly among the young Christians.
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Camil Chamoun comes next however he is significantly named among the
older Christians.
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In general, Christians assess a political leader to be playing a positive role if
he / she:
o Works to preserve the role of the Christians
o Unifies them (significant among females)
o Cares about the interests of the Lebanese Community
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For those who consider Samir Geagea to be the leader playing a positive
role, they do so because they see that he works towards preserving the
rights of the Christians.
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The Majority of the Lebanese Christians are more satisfied with the
performance of March 14 more than that of March 8.
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In addition, the mistakes of March 14 after 2005 are related to the
performance of the alliance (e.g. coordination, failing in the government,
unable to propose concrete solutions), whereas the mistakes of March 8
are more crucial to the stability of the country like relying on the Hezbollah
weapons, May 7th events, and the failing of the government.
Christians’ Expectations
The main concerns of the Lebanese Christians today are the Security
Situation and the Economic Situation.
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These two concerns are also the main topics that they want the
politicians in general and the Christian politicians in specific to tackle in
as a priority, in the short run and the long run.
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As a fact, these two issues are highly related to each other. If the
security situation is not stable the economy cannot flourish. Any
security issue can cause great set-backs in the economy.
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The Lebanese Christians don’t want a different kind of political system
from the current one but they want a stronger state.