Globalization, Contact, and Religious Identity: A Cross‐National Analysis of Interreligious Favorability*

Abstract

Objectives This article examines cross‐national variation in interreligious favorability across the globe. We develop and test several hypotheses linking globalization to attitudes toward the religious other through mechanisms of religious belonging and contact. Methods Utilizing cross‐national data in 20 countries from the Pew Global Attitudes Surveys (2011), we run a series of multilevel and logistic regression estimations to test our hypotheses about global contact, religious identity, and interreligious favorability. Results We find that global contact has a positive effect on interreligious favorability, whereas holding religious identity increases negative sentiments toward religious outgroups. We also find that increased levels of globalization inhibit the negative impact of religious belonging and threat perceptions on favorable views of the religious other. Conclusion Although globalization increases the salience of religion as an exclusive identity category at the expense of decreased interreligious favorability, individuals become more conducive to interreligious tolerance thanks to frequent social contact at higher levels of globalization.

The Contact‐Prejudice Relationship Among Ethnic Minorities: Examining the Facilitative Influence of Religiosity

“…Shifting from the category of “nonreligious” to “very religious” persons increases prejudice by 0.210 scale points—making this impact stronger than the direct contact effect. As such, these findings are fully consistent with previous studies (e.g., Pettigrew and Tropp, ; Ciftci, Nawaz, and Sydiq, ).…”

“…Consistent with these characteristics, numerous studies have concluded that strong religiosity is conducive to prejudice (e.g., Allport, ; Ciftci, Nawaz, and Sydiq, ; Hunsberger and Jackson, ). Although undeniably plausible, this does not necessarily imply that religious persons are hostile toward the “other” in any conceivable context.…”

“…Among the most religious, we might also find the explicit defense of conformity, dictating submission of self to external expectations. Furthermore, individuals with strongly religious identities tend to view the religious or nonreligious “other” unfavorably, as they see their own particular religion (and way of life) as superior (Ciftci, Nawaz, and Sydiq, ). These characteristics emphasize how strong religiosity among one group is likely to engender exaggerated negative beliefs about members of another (Ekici and Yucel, ).…”

“…Many contemporary nations are experiencing increasing religious diversity resulting from migration and globalization (Ciftci, Nawaz, and Sydiq, ; van Bergen et al., ). As greater ethnoreligious diversity often creates tensions between majority and minority members, it is urgent to identify factors that make intergroup relations more harmonious.…”

Political Economy of Exclusion: State-Based Incitement of Intolerance as a Distraction from a Downturn in the Economy

“…In fact, according to Pettigrew and Tropp (2006) any possible conflict between two religious' groups, if any, reduces significantly when the groups have any minor interaction within a social setting (Pettigrew and Tropp 2006). Ciftci, Nawaz, and Sydiq (2016) also find that contact between groups has a positive impact on tolerance levels, not only in a domestic context but also in a global one (Ciftci, Nawaz, and Sydiq 2016). Similar trends were found by Thomsen and Rafiqi (2017) when they measured intergroup contact among Danish populations and their affect on tolerance levels (Thomsen and Rafiqi 2017).…”