How Do Religiosity and National Identity Relate to Cosmopolitanism? An Empirical Study Using Representative Samples in Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist Societies

Abstract

Cosmopolitan Orientation's (COS) relationship with personal religiosity, organizational religiosity, and national identity was examined in nationally representative samples from 19 societies (13 mainly Christian, 2 Muslim, and 4 societies with historically Buddhist influences, N = 8740). Multi-group structural equation models found that personal religiosity was a positive and significant predictor of global prosociality (willingness to help others in a global community) overall (b = .18), and in 13 of 19 societies. This relationship was stronger in countries higher on the Human Development Index. National identity was overall a weak and positive predictor of global prosociality (b = .06) and respect for cultural diversity (b = .07), but results were culturally variable. There were negative relationships between national identity and COS indicators in Germany, the UK and USA (countries with active antiimmigration discourses popularized by populist right-wing politicians). Separate analyses for different religious groups found that among Christians, personal religiosity was positively associated with global prosociality, respect for cultural differences, and cultural openness (in that order). Among Buddhists, both personal and organizational religiosity were associated with global prosociality and cultural openness. For the smaller sample of Muslims, the only significant association was the positive link between personal religiosity and global prosociality. Findings support the idea that, contrary to much established literature, there are country-level moderators, but no overall negative relationship between cosmopolitanism and religiosity or national identity at the individual-level across cultures. Historically, the conceptual relationship between religiosity, state sovereignty, and cosmopolitanism has been troubled. Cosmopolitanism, which involves identifying oneself as "a citizen of the world" (Brock, 2013), is often thought of as being "above religion and the state" (Pogge, 1992). It seeks to form a mandate for respecting human rights and taking responsibility for the welfare of others in a global community that transcends religion and state. However, the universality of this mandate is being interrogated on three fronts. One, religion can produce justifications for intergroup conflict ("Holy War") that contest core ideas in cosmopolitanism (Atran & Ginges, 2012; Preston et al., 2010). Two, states, and nationalists within them, are jealous of their sovereignty, and have mobilized against cosmopolitan (or supra-state) institutions like the European Union (Conversi, 2014). Three, cosmopolitanism assumes different forms in different parts of the world, so a universal form is hard to define (Appiah, 2005) and measure (Roudometof, 2012). However, the world continues to rise and fall together economically (Ritzer, 2011, Coronavirus response in 2020 as the most recent example), so there is a need for something that functions

Continuities and discontinuities in the cultural evolution of global consciousness

“…However, we only have a bare outline of how GC is socialized. Personal belief in the major religions has small positive correlations with cosmopolitanism [28]. This is consistent with Norenzayan et al .…”

“…However, we only have a bare outline of how GC is socialized. Personal belief in the major religions has small positive correlations with cosmopolitanism [28]. This is consistent with Norenzayan et al's [15] culture evolution thesis that big religions enhance prosocial behaviour and allow societies to grow larger in scale.…”

“…A study of over 67 000 individuals across 67 countries [36] found that donations overall—and specifically to a national charity—increased with age, but donations to an international charity decreased with age. GC would appear to require specific socialization experiences rather than age-based maturation, as previous research has shown it to be positively correlated to religiosity [28], higher education [20] and socio-economic status [7].…”

China's collectivist cosmopolitanism: Harmony and conflict with Western conceptualizations of cosmopolitanism rooted in individualistic notions of human rights

“…There is some variability across countries in how COS works. In a few economically advanced countries with active nationalistic and anti-immigration discourses (e.g., America First, Brexit) there was a slightly negative relationship between national identity and aspects of cosmopolitanism (Zhang et al, 2020). But in most countries, national identity correlated positively, especially with global pro-sociality (willingness to help others no matter who they are or where they live) and respect for cultural diversity (two of the three indicators of cosmopolitanism at the individual level according to Leung et al 2015).…”

Use of We in Writing

“…A virtuous participation in religion results in its positive relationship with prosocial behavior. Zhang (2021) sees cosmopolitism as a place of global citizenship that enjoys new pluralism of identities melting to form global consensus on ethical and moral grounds over systems of state and faith. It is theorized to offer global justice to citizens.…”