Religion and politics as a dangerous mix: Effects of religiosity on intergroup forgiveness and reconciliation in a post-conflict setting.

Abstract

Based on two studies with Bosniak and Croatian students in Bosnia and Herzegovina, this paper analyzes the effects of religiosity on intergroup forgiveness and reconciliation. Both Christianity and Islam advance forgiveness and reconciliation as one of the major moral imperatives. Previous studies also indicate that religiosity can increase readiness to grant forgiveness on the inter-personal level and facilitate rapprochement. When it comes to intergroup level, prescripts of religious piety often conflict with norms of group solidarity and care.Another set of research suggests that religion obstructs conflict transformation due to the dogmatic reasoning it promotes, including reframing of immanent disputes in transcendental (and thus non-negotiable) terms. This study initially tested whether adding religious symbols to conflict narratives impacts prosocial attitudes of respondents and came with negative results. In other words, adding religious codes to already known narratives about conflicts did not have a significant impact on participants' attitudes. In a subsequent SEM analysis, it was found that religiosity in both groups is strongly correlated with group-centricity, which negatively mediates its relationship with both forgiveness and reconciliation. We conclude that collectivistic forms of religiosity that privilege ingroup solidarity might have negative effects on intergroup forgiveness and reconciliation in post-conflict settings.

How does ingroup identification predict forgiveness in post‐conflict societies? The role of conflict narratives

“…The indirect effects of ingroup identification on forgiveness via dominant narratives for each group were significant. Even though higher ingroup identification predicted less forgiveness among both groups which was in line with previous studies (e.g., Odak & Čehajic-Clancy, 2021), we extended previous findings by showing that that is the case at least partially through stronger endorsement of the terrorism narrative among Protestants and stronger endorsement of the independence narrative among Catholics. In addition, indirect effects of ingroup identification on forgiveness were not significant via endorsement of outgroups' conflict narratives (except with respect to the independence narrative in Study 1).…”

“…Even though we controlled for age, gender, and education, future studies should also consider the other relevant socio-demographic variables such as religiosity and political ideology. In post-conflict contexts where former conflicting groups do not share the same religion, there may be negative outcomes of religiosity on forgiveness and reconciliation due to its link to group centricity (Odak & Čehajic-Clancy, 2021). Therefore, the role of religiosity in contexts where there are religious sects in the same religion as well as its relation to forgiveness should be well understood.…”

“…Even though forgiveness has been studied in post‐conflict societies such as Northern Ireland (e.g., Hewstone et al, 2004, 2006; Leonard et al, 2015; McGlynn et al, 2004; McLernon et al, 2002; Noor, Brown, Gonzalez, et al, 2008; Noor, Brown, & Prentice, 2008), Bosnia and Herzegovina (e.g., Cehajic et al, 2008; Odak & Čehajic‐Clancy, 2021; Rupar & Graf, 2019) and Cyprus (Stathi et al, 2017), the role of conflict narratives in people's willingness to forgive the outgroup has not been studied in such societies. In these contexts, we expect that endorsing one's own group's conflict narrative is likely to negatively predict willingness to forgive the outgroup members.…”

Understanding the supporters and opponents of Myanmar's civil disobedience movement against the military coup in 2021

“…Particularly in the solidarity action among disadvantaged groups: identity, efficacy, injustice, and morality are the four main motivations to join a collective action (Agostini & van Zomeren, 2021). In the context of a conflict, religious group solidarity can strengthen group centrism, which can trigger a negative effect on forgiveness and reconciliation (Odak & Čehajic-Clancy, 2021). Thus, considering Myanmar's problems and that Indonesia is the largest country in SEA, we argue that the more Indonesians think that they have the responsibility to solve human rights problems in Myanmar, the more they will endorse solidarity for the Myanmar people who are under a military coup.…”

Presbyterians, Forgiveness, and Dealing with the Past in Northern Ireland: Towards Gracious Remembering

“…However, victimhood does not guarantee forgiving dispositions: cross-national research has shown that far from serving as moral beacons, some direct victims are more likely to harbour unforgiving attitudes (Brewer and Hayes 2011;Kijewski and Rapp 2019). 4 Nor does religiosity necessarily promote forgiveness: a study of Christian and Muslim students in Bosnia and Herzegovina found that higher levels of religiosity correlated negatively with propensities for forgiveness and reconciliation (Odak and Cehajic-Clancy 2021). John Brewer et al's (2018) study of victims in Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Sri Lanka found, on balance, evidence that the experience of victimhood encouraged emotional empathy and the ability to act as moral beacons.…”