The Role of Morality and Religiosity in Ethnic and Homophobic Prejudice Among Teachers

Abstract

The role of moral disengagement strategies and religiosity related to ethnic and homophobic prejudice were investigated in a sample of 550 Italian secondary school teachers (76.4% female, age range: 20–70; M = 46.18) who completed the teachers’ attitudes towards the representation of homosexuality in film and television scale; the Italian version of the moral disengagement scale; the subtle and blatant prejudice scales; and three items to evaluate their religiosity. Evidence suggests that moral disengagement processes matter for subtle ethnic prejudice, but not for blatant ethnic prejudice or homophobic prejudice. Results based on a structural equation model show that teachers who are more prone to use moral disengagement mechanisms have higher levels of subtle ethnic prejudice, while teachers who are older and more religious have higher levels of homophobic prejudice. The results of a multiple group structural equation model showed that high versus low levels of religiosity among teachers did not moderate the strength of these associations. Theoretical and educational implications are discussed.