In Search of 'Religion Proper': Intrinsic Religiosity and Coalitional Rigidity Make Opposing Predictions of Intergroup Hostility Across Religious Groups

摘要

In two cross-cultural studies, we examined the relationship between intrinsic religiosity (IR; inwardly held religious devotion), coalitional rigidity (CR; a rigid adherence to the superiority of the norms and beliefs of one's own group), and intergroup hostility (IH; morally impugning or wishing persecution on members of other groups). For Study 1, we analyzed a number of single-item interview questions in a data set collected from 10,068 people in 10 nations. For Study 2, we conducted our own surveys in two multicultural samples: Vancouver, Canada, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In all 18 religious subsamples from both studies, there were null or negative independent relationships between IR and some form of IH, and null or positive independent relationships between CR and such hostility. The results suggest that this pattern of prediction, which has previously been found in North American Christian samples, generalizes cross-culturally.