Attitudes towards Religions: The Impact of Being Out of the Religious Group

Religious beliefs are a highly debated topic in the scientific literature. Various authors have approached this issue qualitatively and quantitatively. This study examines the attitudes towards out-religious groups, considering individuals’ socioeconomic characteristics. A new approach is introduced...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Religions (Basel, Switzerland ) Switzerland ), 2023-09, Vol.14 (10), p.1218
Main Authors: Indelicato, Alessandro, Martín, Juan Carlos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atheism
Attitudes
attitudes towards religions
Christianity
Cooperation
Datasets
Discrimination
Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS
Hostility
Humanism
Immigration
Islam
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Muslims
out-religious groups
Prejudice
Public opinion
Quran
Religion
Religions
Religious adherents
Religious aspects
Religious beliefs
Social aspects
Stereotypes
Tolerance
WZB
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Summary:Religious beliefs are a highly debated topic in the scientific literature. Various authors have approached this issue qualitatively and quantitatively. This study examines the attitudes towards out-religious groups, considering individuals’ socioeconomic characteristics. A new approach is introduced, utilising the Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS method applied to the WZB—Berlin Social Science Center database. Four items that measure the general attitude towards (a) Jews, (b) Christians, (c) Muslims, and (d) atheists, are used, and a synthetic indicator is obtained to represent the individual attitude towards religions of Torah, Koran and Bible followers. Eight countries are analysed, encompassing diverse geographical and cultural backgrounds, including Germany, Cyprus, the United States, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Turkey, and Kenya. The results reveal that Germans are more open towards other religious and non-religious groups, while Lebanese citizens demonstrate the lowest levels. The findings show that Jews are the most tolerant towards other religious groups, whereas Muslims have the lowest attitudes level. Also, individual socioeconomic factors determine the attitudes towards other religious groups, such as age, education, income levels, and experiences of discrimination based on religion.
ISSN:2077-1444
2077-1444
DOI:10.3390/rel14101218