Religion and Prejudice Across Cultures: A Test of the Threat-Constraint Model

The present set of studies investigated the role of being religious in the prediction of various forms of prejudice. Following the threat-constraint model, we predicted that contexts characterized by high threat attenuate—or constrain—the relationship between individual differences in being religiou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social psychological & personality science 2021-04, Vol.12 (3), p.287-295
Main Authors: Van Assche, Jasper, Bahamondes, Joaquín, Sibley, Chris
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collectivism
Cultural differences
Individual differences
Masculinity
Polls & surveys
Prejudice
Regions
Religion
Religious beliefs
Sexism
Terminology
Uncertainty
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Summary:The present set of studies investigated the role of being religious in the prediction of various forms of prejudice. Following the threat-constraint model, we predicted that contexts characterized by high threat attenuate—or constrain—the relationship between individual differences in being religious on the one hand and antigay prejudice and sexism on the other. A worldwide investigation of these regional constraints was conducted in the Americas Barometer (125,984 individuals nested in 20 countries; Study 1), the World Values Survey (69,798 individuals nested in 45 countries; Study 2), and the European Social Survey (44,386 individuals nested in 274 Nomenclature des Unités Territoriales Statistiques regions; Study 3). Results identify a key moderating role of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, revealing strong associations between religion and prejudice in regions low in power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity, and collectivism, whereas the religion–prejudice association is constrained (i.e., weaker and often absent) in regions high on those cultural dimensions.
ISSN:1948-5506
1948-5514
DOI:10.1177/1948550620920966