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Identity threats and ideas of superiority as drivers of religious violence? Evidence from a survey experiment in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
- Source :
- Journal of Peace Research
- Publication Year :
- 2022
- Publisher :
- GBR, 2022.
-
Abstract
- Religion has become increasingly contentious in recent years. Faith-based discrimination, hostility and violence seem to have increased worldwide. But how can faith lead to conflict? In this article, we test the impact of two important dimensions of religion that have been neglected in previous research: the belief in ‘one true religion’ and perceptions of threats by other religious groups. Putting these two potential drivers to the test, we conducted a representative survey experiment with 972 respondents in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Results show that one of the tested dimensions, perceptions of threats by others, increases the support to use violence to defend one’s own group. This is particularly the case for religiously intolerant respondents with characteristics such as pre-existing threat perceptions, unfavorable views on intermarriage, or belief in the superiority of their own faith. In contrast, we find relatively weak evidence that the prime of ‘one true religion’ increases the readiness to use violence. Our findings have important implications for policy: We conclude that appeals by leaders to threats by others and intolerance toward other faiths can contribute to more conflict. Political and religious leaders should refrain from capitalizing on such notions and should promote tolerance towards other faiths instead.
- Subjects :
- Sociology and Political Science
Religious violence
Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, Sicherheitspolitik
religiousness
Peace and Conflict Research, International Conflicts, Security Policy
Identity (social science)
Bedrohung
Hostility
Criminology
religiöse Gruppe
Tanzania
Sociology & anthropology
Catholic Church (Roman)
violence
kollektive Sicherheit
survey research
Sociology
religious group
Religionsgemeinschaft
threat
Political science
religious conflict
media_common
Gewalt
Religiosität
biology
Tansania
katholische Kirche
Befragung
Survey experiment
Religion
defense
medicine.symptom
ddc:301
Safety Research
Gewaltbereitschaft
media_common.quotation_subject
Politikwissenschaft
collective security
Umfrageforschung
Faith
Dar es salaam
religiöser Konflikt
statistical analysis
Afrika südlich der Sahara
medicine
survey
propensity to violence
Ostafrika
Africa South of the Sahara
Gesellschaft
religious community
Religionssoziologie
international security
biology.organism_classification
East Africa
statistische Analyse
society
Soziologie, Anthropologie
Political Science and International Relations
ddc:320
internationale Sicherheit
Verteidigung
Sociology of Religion
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of Peace Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....155cd892f1493c44f52bc6f0d5daaad4