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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
[journal article]
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 rese... view more
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.... view less
Keywords
Africa South of the Sahara; East Africa; Tanzania; international security; defense; society; religion; religious community; religious group; religious conflict; religiousness; collective security; threat; survey research; survey; statistical analysis; violence; propensity to violence; Catholic Church (Roman)
Classification
Peace and Conflict Research, International Conflicts, Security Policy
Sociology of Religion
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 395-408
Journal
Journal of Peace Research, 59 (2022) 3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1177/00223433211035234
ISSN
1460-3578
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed