Ratings of Essentialism for Eight Religious Identities

As a social identity, religion is unique because it contains a spectrum of choice. In some religious communities, individuals are considered members by virtue of having parents of that background, and religion, culture, and ethnicity are closely intertwined. Other faith communities actively invite p...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Toosi, Negin R. (Author) ; Ambady, Nalini (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 2011
In: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Year: 2011, Volume: 21, Issue: 1, Pages: 17-29
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Parallel Edition:Electronic
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Summary:As a social identity, religion is unique because it contains a spectrum of choice. In some religious communities, individuals are considered members by virtue of having parents of that background, and religion, culture, and ethnicity are closely intertwined. Other faith communities actively invite people of other backgrounds to join, expecting individuals to choose the religion that best fits their personal beliefs. These various methods of identification influence beliefs about the essentialist nature of religious identity. Essentialism is when social groups are considered to have deep, immutable, and inherent defining properties. In this study, college students (N = 55) provided ratings of essentialism for eight religious identities: Atheist, Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, and Spiritual-but-not-religious. Significant differences in essentialism were found between the target groups. Results and implications for intergroup relations are discussed.
ISSN:1532-7582
Contains:Enthalten in: The international journal for the psychology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/10508619.2011.532441