German Institute for Global and Area Studies | Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien

Julia Köbrich / Borja Martinović / Tobias H. Stark

Interreligious Contact and Attitudes in Togo and Sierra Leone: The Role of Ingroup Norms and Individual Preferences

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology | 2023

Abstract

Rising religious violence makes it imperative to develop strategies to foster and preserve interreligious peace. We examine the role of descriptive and injunctive pro-mixing ingroup norms in explaining interreligious contact and, indirectly, more favorable interreligious attitudes. Ingroup norms have been argued to affect intergroup contact independently of individual preferences through mechanisms of social control and indirectly via the internalization of the norms in one’s own preferences. However, the relation between ingroup norms and individual preferences is rarely investigated, and it is unknown whether these two mechanisms matter differently for positive and negative contact. We conducted two studies (N1 = 678, N2 = 1,831) in Togo and Sierra Leone to determine whether ingroup norms predict positive and negative interreligious contact directly, indirectly via individual preferences, or via both mechanisms, and how this then translates to intergroup attitudes. We also explored whether the processes were comparable between countries and for religious majority and minority members. We found that descriptive and injunctive norms both mattered for interreligious contact. While for descriptive pro-mixing norms, direct mechanisms of social control were more pronounced, injunctive norms were related to interreligious contact and attitudes via preferences for similar others through internalization processes.

Journal

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology

Seitenumfang

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000702

Link

https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-90938-6

Julia Köbrich

Doctoral Researcher

T. +49 40 42825-620 julia.koebrich@giga-hamburg.de

Ass. Prof. Dr. Borja Martinović

Ass. Prof. Dr. Tobias H. Stark

GIGA Focus Afrika | 2/2024

Peaceful or Contentious? How to Promote Interreligious Peace in Africa

In afrikanischen Gesellschaften gibt es Anerkennung religiöser Vielfalt, aber auch (gewalttätigen) religiösen Extremismus. Was bestimmt, ob interreligiöse Beziehungen friedlich oder angespannt sind? Was können wir von positiven Beispielen lernen und welche Rolle spielt religiöser Extremismus?

Hervé Akinocho

Dr. Lisa Hoffmann

Julia Köbrich

Beitrag | 2024

Pictures of Religion and Interreligious Relations in Everyday Life

Für ein Fotoprojekt haben Menschen aus Togo und Sierra Leone Fotos von Religion und interreligiösen Beziehungen in ihrem Alltag gemacht. Das Projekt zeigt ihre vielfältigen Perspektiven und lädt Betrachtende ein, über Religion und interreligiöse Beziehungen in ihrem Leben nachzudenken.

Julia Köbrich

Doctoral Researcher

Dr. Lisa Hoffmann

Associate

Forschungscomic | 2024

Wie funktioniert interreligiöser Frieden?

Sometimes, people belonging to different religions do not get along well. In 2022 we travelled to Sierra Leone and Togo where interreligious relations were very peaceful. This comic depicts some examples of how to make interreligious peace: celebrating together, collaborating, being friends, and respecting each other despite differences.

Julia Köbrich

Doctoral Researcher

Dr. Lisa Hoffmann

Associate

Deutsche Welle | Interview | 12.03.2024

Große gegenseitige Toleranz: Christen und Muslime in Afrika

Im Afrika südlich der Sahara bauen Muslime und Christen auf Toleranz und gegenseitiges Verständnis. Als positives Beispiel sticht Sierra Leone hervor.