Making and Unmaking Prejudice

Religious Affiliation Mitigates the Impact of Mortality Salience on Out-Group Attitudes

Bibliographic Data

ID2287802
AuthorsAnna‐kaisa Newheiser (University at Albany, State University of New York, corresponding author), Miles Hewstone (0000-0002-8861-0465, Department of Experimental Psychology University of Oxford), Alberto Voci (0000-0002-9893-7656, Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology University of Padova), Katharina Schmid (0000-0001-6018-9245, Department of Experimental Psychology University of Oxford)
Year2015
Volume54
Issue4
Pages774-791
Publication date2015-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8294 • E-ISSN: 1468-5906
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jssr.12233
OpenAlexW2337598897
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited43

Research inspired by terror management theory has established that being reminded of the inevitability of death (i.e., 'mortality salience') leads people to express more negative attitudes toward out-groups. We examined the hypothesis that being affiliated with a religion may buffer individuals against this negative impact of mortality salience. Two studies, conducted in two cultures that differ in their emphasis on religiosity (the United Kingdom and Italy), supported this hypothesis. Specifically, we found that mortality salience resulted in more negative out-group attitudes only among participants not affiliated with any religion. Further, this buffering effect of religious affiliation was not moderated by participants' specific religious orientations or by their levels of social dominance orientation. In addition, the buffering effect did not hold when prejudice against the target out-group was not proscribed by religious authorities. Implications for research on religion, prejudice, and terror management are discussed

Anxiety · Death anxiety · Dominance (genetics) · In-group favoritism · Mortality salience · Political science · Politics · Prejudice (legal term) · Religiosity · Religious orientation · Salience (neuroscience) · Social dominance orientation · Social group · Social identity theory · Terror management theory · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Law · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology · Social Psychology

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