What is it about?
Psychological research shows that religion is not a secondary element, but a real cause of intergroup conflict and violence, even if is not the only cause. Religious fundamentalism has several common features but also different characteristics acrosss cultures and religion.
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Why is it important?
People, including scholars, either too quickly overcharge or innocent religion from being a cause of intergroup conflct and violence. Psychological research shows that religious ideas and practice may cause violence. However, they are not alone; and this is not all about religion. Moreover, there are important cultural differences in the way religion, incl. fundamentalism, expresses (in)tolerance and discrimination.
Perspectives
This article proposes that religious fundamentalism may, to some extent, differ across religions and cultures, depending on the emphasis given on the believing, the bonding, the behaving, or the belonging dimension of religion. Thus, depending on the religious tradition, culture, and history, rigidity may concern--only or predominantly--beliefs, practices, moral rules, or group identity.
Professor Vassilis Saroglou
Universite catholique de Louvain
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Intergroup Conflict, Religious Fundamentalism, and Culture, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, December 2015, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0022022115621174.
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