Religious Group Identification and Inter-Religious Relations: A Study Among Turkish-Dutch Muslims Maykel Verkuyten To cite this version: Maykel Verkuyten. Religious Group Identification and Inter-Religious Relations: A Study Among Turkish-Dutch Muslims. Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, SAGE Publications, 2007, 10 (3), pp.341-357. 10.1177/1368430207078695. hal-00571655 HAL Id: hal-00571655 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00571655 Submitted on 1 Mar 2011 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 2007 Vol 10(3) 341–357 Religious Group Identifi cation and Inter-Religious Relations: A Study Among Turkish-Dutch Muslims Maykel Verkuyten Utrecht University Following social identity theory, this research examines the relationship between group identifi cation and intergroup relations by focusing on religion. Religious as well as Dutch national group identifi cation was examined among Turkish-Dutch Muslims. Identifi cation was studied in relation to general affective ratings of multiple religious groups (Muslims, Christians, Hindustanis, Jews and non-believers) and the endorsement of Islamic group rights. The results show that Muslim identifi cation was more like a nominal (high or ‘total’ identifi cation) than a continuous variable, and that many participants showed low identifi cation with the national group. The affective ratings of religious out-groups were quite negative, particularly of the Jews and non-believers. Muslim identifi cation was positively and strongly related to feelings toward the religious in-group and to the endorsement of Islamic group rights. National identifi cation was positively related to feelings toward the religious out-groups, but only for ‘total’ Muslim identifi ers, supporting the mutual intergroup differentiation model. The fi ndings are discussed in relation to social psychological thinking about group identifi cation and the importance of religion for intergroup relations. keywords minority groups, national identity, religious group relations, religious identifi cation A Central assumption of social identity theory There is considerable empirical evidence that (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1986) is that a positive in an intergroup situation those with high in- social identity is typically based on favorable group identifi cation are more likely to show a intergroup comparisons. Brown (2000) argues variety of group level responses relative to those that a plausible inference to draw from this as- sumption is that identifi cation with a group is Author’s note positively related to the tendency to favor that Address correspondence to Maykel group over other groups. People with high and Verkuyten, Faculty of Social Sciences, low psychological commitment to their group Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 (high and low identifi ers) can be expected CS Utrecht, The Netherlands to differ in their reactions and evaluations. [email: [email protected]] Copyright © 2007 SAGE Publications (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore) 10:3; 341–357; DOI: 10.1177/1368430207078695 Group Processes & Intergroup Relations 10(3) shown by low identifi ers (see Ellemers, Spears, the associations of these group identifi cations & Doosje, 1999). with feelings toward Muslims, Hindustanis, However, not all studies support the link Christians, Jews, and non-believers. Third, both between in-group identifi cation and in-group group identifi cations were examined in relation favoritism and the assumption of this link has to the endorsement of Islamic group rights in also been criticized theoretically (e.g. Turner, the Netherlands. With this study, I hope to make 1999). A positive correlation between indi- a contribution to a further understanding of the vidual differences in group identifi cation and important processes of group identifi cation. In individual differences in the degree to which particular, I will examine the assumed continuous the in-group is favoured over an out-group is not nature of group identifi cation and will discuss always found and can be quite weak (see Hinkle the role of dual identifi cation. In addition, & Brown, 1990; Mullen, Brown, & Smith, 1992). although religion is an important dimension for In addition, Turner (1999; see also McGarty, defi ning a positive social identity in comparison 2001; Turner & Reynolds, 2001) has criticized the to dissenters and non-believers, social psychology idea of a simple positive correlation between has not paid much attention to religious identity identifi cation and in-group favouritism because (but see Argyle & Beit-Hallahmi, 1975; Batson & SIT argues that in-group favouritism is a func- Burris, 1994; Blaine & Crocker, 1995). Religion tion of, for example, status positions and unifi es the community of believers around a con- beliefs about the nature of the groups and the sensus of values and truths, and in doing so makes intergroup context. Furthermore, group iden- meaningful in-group and out-group distinctions tifi cation is a multifaceted construct that can be which contribute to social divisions and current examined in various ways (see Ashmore, Deaux, confl icts in many parts of the world. & McLaughlin-Volpe, 2004), and there is also the possibility of dual or hybrid identities (Verkuyten, Religious identifi cation 2005). Turner (1999, p. 22) further argues that it is important to focus on identities that ‘cor- There is a great deal of variation and inconsist- respond to the subjective division of the social ency in the way that group identifi cation is con- world by the subjects in relation to the intergroup ceptualized and measured (see Ashmore et al, attitudes obtained’. The identities should have 2004; Cameron, 2004; Jackson & Smith, 1999). real meaning and the evaluative dimensions For example, a distinction among various di- used for assessing intergroup relations should be mensions or elements of identifi cation is made, relevant in relation to various out-groups. Most such as evaluation, importance and attachment. social psychological studies have examined Group identifi cation is further interpreted in identifi cation processes among student groups terms of situational sensitive self-categorizations, and the in-group favouritism found is typically but also in terms of more stable differences in due to a more positive evaluation of the in-group the degree to which psychologically central compared to a less positive or neutral evaluation and valued group memberships have developed. of an out-group. Few studies have focused on The former interpretation focuses on the real-world situations where group identifi cation changing ways that people defi ne themselves can be very strong and clear negative out-group and the extent to which they feel attached to a reactions and evaluations may exist. specifi c group in a specifi c context (e.g. Ellemers The present study focuses on religious and et al., 1999). The latter one argues that some Dutch national group identifi cation among people, for whatever reason, are more inclined Turkish-Dutch Muslims. Identifi cation is studied than others to see themselves as a group member in relation to general affective ratings of multiple and to value their group membership (e.g. religious out-groups and the endorsement of Phinney, 1992). Islamic group rights. I examined, fi rst, the nature In both interpretations, group identifi cation of Muslim and Dutch group identifi cation and can be considered as an individual difference their interrelationship. Second, the focus was on variable which affects various group level 342 Verkuyten religious group identification and inter-religious relations responses. Group identifi cation, for example, is found that 74% of Muslim participants indicated an important factor affecting a person’s readiness that their religion was ‘very important’ in living to use a social category for self-description, their lives and 21% said ‘fairly important’. and people who feel highly committed to their Furthermore, around 80% indicated that they group are inclined to act in terms of their group visited a mosque once a week or more. In membership. Group identifi cation implies that comparison, the highest percentage for ‘very collective beliefs and values that characterize important’ for the Hindu, Sikh, Catholic and the in-group become normative and part of the Church of England participants was 46% for psychological self. People start to think, feel the Sikhs. and act in terms of the way that the in-group is Among a representative sample from the city understood. These group understandings can of Rotterdam, Phalet and Güngör (2004) found be relatively stable or enduring refl ecting, for that Islam was considered ‘very meaningful and example, cultural features, but they are also important’ in one’s life by 87% of the Turkish responsive to social events and current threats and 96% of the Moroccan population. These (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). percentages were similar for younger (18–30 Triandis (1992) points out that in some col- years of age) and older participants (> 30 years). lectivist cultures one either is or is not a mem- In addition, around two-thirds of the Turks and ber of the in-group. In these cultures, group Moroccans had a very strong Muslim identity. identifi cation is not so much a matter of degree For the great majority of Muslims, Muslim and one cannot be more or less identifi ed with identity was a given and not being a Muslim was a group: group identification is more of a not a real option. The same has been found in nominal rather than a continuous variable. The surveys in Brussels, Belgium (Phalet, 2004), and orientation and commitment to the in-group in other European countries (Haddad & Smith, is normative and total, rather than optional 2001; Vertovec & Rogers, 1999).