TY - JOUR
T1 - Christian Religiosity, Religious Nostalgia, and Attitudes Toward Muslims in 20 Western Countries
AU - Xia, Weiqian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. Sociological Forum published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Eastern Sociological Society.
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Radical ethnonationalism has drastically risen in Western politics, largely mobilized by nostalgia for the country's past with homogeneity and Christianity as a cultural symbol against non-Western immigrants, especially Muslims. However, how nostalgia for Christianity's past significance can invoke anti-Muslim sentiments is unknown, especially given that Christianity is increasingly losing its previous status under secularization, resulting in radical backlash from the Christian right. In the current study, I examine whether nostalgia related to religion and the religious–secular gap in the perceived status of religion can induce anti-Muslim attitudes among Christians from 20 Western countries using International Social Survey Programme data and mixed-effect multilevel modeling. Contrary to expectations, anti-Muslim attitudes are stronger for people with higher levels of Christian religiosity and doctrinal belief, and exclusivist view on religion, when they have less religious nostalgia by perceiving a stronger status of religion. Moreover, in countries with a larger religious–secular gap in the perceived status of religion, people holding exclusivist views on religion are more hostile to Muslims. Yet, the findings can still be consistent with theoretical expectations, since anti-Muslim attitudes are likely promoted through backlash from the Christian community against religious diversity, expressed in demands for a larger salience of religion rather than nostalgia.
AB - Radical ethnonationalism has drastically risen in Western politics, largely mobilized by nostalgia for the country's past with homogeneity and Christianity as a cultural symbol against non-Western immigrants, especially Muslims. However, how nostalgia for Christianity's past significance can invoke anti-Muslim sentiments is unknown, especially given that Christianity is increasingly losing its previous status under secularization, resulting in radical backlash from the Christian right. In the current study, I examine whether nostalgia related to religion and the religious–secular gap in the perceived status of religion can induce anti-Muslim attitudes among Christians from 20 Western countries using International Social Survey Programme data and mixed-effect multilevel modeling. Contrary to expectations, anti-Muslim attitudes are stronger for people with higher levels of Christian religiosity and doctrinal belief, and exclusivist view on religion, when they have less religious nostalgia by perceiving a stronger status of religion. Moreover, in countries with a larger religious–secular gap in the perceived status of religion, people holding exclusivist views on religion are more hostile to Muslims. Yet, the findings can still be consistent with theoretical expectations, since anti-Muslim attitudes are likely promoted through backlash from the Christian community against religious diversity, expressed in demands for a larger salience of religion rather than nostalgia.
KW - anti-Muslim sentiments
KW - Christianity
KW - nostalgia
KW - radical ethnonationalism
KW - religious backlash
KW - religious–secular gap
U2 - 10.1111/socf.12844
DO - 10.1111/socf.12844
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85136527132
SN - 0884-8971
VL - 37
SP - 1414
EP - 1435
JO - Sociological Forum
JF - Sociological Forum
IS - S1
ER -