East Asian Religious Tolerance—A Myth or a Reality? Empirical Investigations of Religious Prejudice in East Asian Societies. (November 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Clobert, Magali; Saroglou, Vassilis; Hwang, Kwang-Kuo; Soong, Wen-Li
• Is Part Of: Journal of cross-cultural psychology. Volume 45:Number 10(2014)
• Page Start: 1515
• Page End: 1533
• Publication Date: 2014-11
• Subjects: religiosity -- East Asian religions -- prejudice -- prosociality -- Implicit Association Test; Ethnopsychology -- Periodicals; 155.805
• DOI: 10.1177/0022022114546641
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-0221

Abstract

Is East Asian religious tolerance, as opposed to Western monotheistic prejudice, a stereotype or a reality? Based on theoretical and empirical evidence, we hypothesized low prejudice as a function of East Asian religiosity. We examined whether this holds true for interreligious, anti-atheist, ethnic, and anti-gay prejudice. In Study 1, analysis of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP) 2008 data from Eastern religious and Christian samples in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan (total N = 3, 555) showed, contrarily to Christians, high interreligious tolerance and weaker if no anti-gay prejudice as a function of Eastern religiosity. In Study 2, Eastern religiosity among Taiwanese ( n = 222) was negatively related to prejudice against various religious outgroups (except atheists), especially among those low in authoritarianism. In Study 3, Eastern religiosity among Taiwanese ( n = 102) was negatively related to implicit interreligious (Muslims) and ethnic (Africans) prejudice; prosociality partially mediated the former association. Eastern religious tolerance seems to be true, but not unlimited.