The politicization of religious communities: effects on intergroup differentiation

The article reports two studies in which we examined how the politicization of religious communities influences both affective and cognitive intergroup differentiation. In Study 1, we used a longitudinal research design and observed that politicization among members of Protestant communities in Germany negatively affected their feelings towards and perceptions of commonalities with homosexuals and Muslims. In Study 2, we used a cross-sectional design and replicated the results with members of Protestant communities in Brazil as research participants and homosexuals and adherents of Afro-Brazilian religions as target groups. However, unlike politicization, which revolves around demands for greater support directed at the larger society, community solidarity, which focused on engagement for one’s community, was unrelated to affective intergroup differentiation and even negatively related to cognitive intergroup differentiation, especially in the German context.