RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN INTERFAITH MARRIAGES: A SOCIAL IDENTITY PERSPECTIVE

Alex Igundunasse, Raymond Fatunji

Abstract


This research was about the role religious identity in interfaith marriages with the context of the social identity theory. Using a cross sectional design and snowballing sampling approach,  an modified and adapted version of the Great Britain ISSP 2008 Religiousness questionnaire was used. Pearson moment correlation and independent samples T-test were conducted to test the hypotheses. Results showed religious identity and attitude to interfaith marriages were negatively related. The result also showed that Muslim participants were more influenced by attitude to interfaith marriages than the Christians participants. Apart from that, participants with lower level of education (primary/secondary education) were more influenced in attitude to interfaith marriages than participants with higher level of education (tertiary education). Further explanations to these finds are made and areas of further research suggested.


Full Text:

PDF

References


Abara, C.J. (2012). Inequalitity and discrimination in Nigerian, tradition and Religion as a

Negative factor affecting gender. Lagos: FIHRM

Akba, G. (2010). Social Identity and Intergroup Relations: The case of Alevis and Sunnis in Amasya (un published Doctoral dissertation, Middle East Technical University).

Akinade, A. E. (2002). The Precarious Agenda: Christian-Muslim Relations in Contemporary Nigeria. Journal of Islam and Christian Muslim Relations.

Allport, G. W. (1950) The Individual And His Religion: A Psychological Interpretation. Oxford, England: Macmillan. pp. 147.

Allport, G. W., & Ross, J. M. (1967). Personal religious orientation and prejudice. Journal of personality and social psychology, 5(4), 432.

Arweck, E. & Nesbitt, E. (2010). Young people's identity formation in mixed-faith families: continuity or discontinuity of religious traditions? Journal of Contemporary Religion, 25, 67-87.

Cairns, E., Kenworthy, J., Campbell, A., and Hewston M., (2006). The Role of in-group identification, religious group membership and intergroup conflict in moderating in-group, and out-group affect: British Journal of Social Psychology (2006), 45, 701 – 716.

Danjibo, N. D. (2009). Islamic fundamentalism and sectarian violence: the ‘Maitatsine’and ‘Boko Haram’crises in northern Nigeria. Peace and Conflict Studies Paper Series, 1-21.

Dovidio, J.F., Glick, P. and Laurie R.L, (2008). (Eds) On The Nature of Prejudice.

John Wiley & Sons. ISBN - 1405151927, 9781405151924,

Dowd, R.A.(2014). Religious Diversity and Violent Conflict: Lessons from Nigeria. The fletcher forum of world affairs. vol.38 (1)

Ezeibe, C.C. (2012) Inter-Religious Conflicts and Crisis of Development in Nigeria: Who Benefits? Society for Research and Academic Excellence. Retrieved from http://www.academicexcellencesociety.com/inter_religious_conflicts.html

Fafunwa, A.B. (1974). A History of Education in Nigeria, London: George Allen & Unwin 1974, p.99.

Fagan, P. F. (2006). Why Religion Matters Even More: The impact of religious practice on social stability. Heritage Foundation Backgrounder, (1992).

Green, M. C (2011). Religion, Family Law, and Recognition of Identity in Nigeria. Emory International Law Review. Vol 25. (2011). 945-966

Harrison, V. (2006). The Pragmatics of Defining Religion in a Multi-cultural World. The International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 59 (2006): 133–152.

Hoffmann, L. K. (2014). Who Speaks for the North? Politics and Influence in Northern Nigeria. Report for Chatan House: The Royal Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved from http://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/who-speaks-north-politics-and-influence-northern-nigeria.#sthash.3P2FiryD.dpuf

Hunt, S. A., & Benford, R. D. (2004). Collective identity, solidarity, and commitment. The Blackwell companion to social movements, 433-457.

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. (2012). Nigeria: Social attitudes toward religious intermarriage; treatment of intermarried couples and their children by society and the authorities; protection and services available to intermarried couples (NGA104212.E). Retrieved from

http://www.ecoi.net/local_link/233221/341907_en.html

Jaume, L., Simkin H. and Etchezahar, E. (2013). Religion as Quest and Its Relationship with Intrinsic And Extrinsic Orientation. International Journal of Psychological Research 6(2): 71-78

Jopling, J. and O’shea , N. (2009). Marriage in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: A comparative Approach. ISBN 978-88-7778-125-3.

King, P.E. and Boyatzis, C.J. (2004). Exploring adolescent spiritual and religious development: current and future theoretical and empirical perspectives. Applied Developmental Science, 8, 2-6.

Kura, H.K (2010) Muslim–Christian Cooperation and Unity: Muslim–Christian Cooperation for Conflict Prevention/Management, Peace Building and Reconciliation in Northern Nigeria. Retrieved from

http://carefronting.org/muslim-christian-cooperation-and-unity/

Leeman, A. B. (2009). Interfaith marriage in Islam: An examination of the legal theory behind the traditional and reformist positions. Ind. LJ, 84, 743.

Masters, K. S. (2013). Extrinsic Religiousness (Religiosity). In Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine (pp. 744-746). Springer New York.

Ngele, O.K (2008). Religion, Politics and Ethnicity: challenges of pluralism in Nigerian Development. International Journal of Development Studies. Vol. 3 (1), 43-48

Nguvugher, C. D. (2010). Conflicting Christologies in a Context of Conflicts: Jesus, the Īsāwā and Christian-Muslim Relations in Nigeria. ( un published Doctoral Thesis) urn:nbn:de:gbv:28-diss2010-0082-2

Ochonu, M. (2014). The Roots of Nigeria's Religious and Ethnic Conflict. Retrieved from

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/africa/nigeria/140220/nigeria-religious-ethnic-conflict-roots

Okunola, J.L. (2009). Solidarity Step: Inter-Religious Unity in Nigeria. Journal of Stellar Peacemaking Vol.4. No.1.

Okpanachi, O. (2009). Building peace in a divided society: The role of civil society in Muslim-Christian relations in Nigeria. In SHUR International Conference on “Human Rights in Conflict: The Role of Civil Society,” June (pp. 4-6).

Oppong, S.H. (2013). Religion and Identity. American International Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 3 No. 6.

Pawliková-Vilhanová, V. (1998). THE AFRICAN PERSONALITY OR THE DILEMMA OF THE OTHER AND THE SELF IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDWARD W. BLYDEN, 1832 1912. Asian and African Studies, 7(2), 162-175.

Peek, L. (2005). Becoming Muslim" The Development of a Religious Identity. Sociology of Religion, 66:3, 215-242.

Polletta, F., & Jasper, J. M. (2001). Collective identity and social movements. Annual review of Sociology, 283-305.

Poole, L. and Dharmaratne, V. (2014). Freedom of Religion in Nigeria? A Briefing Note on the State of Minorities in Nigeria’s Northern Regions. Ethnic Conflict (Inaf 5439) Group Project. Retrieved from http://www4.carleton.ca/cifp/app/serve.php/1498.pdf

Rufai, S.A. (2011). World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization, 1 (3): 168-177. ISSN 2225-0883. IDOSI Publications

Salawu, B. (2010). Ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria: Causal analysis and proposals for new management strategies. European journal of social sciences,13(3), 345-353.

Sampson, I. T. (2012). Religious violence in Nigeria: Causal diagnoses and strategic recommendations to the state and religious communities. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 12(1), 103-134.

Stets, J. E., & Burke, P. J. (2000). Identity theory and social identity theory. Social psychology quarterly, 224-237.

Seul, J. R. (1999). Ours is the way of god': Religion, identity, and intergroup conflict. Journal of Peace Research, 36(5), 553-569.

Tajfel, H. (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. London: Academic Press

Templeton, J. L., & Eccles, J. S. (2006). The relation between spiritual development and identity processes. The handbook of spiritual development in childhood and adolescence, 252-265.

The Hindu (2012, January 25). “Nigeria under Siege”. Retrieved from http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/nigeria-under-siege/article2829135.ece

Yamin, S. (2008). Understanding religious identity and the causes of religious violence. South Asian Journal of Peace Building, 1, 2-21.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


 

 

 

 

ISSN (Print): 2276-8645

 

 

   

 

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.