RELIGION AND CONFLICT: THE CASE OF BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA
RELIGION AND CONFLICT: THE CASE OF BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA
Author(s): Kjell MagnussonSubject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, History, Social Sciences, Sociology, Military history, Political history, Recent History (1900 till today), Theology and Religion, Politics and religion, Nationalism Studies, Transformation Period (1990 - 2010), Sociology of Religion, Identity of Collectives, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Centar za empirijska istraživanja religije (CEIR)
Keywords: religiosity; national identity; xenophobia; war; Bosnia
Summary/Abstract: The text discusses the role of religion in the Bosnian conflict, based on data on attitudes and behaviour in Bosnia and Herzegovina, collected by a survey undertaken in 1999. To what extent did religion – understood as individual religiosity – actually shape people’s attitudes towards the conflict? Are religious people more prone to nationalism and xenophobia than others? Analyses of cross tables were ambiguous; there was no linear effect of religiosity on attitudes to the war or the future of Bosnia. Using structural equation modelling (SEM) it was assumed that religion and nationalism, understood as multidimensional concepts (second-order factor structures), cause xenophobia. It turned out that, while there was a correlation between nationalism and religion, only nationalism, not religion, was directly affecting xenophobia. The basic features of the model, both causal relations and dimensions of religion and nationalism were found among the three major ethnic communities in Bosnia.
Journal: Religija i tolerancija
- Issue Year: 22/2024
- Issue No: 42
- Page Range: 237-261
- Page Count: 25
- Language: English
