Religious quest orientation: Rising against fundamentalism

Abstract

Quest, or a journey-oriented approach to religion, is one dimension of religiosity that has been consistently related to positive outgroup attitudes. The present research assessed the extent to which individual differences in quest religiosity moderated the effects of a religiosity prime on attitudes toward an outgroup religion. Christian identifying participants (N = 55) completed a scale measure of quest religiosity. They then read a vignette that primed quest religiosity or religious fundamentalism. Attitudes toward Muslims and Jews were assessed with evaluation thermometers. Quest religiosity interacted with the prime such that those high in quest appeared to react against the fundamentalism prime by expressing particularly positive outgroup attitudes. Trait quest religiosity appears to buffer against situational factors that are typically associated with negative outgroup attitudes. In addition, implications for research on intergroup relations of religious groups are discussed.