Attitudes toward and inferred beliefs for religious ingroup/outgroup members: Muslim children of Pakistani heritage in the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia

Abstract

ABSTRACT The post-9/11 era has seen a surge in writings on “Muslim” issues in the West, but little is known about Muslim children's perspectives. Attitudes toward, and beliefs about, the religious ingroup and outgroup were examined in the present study with 5–6-year-old Muslims of Pakistani heritage in the United Kingdom (UK) and Saudi Arabia (SA). Participants completed trait attribution and liking tasks and answered questions on God beliefs and religious practice about themselves, Muslims (ingroup) and non-Muslims (outgroup). Participants described ingroup members more positively, liked them more, and inferred that they held more religious beliefs than outgroup members. Liking was positively associated with outgroup liking for UK participants, who described outgroup members more positively with more religious beliefs, compared with SA participants whose ingroup attitudes were negatively associated with outgroup attitudes. Our findings are discussed in the light of theory and research, and implications for education contexts and well-being are considered.