Ingroup religious identification and attitude towards intergroup interaction among Muslim youth of the North Caucasus

Abstract

The article presents the results of the analysis of the relationship between the intensity of ingroup religious identification and the willingness to defend and protect the interests of one’s religious community. The study was conducted on a sample of Muslim youth from the North Caucasus in winter 2023. The total number of 180 participants, representing various ethnic groups of the North Caucasus, consisted of 109 females and 71 males. The author used the scale of willingness to defend the group’s interests (Swann, Gómez) to study the attitudes towards intergroup interaction. The intensity of social religious identity was examined by the methodology for measuring ingroup religious identification (Leach, van Zomeren, adapted by E.R. Agadullina, A.V. Lovakov). The results of the correlation analysis confirmed the hypothesis that the stronger the ingroup religious identity manifested in a young Muslim from the North Caucasus, the more inclined he would be to defend his religion and protect the interests of the religious community in intergroup interactions.