Abstract
Religious discourse requires several conditions in order to promote a positive experience. Critics argue that intergroup dialogue may be limited in reducing negative attitudes in cases of complex religious tensions. This study examines experiences of discourse among 638 Secular, Traditional, and Modern-Orthodox Jewish students who participated in a dialogue course. As expected, findings support the positive effect of meetings on intergroup attitudes and relations between the different religious sub-groups. Nevertheless, findings also indicate differences in attitudes according to the religious-group membership of the participants, thus confirming the need to extend contact conditions to situations involving conflict between asymmetric groups. In operative terms, the findings demonstrate a dialogical model, which can provide a framework for discourse between people living in communities and societies where religion is present in the public sphere and may be at the center of intergroup tensions and conflicts.
Presenters
Lipaz Shamoa-NirSenior Lecturer, Department of Behavioral Sciences, Zefat Academic College, Israel
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Intergroup dialogue, Secular-Religious, Discourse, Social identity, Conflict
