Personal and Societal Factors on Prejudice against Aboriginal People, Immigrants, Racial Minorities, and Refugees among Churchgoers in Australia

Psychology research on prejudice and religion has predominantly examined the personal factors associated with prejudice, with limited attention to societal factors. The present study analyzed data from the 2011 National Church Life Survey (NCLS) of churchgoers in Australia aged 15 years and over (N = 1,910; M_Age = 54.3 years; SD = 19.2 years; range = 15 to 96; 61.0% women; 68.5% native-born) to determine the associations between personal and societal factors on prejudice against Aboriginal people, immigrants, racial minorities, and refugees. Findings showed that both personal and societal factors were associated with prejudice among churchgoers. For personal factors, the experience of church worship, Catholic denomination, and private religious commitment were negatively associated with prejudice. In addition, the immigrant status of the churchgoers was differentially associated with prejudice against Aboriginal people. Specifically, those born in other English-speaking countries were less prejudiced against Aboriginal people, compared to native-born churchgoers. In contrast, those born in non-English-speaking countries were more prejudiced against Aboriginal people than native-born churchgoers. For societal factors, the association between religious diversity and prejudice depended on the immigrant status of the churchgoers. Overall, religious diversity in the church neighborhood was negatively associated with prejudice against immigrants. Compared to the native-borns, immigrant churchgoers from both English-speaking and non-English-speaking countries were more prejudiced against immigrants, controlling for the religious diversity of the church neighborhood. Results are in line with the assertion that an integration of micro-level individual and interpersonal processes with macro-level societal factors represents a fruitful area for future research in prejudice.