Religiocentric Expression, Intolerance, and Conflict Between Majority and Minority Ethnic Groups in Bangladesh

Although religiocentric expression and conflict in multicultural societies are evident, mechanisms underlying the link are understudied. Using social psychological perspectives, this chapter analyzes how religiocentric expression influences conflict via tolerant versus intolerant behavior between majority and minority ethnic groups in Bangladesh. In so doing, a total of 555 men (majority group n = 140, minority group n = 415) were randomly selected from northwestern villages of Bangladesh; over 12 months, two-web data were collected in community setting. The descriptive results revealed that higher scores of religiocentric expression and intolerance are related to inter-religious conflict. The results from SPSS Process Macro 4 suggested that higher level of intolerance of the Muslim and Hindu men than the Santal and Oraon men partially mediated the associations between religiocentric expression and conflict, after accounting for sociodemographic characteristics. Interreligious intolerance is an important mediator by which religiocentric expression induces conflict between majority and minority groups in Bangladesh. Directions for public policy for building inter-religious harmony and future research are discussed.