Psychiatry Research EG

OBJECTIVES : This study investigated Egyptian children’s religious identity, their attitudes towards and affective responses to their own and one other religious group. METHOD : 137 Muslim and Christian Egyptian orphaned children aged between 3 ans 13 years were questioned using a semi-structured interview which incorporated various tasks. RESULTS : Evidence was found to suggest that religion was a salient aspect of the children’s identity. There was evidence that some of the children were engaging in intergroup comparison, in-group favoritism and outgroup denigration as predicted by Social Identity Theory ; this was especially true for the Christian children. The Muslim children did demonstrate in-group favoritism but did not appear to engage in intergroup comparison and outgroup denigration to the same extent. CONCLUSION : These finding suggest that children’s knowledge and attitudes in the religious domain may be influenced by the process of intergroup comparison as proposed by Social Identity Theory.