Lecture notes on social stratification by religion and ethnicity

1) Is there social distance between ethno-religious groups in the Philippines?

2) Does this group identification (religious) explain social distance?

3) Which are the significant predictors of social distance

-  religious identification

-- ethnic identification

-- social inequality

-- out-group trust,

  while controlling for gender?

Theoretical notions

•Realistic conflict theory  (Coser, 1954) – intergroup competition over scarce resources and power (in-group favouritism and out-group hostility

•Social identity theory (Tajfel, 1971) - social categorization, identification and comparison processes underlying group formation and maintenance

•Trust theories – positive outcomes (and lack of trust and distrust associated with negative outcomes)

Social distance Mokken scale

To what extent would you accept or avoid having a Christian/Muslim as...?

Findings:

- There are significant differences in the social distance level between ethno-religious groups. Certain groups have greater tendency to avoid religious out-groups than other groups.

- There is a hierarchy and distinction between private (classmate, friend and bordmate) and public (civil servant, police and mayor) roles. Neighbor seems to mark the boundary between private and public.

- The avoided roles are those with power.

- Religious identification is positively related with social distance.

- Based on regression analyses, out-group trust is a strong predictor of social distance. It is able to explain the relation between religious identification and social distance.

Reference: (You can read the article here)

Abanes, M., Scheepers, P., & Sterkens, C. (2014). Ethno-religious groups, identification,  trust and social distance in the ethno-religiously stratified Philippines. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 37, Pp. 61-75. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2014.02.001.