How a tolerant past affects the present: historical tolerance and the acceptance of Muslim expressive rights.
Three studies, conducted in The Netherlands, examined the relationship between a tolerant representation of national history and the acceptance of Muslim expressive rights. Following self-categorization theory, it was hypothesized that historical tolerance would be associated with greater acceptance of Muslim expressive rights, especially for natives who strongly identify with their national in-group. Furthermore, it was predicted that the positive effect of representations of historical tolerance on higher identifiers' acceptance could be explained by reduced perceptions of identity incompatibility. The results of Study 1 confirmed the first hypothesis, and the results of Study 2 and Study 3 supported the second hypothesis. These findings underline the importance of historical representations of the nation for understanding current reactions toward immigrants. Importantly, the results show that a tolerant representation of national history can elevate acceptance of immigrants, especially among natives who feel a relatively strong sense of belonging to their nation.
Utrecht University, The Netherlands. A.N.Smeekes@uu.nl
Anouk
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Smeekes
Maykel
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Verkuyten
Edwin
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Poppe
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D018864:Cultural Diversity; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006664:History; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands; D011057:Politics; D011287:Prejudice; D012929:Psychological Distance; D012649:Self Concept; D012933:Social Identification; D012945:Social Values; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult