Are Religious Minorities in Greece Better Accepted if they Assimilate? The Effects of Acculturation Strategy and Group Membership on Religious Minority Perceptions

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the impact of minority members' decision about whether or not to adopt the majority's religion on how the majority perceives these minority members and on beliefs about religious and cultural diversity. It is hypothesized that the adoption of the majority's religion would be more positively evaluated, the minority person adopting the religion would be perceived to identify more with the national polity and less with the minority ingroup, the minority group as a whole would be more positively viewed, more tolerant religious beliefs would prevail and the majority would accept cultural maintenance by the minority. However it is also hypothesized that the positive effect of this strategy would be moderated by the origins of the minority person. Greek-Orthodox students (n = 223) participated in a 2 (type of decision) x 5 (group membership) between-subjects design conducted in Greece, a mono-religious society which has become culturally diverse due to immigration. The target groups represent religious minorities with Greek citizenship (Jews and Muslims of Thrace), immigrant groups of different ethnic orientation and similar religious background (Albanian Muslims and Pakistanis) or groups sharing ethnicity but differing in religious beliefs (Albanian Muslims and Albanian atheists). The moderation hypothesis was confirmed for perceived identification with the minority ingroup, presenting Albanians in a worse position. However, group membership influenced mainly group perceptions and beliefs about diversity. The theoretical and political implications of the findings and their importance for the specific context are discussed.

Interfaith Relations in the United States: Toward a Multilevel Community Psychology Approach

“…This journal's recent special issue on the ‘Social Psychology of Religion’ illuminated two critical issues for my purposes in this paper. First, that a number of the articles examined intergroup social processes between religiously defined groups arguably spoke to the importance of the topic of interfaith relations to contemporary discourse around religion and to the experience of living in increasingly religiously diverse modern societies (Grigoropoulou & Chryssochoou, ; Hopkins, , ; Saroglou, Yzerbyt, & Kaschten, ). Indeed, discourse around the social dimensions of religion can no longer be considered comprehensive without taking into account the complex dynamics and implications of the interfaith encounter.…”

An exploratory comparative study of perspectives on non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors among social work students in the United States, Greece, Cyprus, and Jordan: Implications for social work practice and education

“…However, the Jordanian students’ responses are based on a very different perspective, where religion in Jordon is embedded in the lives of the community, and religious leaders rather than social workers assume the primary role in responding to psychological distress (Kokaliari, 2005). For students in Greece and Cyprus this was not the case, which may speak more to the identification of religion with ethnicity rather than practice (Grigoropoulou and Chryssochoou, 2011). The role of religiosity in Greece and Cyprus is extended mainly in the provision of social welfare organizations having to deal with social needs and, in particular, poverty.…”

“…Unlike in the United States, in Greece, Cyprus, and Jordan there is no legal separation between church and state. In Greece, 98 percent of the population identifies as Greek Orthodox, which is closely related to Greek identity (Grigoropoulou and Chryssochoou, 2011). Similarly, in Cyprus, more than 80 percent of the population identify as Greek Orthodox.…”

“Making the Invisible Visible”: Intelligent Recovery Monitoring of Aortic Arch Repair Surgery Proposal

“…The increase in these new movements potentiates the decline in religious compromise of people, leading to associations and identities that are progressively ephemeral, and that sometimes, convert religion into a type of pragmatic utilitarianism (Taylor 1998). There are cases, however, in which the religious experience of minority groups develops a routine, an institutional, doctrinal and liturgical adaptation over time, leading to a process of expansion (Grigoropoulou and Chryssochoou 2011;Mariz 2004). Sometimes the religion is used to define the boundaries of group identities and relationships, to include or exclude people and to enhance or block cooperation (Lichterman 2008).…”