A mediational analysis of the role of right-wing authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism in the religiosity–prejudice link

Most religions teach tolerance; however, dimensions of religiousness and prejudice are often positively related. This study examined whether rigid ideological beliefs associated with religion, such as right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and religious fundamentalism (RF), mediate relationships between general religiosity and certain prejudices. Participants completed self-report measures of RWA, RF, homosexual prejudice, and racial prejudice. State-of-the-art mediation path analysis and structural equation modeling were used to test the mediational effects of RWA and RF on the religiosity–prejudice relationship. Components of RWA and RF fully mediated the relationship between religiosity and prejudice. RF was the strongest mediator of value-violating prejudice, and RWA aggression solely mediated the relationship between religiosity and subtle racism. Cognitively rigid ideologies may be responsible for the appearance of a religiosity–prejudice relationship.