The Role of Barrier Crossing Leadership in the Promotion of Religious Freedom

This study replicates and extends Kavanagh et al.'s 2023 seven-country research, highlighting the correlation between support for religious freedom and ingroup identification and vivid recall of pivotal ingroup events. The original research linked group psychology with support for leaders bridging sectarian divides but relied on online data. This study administered the survey instrument in person with 1,506 individuals in The Gambia, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Uganda. In line with theoretical models, we found that group identification, identity fusion, and vivid recall of an ingroup event positively correlate with barrier-crossing leadership and support for religious freedom. Crucially, vivid recall of religious experiences and the reported impact on personal and group identity were found to be associated with broad support for religious freedom. These findings suggest the possibility that recalling religious experiences could be leveraged to help promote mutual respect and interfaith harmony. This research helps to clarify prior findings and suggests new approaches for fostering religious tolerance.