Religiocentric Expression, Intolerance, and Conflict between Majority and Minority Ethnic Groups in Bangladesh

Using Social Psychological perspectives we analyze how religiocentric expression influences conflict via intolerant behavior between majority and minority ethnic groups in Bangladesh. In so doing, a total of 555 men (majority group n = 140, minority group n= 415) were randomly selected from northwestern villages of Bangladesh. The descriptive results revealed that Muslim and Hindu men had relatively higher scores on religiocentric expression and intolerance than Santal and Oraon men were significantly related to conflict. The results from SPSS Process Macro 4 suggested that higher level of intolerance of the Muslim and Hindu men than the Santal and Oraon men partially mediated the associations between religiocentric expression and conflict, after accounting for sociodemographic characteristics. Interreligious intolerance is an important mediator by which religiocentric expression induces conflict between majority and minority groups in Bangladesh. Future directions for public policy and research are discussed.