Denomination, Religiosity and Anti-Immigrant Attitudes in Europe: Comparative Evidence from the European Social Survey

This study investigates the relationship between individual religiosity and attitudes towards immigrants of different religious backgrounds in Europe. Using data from the 7th wave of the European Social Survey (2014-2015), we examine the influence of individual denomination and subjective religiosity level on hostility towards Muslim immigrants and the importance of immigrants’ Christian background. Our analysis, guided by social identity theory and religious compassion theory, reveals mixed support for these theoretical frameworks. While Christians and individuals with higher levels of subjective religiosity value a Christian immigrant background more than their non-religious counterparts, neither denomination nor subjective religiosity level significantly influence attitudes towards Muslim immigrants. We also conduct an exploratory analysis which shows that country-level average religiosity and prevalent denomination do not directly affect the dependent variables but leverage the effect of subjective religiosity on both. These findings suggest that, in the European context, religious social identity and religious compassion may operate selectively, influencing attitudes based on perceived religious closeness and potentially being shaped by broader societal factors.