CHURCH INVOLVEMENT, INDIVIDUALISM, AND ETHNIC PREJUDICE AMONG FLEMISH ROMAN-CATHOLICS - NEW EVIDENCE OF A MODERATING EFFECT

Previous exploratory research among Flemish Roman Catholics has shown that church involvement and membership in voluntary organizations have a moderating effect on ethnic prejudice via the negative effect on anomie. This new study with a random sample of 1,650 Flemish Catholics largely confirms previous findings and provides new insights. The moderating effect of church involvement on ethnic prejudice is explained by the negative effect of church involvement on utilitarian individualism and on the feeling of political powerlessness. It is argued that these effects can be ascribed to the humanistic values of "socio-cultural Christianity" as transmitted by weekly sermons and by the christian social organizations and schools in Flanders (Belgium). Moreover, social integration into the community counters feelings of powerlessness.