Attitudes and Attitude Change Following Intergroup Contact of Religious and Nonreligious Students in Israel

Summary

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mutual perceptions and attitudes of religious and nonreligious students in Israel and to evaluate attitudinal outcomes of contact between these two groups in a religious-oriented university. Four hundred and eighteen religious and nonreligious male and female undergraduates responded to a multidimensional questionnaire inquiring about their preferences, attitudes, and perceptions regarding their respective in- and outgroups. The results indicated a clear ingroup preference of each group, with an almost total rejection of the outgroup when activities of a more intimate nature were involved. Under these conditions it was not surprising that no change in preference, attitude, or perception was found for each group towards the other as a result of intergroup contact of one or two years' duration.