Religious Fundamentalism and Perception of Group Norms as Predictors of Radical Action Intention

Abstract

We aimed at exploring the interplay between fundamentalism and perception of group norms in predicting willingness to join radical group actions. We conducted three studies in two countries to examine the relationship between religious fundamentalism (RF), general religiosity, and support for radical actions on behalf of various social movements. Three studies (N1 = 305, N2 = 251, and N3 = 137) show positive relation between religious fundamentalism and willingness to engage in radical action in favor of the right‐wing and antivaccine movements. The significant interaction between RF and perception of group norms has also been found: RF was linked to radical action intention at the high level of radical group norms’ perception. We discussed possible explanations of these results and future avenues for research.