Abstract
Identities of religious believers can motivate believers’ passions, emotions, and action tendencies. Religious identity-based passion can, therefore, lead people to identify with certain kinds of movements, both peaceful and extremist. Around the globe, identities of religious minorities provide a compelling context for studying peaceful and extremist activism driven by passion. Building on previous literature on social identity theory, passion, and religious identity, it was hypothesized that religious identity predicts passion of both types: Harmonious Passion (HP) and Obsessive Passion (OP). It was proposed that people who were harmoniously passionate about their religious identity would promote peaceful activism whereas people who were obsessively passionate would promote hatred and extremism. A sample of 221 devout Shias (a religious minority) from Pakistan participated in the survey-based experiment of this study (males = 108, females = 113; ages ranging from 19 to 38 years, Mage = 22, SD = 2.13; experimental condition = 111, control condition = 110). The results supported the key hypotheses of the study: identification with a minority (Shia Identity) leads to both Harmonious Passion (HP) and Obsessive Passion (OP); when the Shia Identity was threatened, HP and OP scores were lower. Furthermore, HP predicted peaceful activism whereas, under a threat to identify, OP increased and showed a significantly higher violent stance, predicting religious extremism. These findings support the assumption that HP leads to Peaceful Activism, whereas OP is associated with increased support for Extremism and Hatred. The results of this study replicated existing theoretical and empirical predictions about passion pathways and threats to religious identity. The implications of the findings are discussed in the context of contemporary identity threats and activism strategies among Muslim minorities in Pakistan.
Keywords
Introduction
Scholars of Social Identity Theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1979) propose that our emotions, action tendencies, and behaviors are influenced by the circumstances and status of the groups we identify with and feel part of. Social Identity Theory suggests that individuals form their identities through membership in various social categories based on different types of identification, which also shape a person’s behavior and self-concept (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Group identification predicts motivations and passions for action tendencies, taking actions against anger, and feelings of injustice expressed toward the ingroup, particularly when the ingroup is a minority or intergroup dynamics are salient (e.g., Mackie et al., 2000; Turner, 1999; van Zomeren et al., 2004). Additionally, the social status and nature of the group may influence the strength of an individual’s identification with their groups and the extent to which they will support and defend their group members (Anjum et al., 2019; van Zomeren et al., 2008).
The primary marker of social identity processes is being a member of a religious, socio-political group. Scholarship in SIT tradition argues that identification with a group means that any threat to the group identity affects the social identity of the person as well (Branscombe et al., 1999). Identity threat has mostly been seen as a phenomenon pertinent to Muslim minorities living in the West or those who have recently migrated there. The issue of identity threat has been at the center of recent large-scale immigration to Europe which has led researchers to explore dynamics of religious diversity in the West (see Destatis, 2016; Fleischmann et al., 2019).
In a given social context, the more salient the identities of groups are, the members of these groups identify more strongly with their identities and related behavioral actions. Therefore, when members experience any form of injustice, feelings of perceived threat and injustice become more salient. Previous research has shown that perceived threats and collective action tendencies are particularly higher among Muslim minorities living in the West, as many Muslims see themselves as part of a unified religious community that transcends national borders (Obaidi et al., 2019). While the focus of research on immigrant groups is extremely relevant, it is also necessary to delve into and expand upon the limited research that exists on countries that are not Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Developed (non-WEIRD) nations and the looming threat to the identity of religious minorities that exists as a sect of a larger religious identity.
The influence of religion and religious identification in Pakistan is radically conservative because of the history of the country. Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world that were founded on a strong religious ideology. During Pakistan Movement, the dominant narrative was that Pakistan will be homeland for Indian Muslims. Jinnah claimed that since the Muslims of British India identified as members of a distinct religious community hence, they were rightfully the bearers of a separate political identity (Shaikh, 2009) In the Pakistani society, such identities are mainly based on religious sects, ethnic backgrounds, and linguistic differences.
Scholarship on identity research in Muslim countries is limited. However, it does indicate that national narratives in some of these countries are highly Islamized and rigid, and they do not differentiate between national and Islamic values (Anjum, 2020). A prominent example of a religious identity that is often in political and social debates is the Muslim minority sect in Pakistani society is the Shia sect. Sunni Muslims constitute the Muslim majority of the Pakistani population, while Shias are the most prominent Muslim minority. Historically, there has been much resentment and conflict between the Shia and Sunni religious identities, where the Shia sect has experienced the threat of having Shiism denounced as heresy, had their loyalties toward the state questioned, have been threatened with violence and loss of lives. While the source of sectarian conflict lies in the social and economic grievances endured during the Partition of colonial India in 1947, it was only in the 1980s that sectarian hatred became commonplace under Zia-Ul-Haq’s Islamization policies and the Iranian revolution (Grare, 2007). The hierarchy of different sects and the complexity of passion behind their religious and social identities provides context to our research on ideological passion.
Passion for a religious ideology is a strong motivator that inspires movements. To mobilize people and fulfil the objectives of a movement, ideologically inclined people, such as Shia activists, may incorporate strategies that are either peaceful or extremist (N. Khan & Smith, 2003). The point of interest here is to identify the factors that lead ideologically inclined people to choose either aggressive activism or peaceful activism. Passion is defined as a strong inclination towards an activity that people like, that is important to them, and in which they invest considerable time and energy (Vallerand, 2017; Vallerand et al., 2003). Building on this framework, Ideological Passion is defined as a loved, valued, and self-defining cause, ideology, or group in which people invest considerable time and energy (Rip et al., 2012).
Harmonious Passion (HP) and Obsessive Passion (OP)
The duality inherent in the empirical work on passion and its various conceptions is consolidated in the Dual Model of Passion (DMP, Vallerand, 2017; Vallerand et al., 2003). The DMP posits that there exist two distinct types of passion: harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP). Harmonious Passion arises from a self-determining internalization of a valued activity into the person’s identity, which happens in situation where they have the freedom to appreciate and cherish that activity without any internal or external pressure (Mageau et al., 2009; Vallerand et al., 2003). Previously, researchers have shown that HP is meaningfully associated with adaptive and positive cognitive, affective, relational, and behavioral outcomes (Vallerand et al., 2010; Vallerand, 2015).
Conversely, OP is associated with rigidity even when engagement is detrimental to other motivations and goals of the person (Vallerand et al., 2003). Researchers have shown that obsessive passion involves both interpersonal and intrapersonal pressures as the desire to engage in the activity is not under an individual’s control and there is an absence of controlled, autonomous internalization of passion directed activity. Rather the premise of the internalization process for OP is such that the activity becomes part of the self-based on external pressures and contingencies that come with the activity as opposed to the simple pleasure of engaging with a valued activity in HP (Bouizegarene et al., 2017; Mageau et al., 2009; Vallerand et al., 2003). The distinguishing factor between OP and HP is autonomy. Mageau et al. (2009) by means of three studies showed that children and teenagers whose environment supports their autonomy are more likely to develop harmonious passion, while children value specialization in a single activity as their parents value their activity and in turn, the child relies heavily on the activity for self-definition (Mageau et al., 2009; Vallerand et al., 2003).
For obsessive passion the pressures can result from incidents that are directly related to the valued activity, feelings related to social approval, the feelings of extraordinary excitement that are a byproduct of the activity, or even the environment that render self-perception as socially dominant (Mageau et al., 2009; Vallerand et al., 2003).
Research that has focused on passion in different cherished activities has contributed as evidence and lends support to the dualism in passion. Since harmonious passion promotes the process of internalization (Deci & Ryan, 2000) of passionate activity by individuals, it secures the person from self or social identity threat. The pathway to internalization is guided by activation of a seemingly threatening situation or information that challenges the self or identity. Many times, the way out of the threat is internalization through rationalizations or actions that can negate the challenges or threats to the self. Both constant rationalization and suitable actions facilitate internalization and endorse one’s own identity (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2008). This means that the individual’s conceptualization of the self is maintained as morally adequate; that is, good, kind, noble, stable, etc.
On the other hand, since obsessive passion promote controlled internalization of cherished activity (see Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2008) individuals come to develop ego-invested self-concepts, that is, their sense of self-worth starts depending largely on success in passionate activity (Naydanova & Beal, 2016) which leads to rigid and persistent involvement in the activity. In essence, it is counterintuitive but pervasive because despite the fact that the individuals like to engage in the passionate activity, they are troubled by an uncontrollable urge to participate in a conflicted form of task engagement (Vallerand et al., 2010). In a sense, the passion for the activity controls the person (Bouizegarene et al., 2017). Such an engagement may prevent the person from being fully focused on the task; it will also counter the experience of positive affect and satisfaction with the task. It is likely to even facilitate negative affect, such as burnout, during engagement with the task. Over time, it may weaken other sources of the person’s identification and make the individual more vulnerable to identity threats and feelings of insecurity (Junot et al., 2017).
In obsessive passion, the person may experience an internally driven urge which leads to engage in the activity despite not liking it. This leads the person to experience negative emotions during the activity, and feelings of shame and guilt for participating in an activity so passionately when in reality the person feels an aversion to it (e.g., Ho & Pollack, 2014). OP has also been found to be positively associated with threat susceptibility, and conflict between one’s passion and other life domains (Bouizegarene et al., 2017). An example of harmonious passion in terms of dancing would be that the person feels a strong love for and places high value on dancing. It is very likely that this person would engage in dancing for their personal pleasure and not to compensate for any unfulfilled need (e.g., gaining popularity at college because of dancing).
Passion and Identity Threat
According to Vallerand et al. (2010), an obsessively passionate person indulges in an uncontrolled internalization of passionate activity, they evaluate their self-worth based on their passionate activity. This makes the person dependent on their passion and results in aggression and neglect of other activities in life (Naydanova & Beal, 2016; Vallerand et al., 2010). This neglect causes the person to miss out on other basis of identification and attachment which leads the person to develop a vulnerable (more prone to threat) and yet a strong identity which is largely dominated by their passionate activity (Vallerand, 2015). On the other hand, harmoniously passionate person indulges in an autonomous internalization of the passionate activity hence this person remains open to ongoing experiences and is open to integrate new experiences to their self-concept (Hodgins & Knee, 2002). This openness causes the person to develop self-harmony and a secure and invulnerable sense of identity over time.
Ellemers et al. (2002) examine group commitment from a social identity perspective and discuss the motives of the self that come into play in the presence of a threat to the group identity. They found that group level threat to the group value results in perceptual, affective, and behavioral responses by individuals who have high group commitment. These responses may be aimed at maintaining group distinctiveness, reasserting group value by displaying stronger group affiliation at a collective level and showing a readiness for collective action. Group distinctiveness when paired with high commitment, shown by obsessively passionate individuals may even lead to displays of hatred and disgust toward another group. Therefore, intergroup differentiation can cultivate negative traits and/or behaviors in highly committed individuals (Ellemers et al., 2002).
In another study (Donahue et al., 2009), harmoniously passionate and obsessively passionate athletes were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: self-threat and self-affirmation. It was found that under self-threat, obsessively passionate players reported higher levels of aggressive behavior than harmoniously passionate players. Data from later research has supported the assumptions about the duality of passion and specific outcome findings (Philippe et al., 2009a; Vallerand et al., 2008) indicating that compared with harmonious passion, obsessive passion leads to interpersonal aggression. Furthermore, this is largely applicable in contexts where there is a heightened perception of a symbolic threat to one’s sense of identity. Moreover, in a study which simulated driving (Philippe et al., 2009b), people who are obsessively passionate about driving were made to follow a slow driver which resulted in anger and aggression as per self-report.
Particularly relevant to the testing of the dual passion model, and hence related to the context of the present study, the relationship between the type of passion (harmonious passion or obsessive passion) and aggression was also studied in the context of sports (Lucidi et al., 2016). Results of the study showed that those athletes who are predominantly obsessively passionate for basketball reported higher levels of aggression than athletes who were identified as having harmonious passion for the game. However, research on Minority literature in Muslim majority countries is scarce.
Studies that are particularly vital and closely related to the present study include research by Rip et al. (2012, Study 2). This research tested the dual passion model that was tested in the context of religious minorities in Canada. In this research, two studies showed that harmonious passion is partly associated with peaceful activism, whereas obsessive passion partly engenders hatred and aggressive extremism in identity-threatening circumstances. Both studies, although conducted with different political and religious groups concluded the same findings. Study 1 was conducted with nationalist activists and study 2 was conducted with devout Muslims. Findings of this research suggest that People who are obsessively ideologically passionate are proposed to become aggressive and hateful in social identity-threatening circumstances between groups, whereas people motivated by harmonious ideological passion are proposed to stay nonaggressive (Rip et al., 2012, Study 2).
The theory and research of minority identity and relative deprivation has argued that discrimination against minorities contributes to the outbreak of violent conflict (Gurr, 1993, 2000). However, to the best of our knowledge, to date, scholars and researchers investigating the nexus between discrimination, and violent behavioral intentions have predominantly focused on racial and ethnic conflicts. This has confined their research focus and studies to ethnic minorities, while neglecting religious minorities (e.g., Cederman et al., 2010; Gurr, 2000; Wimmer et al., 2009; Wucherpfennig et al., 2012). Only a few recent empirical studies have paid more attention to religious minorities (e.g., Basedau et al., 2015; Fox, 2013; Fox et al., 2019). While it is possible for religious and ethnic minorities to overlap, they are not identical. For instance, Hazara and Ismaili communities living in Pakistan are often perceived as Muslims from an external viewpoint; however, within the country, they are seen and treated as distinct ethnic and religious minorities. However, the political attitudes and behavioral tendencies for peaceful and violent activism among minorities are a missing link.
Research Within Muslim Majority Countries
Research within Muslim majority countries remains limited especially psychological research on Muslims minority sects such as Shias remains unexplored. This issue has been researched from the perspective of victimization of Shias. For instance, Zaidi (2016) has examined that the Pakistani media’s coverage of violence against Shia victims is highly biased. Their protests, as well as violence against them, are portrayed without correct identification. They are seldom identified as Shia for their peaceful protests or when they are subject to violence whereas Sunni victims are always identified as Sunni. Shia victims are usually reported as “people”, “men”, “pilgrims,” or “Hazaras” but never as Shias (Zaidi, 2016, p. 96). Researchers have also shown that feelings of injustice and perceived threat to identity and perceived deprivation leads to hatred and violent intentions among Muslim Minorities living in the West (e.g., Obaidi et al., 2019). Other research has shown that such perceived threats and injustices are more pertinent to Muslim youth (Anjum et al., 2016, 2018).
Abou Zahab (2020) discusses the radicalization of militant groups in Pakistan, who have become increasingly autonomous in their actions while maintaining close ties with the country’s intelligence elite, the ISI. To regain control over these groups, the ISI has either orchestrated a split in their ranks or created new rival groups. The chapter traces the roots of this radicalization to General Zia ul-Haq’s conservative re-Islamization policy and the patronage of mainstream political parties, which have played a significant role in the rise of sectarianism in Pakistan. The chapter also describes how state actors, foreign powers, and local players have contributed to the problem, highlighting the need for a multi-scalar approach to address religious radicalization in Pakistan.
One study by Duraesa and Ahyar (2021) explored the rise of Islamic activism and its connection to the proliferation of incorporating Islamic identity symbols. This research specifically focused on the emergence of an online movement, which promotes Islamic discourse using popular styles familiar to millennials. Using a socio-political approach, including ethnographic fieldwork and data obtained from the movement’s Instagram accounts, the researchers found a relationship between Islamic discourse promoted by Islamic activists and popular cultural narratives. They concluded that the phenomenon of peaceful millennial Islamic movements in Indonesia can be understood through Islamic compassionate activism, which is characterized by the use of popular culture and the creation of a common Islamic identity through the concept of hijra. This study shows that HP can be promoted through common Islamic identity.
Although education is generally seen as a tool to deradicalize youth, the impact of higher education on political behavior can be quite different in authoritarian contexts where opportunities for conventional political participation are limited or non-existent. The study by Asadzade (2022) argues that higher education encourages violent revolutionary activism due to the easier recruitment of individuals through social networks, and the increased expectations for political participation where opportunities for institutionalized activity are scarce. The study uses an original dataset of Iranian armed revolutionary activists in the 1960s and 1970s to explore this argument, using a mixed-methods approach of quantitative and qualitative sources. The findings suggest that higher education significantly increases the likelihood of individuals participating in violent activism against authoritarianism.
In Pakistan, a Taliban militant named Abuzar killed 132 children and 12 teachers at a school before waiting for the army, killing many of them, and then blowing himself up. Abuzar and six other gunmen followed these instructions and carried out the suicide bombings. This type of religion based obsessive violent extremism has been used by various Islamist groups including al-Qaeda, Taliban, Boko Haram, the Islamic State (IS), and al-Shabaab. Driven by an obsessive passion to promote their religious and political motives, these groups have carried out high-profile attacks all around the world (I. Khan, 2014).
A crucial missing link in the literature on passion is that HP is not explicitly stated as a form of resilience because having higher levels of HP have been associated with peaceful activism in previous research. In this research we will also see if HP as a form of resilience on its own, although the term itself nor the previous literature features it as a form of resilience as such despite it being a growing field of interest in the context of religious extremism. Thus, it is possible that if people are engaged with HP more often than OP this controlled internalization of HP may have the capacity to creates resilience to threat, which should theoretically make individuals less susceptible to the impact of external threats to their religious identity.
The Present Study
An important rationale for working within the Pakistani context is the pressing issue of oppression against religious minorities that needs to be addressed. Religious minorities, such as the Shia and Hazara communities, face discrimination and violence on a regular basis. The government and society need to recognize and address these injustices in order to promote equality and justice for all citizens. Failure to address these issues can lead to further marginalization, violence, and instability in the country. By addressing oppression against minorities, Pakistan can move toward becoming a more inclusive and tolerant society, promoting peace and harmony for all its citizens.
Since the 1990s, clashes between the Shia minority and Sunni majority in Pakistan have been on the rise. These clashes have now spread to all provinces of Pakistan becoming particularly severe in the cities Karachi and Quetta (see Kabir, 2016; Zaidi, 2016) where peaceful protests as well as violent retaliation have been on the rise in the recent years. Today, sectarian violence is extremely high in the Pakistani provinces of Balochistan and Sindh, with the Hazara community being especially affected (Yousafzai, 2017).
In 2017, Parachinar, a Shia-dominated town, experienced destabilization due to Shia-Sunni conflict, evidenced by four incidents of suicide bombings which claimed the lives of many people but mainly those belonging to the Shia sect (Dawn, 2017). These killings lead to various peaceful but prolonged protests by Shia community in Parachinar (Dawn, 2017). Bloodshed of Shia community and their protests against the genocide of Shia and especially Hazara community continue till today. As of 2021, when this paper is being written, thousands of Hazaras are currently protesting the killings of Hazara miners in Quetta. These miners were slain earlier this year (Dawn, 2021). It is notable that Hazara community and most other Shia minority members have always staged only peaceful protests and have not responded with violence against the state. Their ideology as a community of Shia has only inspired peaceful movements in Pakistan. There are two aims of the present study. The first purpose is to test if the type of ideological passion, either harmonious or obsessive passion, is linked with the endorsement of distinct activism tactics: peaceful religious activism or aggressively extremist and radical form of religious activism. This will be tested in two conditions: social identity-threatening and non-threatening situations: naturally occurring and contextually salient. The second purpose is to test if the type of ideological passion (harmonious passion vs. obsessive passion) regulates the influence of social identity threat on the choice people make of activist tactics, either peaceful or extremist, via the intermediary of hatred by an outgroup. Outgroup would be any group of people who do not belong to the same ideological group as the participants.
A key feature of this paper is the fact that it attempts to link passion with religious activism in a non-WEIRD and collectivistic culture where religious passion is a dominant narrative in both private and public spheres. Only a limited number of studies have done so (e.g., Rip et al., 2012). Second, the study is conducted in a Muslim majority country where some sects of Muslims are treated as minority and their identity is often under threat. This study offers the first experimental exploration of perceptions of sectarian identity threat within a Muslim-majority country. For this study, the sample was composed of self-identified Shia Muslims, a minority group in Sunni-majority Pakistan. To our knowledge, this study represents the first attempt to replicate the dual passion model using a Muslim minority sample within a Muslim-majority country that identifies as an Islamic Republic.
Method
Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were developed and tested in the study:
Hypothesis 1: Both types of passion (HP and OP) will be directly and positively associated with Shia Identity.
Hypothesis 2: HP will be positively associated with peaceful religious activism, whereas OP will be positively associated with hatred and religious extremism.
Hypothesis 3: Threat to Shia identity will lead to lower HP and Peaceful activism, whereas this threat will lead to higher OP, Hatred, and Extremism.
Hypothesis 4: Hatred will mediate the relationship between OP, Identity Threat, and Shia-Identity as predictors and extremist activism.
Sample and Procedure
The study sample comprised a total of 221 devout Shia Muslims (males = 108, females = 113) who participated in this survey-based experiment. Their ages ranged from 19 to 38 years, with a mean age of 22 years and a standard deviation of 2.13. The participants were divided into an experimental condition (n = 111) and a control condition (n = 110). The minimum sample size required by an a-priori power analysis using G*Power was N = 128 to detect an effect of △R2 = .05 with 2/10 tested predictors, 1 – β = .80, therefore, our sample size was large enough for prescribed analysis (N = 221). Participants were randomly assigned to the two conditions based on a random ordered generated through computerized list. In total 230 participants completed the survey, however, surveys from 9 participants were incomplete, their failed-on attention test or did not give their consent, their data was eliminated from the final data and analysis. All participants identified as Shia Muslims and were self-reportedly passionate and highly involved in religious activities. Due to the nature of passionate group identity, we had to use convenience sampling for which various Islamic centers, Madrassa’s of Karachi, and various online centers were reached out. The participants filled a structured survey that was designed from the scales mentioned in the following section. The survey, originally in English language, was also translated into Urdu language to accommodate the participants according to their preferred language. In order to avoid demand characteristics and responses that are self-conscious, participants were assured that their responses will remain completely anonymous and were told that the purpose of the study was just to see how people who are devout experience their religiosity. The research questionnaire did not refer to Shia Muslims directly and specifically, instead, it referred to “my religious involvement” in general. Participants’ age was kept above 18 years but aimed to target across a range of different ages. Snowball sampling technique was used to collect the sample due to the sensitive nature of the study. Even though there was a lot of variation, participants generally showed high dedication toward religion, reflected through the average number of hours spent in religious involvement per week.
Study Design and Materials
The study included a between-subjects experimental design such that each participant only filled one of the two conditions of the survey. In one form, we presented our participants only the survey (control condition: no threat was induced) whereas in the second (experimental condition) the participants were presented with a short description (induced threat to their identity). This identity threat was created as a replicable experimental manipulation, adapted to the Shia minority’s religious and political context in Pakistan. Participants were randomly assigned to the two conditions and after measuring ideological passion. Participants were given either a questionnaire for controlled condition or the experimental condition using a random draw of questionnaire from the pile that was ordered in a pairwise sequence of control and experiment. Participants in the control condition completed only the survey, while those in the experimental condition were exposed to a description stating, ‘Muslim minorities in Pakistan are often attacked by the majority’. For example, the following quote by a scholar says: Jafari fiqh is not accepted as a sound school of law by Sunni scholarship.
It was assumed that Shia Muslims would find the passage disrespectful to their sect’s faith, therefore, a detailed ethical approval of the study was ensured. For this purpose, two Ethical Review Board members provided feedback and conducted an ethical review of the manipulations and scales. It was important for our study because religion is a sensitive matter in Pakistan. Furthermore, to ensure that no psychological harm was caused to the participants, at the end of the study each participant was debriefed about the nature of the study and researchers’ goals. After the experimental manipulation, the survey included the following scales:
Passion for Islam
The Passion for Islam Scale (Vallerand et al., 2003) was adapted and used to assess religious ideological passion. All items were which were rated on a 7-point scale (1 = do not agree at all to 7 = very strongly agree). The scale composed of two subscales of religious passion. The first assessed harmonious passion HP (e.g., item: “My religious involvement balances well with other activities in my life”), and the other assessed obsessive passion—OP (e.g., item: “My religious involvement is so exciting that sometimes I lose control”).
Shia Muslim Identity
The Muslim identity scale items were adapted from Rip et al. (2012). Three Likert item scales were used to measure the extent to which participants see their passion for religious identity as their personal identity. All items were which were rated on a 7-point scale (1 = do not agree at all to 7 = very strongly agree; example item: “My religion defines me as a person”).
Peaceful Activism and Extremism
An adapted version of a list of 12 religiously motivated actions was used. All items were adapted from Rip et al. (2012). Both forms of activisms were measured on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all acceptable) to 7 (completely acceptable). Six items assessed Peaceful Activism (e.g., item: “It is acceptable for me to participate in a peaceful speech condemning any attack on sacred religious things”) whereas the remaining six items assessed Religious Extremism (e.g., item: “It is acceptable for me to participate in the reconciliation of believers from various religions of the world”).
Hatred
Hatred was measured using a questionnaire based on anger and hate toward outgroup. The scale was self-report on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = not at all to 5 = extremely; example items: “I feel hateful,”“I feel angry”). The scale was adapted from Vallerand et al. (2008).
Our supplementary materials and data are available at OSF at this webpage: https://osf.io/7zacw/?view_only=b0d344d69c5241a2961bb0928b56264e. All variables were found reliable (r > 0.69) and hence were acceptable for the purpose of data analyses.
Results
IBM-SPSS 25 was used for analyzing the data. All statistical analyses reported in this section were conducted with a sample of 221 participants. Before exploring the key hypotheses of the study, the reliability and intercorrelations of all variables –Shia Identity, Harmonious Passion, Obsessive Passion, Peaceful Activism, Extremism, and Hatred –were analyzed. As presented in Table 1 the mean scores (M), standard deviations (SD), and reliability coefficients (r) of all the measured variables. Further analyses were done to test our research hypotheses and some post-hoc explorations. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, and intercorrelations between scales are summarized in Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics, Reliability Analysis, and Pearson Correlations (N = 221).
Note: The items of HP and OP loaded on two separate factors; Reliability: (Cronbach’s alpha).
p < .01. *p < .05.
To test Hypothesis 1, which posits that both types of passion (HP and OP) will be directly and positively associated with Shia Identity, simple regression analyses were conducted. The results indicated that Shia Identity positively and significantly predicts both HP and OP (F (2, 218) = 159.47, p < .001). Hypothesis 1 was supported because our findings show that participants with higher Shia Identity had higher HP as well as OP. However interestingly, the prediction for HP was stronger (β = .57***) than OP (β = .29***) among the participants of this study. Data relevant to this analysis is presented in Table 2 and Model 1. To test Hypothesis 2 –which posits that HP will be positively associated with peaceful religious activism, while OP will be positively associated with religious extremism and hatred –multiple regression analyses were conducted. OP negatively predicted Peaceful Activism whereas HP for Islam positively associated with participant’s involvement in peaceful Islamic activism (see Model-2 and Model 4 in Table 2). In the subsequent analyses, OP was positively associated with religious extremism and hatred, whereas HP was negatively and weakly associated with participant’s involvement in Extremism and Hatred (see Models 3 and 4 in Table 2).
Summary of Multiple Regression Analysis for predicting Shia Identity, Peaceful Activism, Extremism and Hatred from HP and OP (N = 221).
Note: B = unstandardized beta; β = standardized beta; SE = standard error.
p < .001. *p < .05
Analysis for Hypothesis 3, that threat to Shia identity will lead to lower HP and Peaceful activism, whereas this threat will lead to higher OP and Extremism and Hatred, our findings support this assumption. As shown in Table 3, threat perception has strong and statistically significant impact on all outcome variable. The results of the effect of experimental manipulations (Experimental = Threat to identity vs. Control = No threat to identity), independent sample T-tests and General Linear Model with Multivariate and Post-Hoc analyses were conducted. In the experimental condition the two groups were compared as the one exposed to identity threat (n = 111) and the control group which was not exposed to identity threat (n = 110). As shown below, compared to control condition, under the threat to their identity participants reported significantly lower HP, higher OP, stronger Shia identity, and higher Extremism and Hatred scores. Except for Peaceful activism all differences were significant such that the threat manipulation had a strong impact on participants’ scores. The relevant data is presented in Table 3.
Independent Samples t-test for the Experimental Condition (Control vs. Threat).
Note: N = 221, Control condition/ no identity threat = 110, Experiential condition/ identity threat = 111; df = 219.
The last hypothesis of the study was that HP would directly predict Peaceful activism whereas OP will lead to Religious Extremism. Furthermore, the relationship between OP and religious extremism was mediated by Hatred. To test a holistic model, HP, OP, Identity Threat, and Shia Identity were used as endogenous variables in SEM modeling. To this end, we used the SPSS-add-on AMOS to test a mediational model (for the standardized solution see Figure 1). The path analysis was conducted using the covariance matrix and maximum likelihood estimations. Our results showed a satisfactory fit for the model, as illustrated by the following fit indices: χ2(7) = 10.56, p = .15, normed χ2/df = 1.51, GFI = 0.98, CFI = 0.99, NFI = 0.97, TLI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.08, RMSEA = 0.04. Standardized correlation residuals were all smaller than .10, indicating adequate fit for the hypothesized model.
The role of harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion, identity threat, religious identity in the endorsement of peaceful activism, and religious extremism (N = 221).
Lastly, independent samples t-tests were conducted to compare the mean scores of males and females on HP and OP, Shia Identity, Peaceful Activism, Religious Extremism, and Hatred. The analyses showed that there were no significant differences between the scores for females in HP, OP, Shia Identity, Peaceful Activism, Hatred, and Religious Extremism. There was also no significant difference in mean scores; all p values for both conditions were greater than 0.05.
Discussion
The Dual Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) suggests that passion can develop either harmoniously, providing psychological benefits, or obsessively, causing psychological harm. This study aimed to test the applicability and relevance of the dual model of passion (DMP) to ideological passion and related activism, both peaceful and extremist. By situating our findings in the group identity model of SIT (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), this study addressed the research gap on passionate samples within intergroup process literature (Rip et al., 2012) and identity threat literature (Steele et al., 2002) by testing the model on a religious minority in Pakistan. The study aimed to demonstrate that people who have a stable religious identity and a distinctive ideological passion type are differentially motivated in their choice of religious activist tactics (peaceful or extremist) depending on the stability or threat to their religious identity. The results showed that both types of passion (HP and OP) were directly and positively associated with Shia Identity proving that Hypothesis 1 was supported. Similar support was found for Hypothesis 2; HP was positively associated with peaceful religious activism, whereas OP was positively associated with religious extremism and hatred. These findings demonstrate how the Dual Model of Passion (DMP) can be applied to both Harmonious Passion and Obsessive Passion, which are ideologically driven (Rip et al., 2012). Previous studies have used the dual model of passion on passionate activities (Amiot et al., 2006) and religious minorities living in the West (Rip et al., 2012), this study adds further support to the literature on ideological passion by applying it to religious minority in a non-Western country.
Regarding the experimental findings, Hypothesis 3 was supported in that a threat to Shia identity led to lower levels of HP and Peaceful activism. Conversely, a threat to group identity led to higher levels of OP, Extremism, and Hatred. Hence, these findings showed how the identity-threat manipulation provided noteworthy results when a person’s valued aspect of their social identity is threatened by an out-group it leads to expressions of negativity and anger. In this study, ‘hatred’ predicted the endorsement of extremist activist tactics (Hodgins & Knee, 2002). Furthermore, it was also shown that people who are harmoniously passionate for their religious ideology are also negatively affected by the identity threat manipulation but more importantly the prediction of an obsessively passionate person being explicitly hateful in the context of their group identity being under threat is noteworthy.
It is shown in the present study that just being part of the identity threat condition predicted hatred irrespective of the type of passion the individual possessed as both types of passion had a negative relationship with hate, individually. This can be because of two possible reasons. Firstly, it is possible that the participants might have felt compelled to rate their feelings on the negative end of the spectrum because the identity-threat manipulation came right before the questions asking about the feelings of the participant. The subjects may have felt that this is how they were expected to answer the question because otherwise there was no other cognitive evaluation to label one’s emotion at the time of filling out the questionnaire. Secondly, it is also possible that the type of passion predicts activism tactics. However, when one group faces hatred from an out-group which is supposedly the majority and powerful group (in this case the Sunni identity), hatred needs to be expressed but not necessarily acted upon (Prislin & Filson, 2009). Hatred was measured collectively with feeling threatened and feeling anger which could reflect the frustration of people at the constant battle between the two sects. It does not necessarily reflect intolerance.
Furthermore, Hypothesis 4 was supported because HP was associated with Peaceful activism whereas OP was associated with Religious Extremism through mediation via Hatred. These findings are crucial because they indicate that religious identity ignites both types of passion, but it is the kind of passion that one feels which predicts if a member of certain religious community will be engaged in peaceful activism, extremism, or hatred. These findings support and replicate conclusions by Rip et al. (2012). This finding explains why incidents involving hate directed toward religious minority groups (Akbar, 2017) show that some leaders opt for peaceful measures, while others prepare for violence.
On a theoretical note regarding the missing link in passion literature, the prediction that Harmonious Passion (HP) may serve as a form of resilience does not seem to be directly supported. It means that if people’s religious identity is threatened, their HP levels become lower. Hence even if they are engaged in HP they will still be impacted by threat to their identity and their peaceful activism will be lowered as a result. Therefore, the central hypothesis of the paper which argues that threat to social identity triggers a switch to both forms of passion stands. HP will predict peaceful activism, and OP will predict hate and religious extremism.
In Pakistan, religious leaders wield significant influence and their reactions to identity threats, as per the SIT (Tajfel & Turner, 1979), can determine whether their followers respond with peaceful or violent activism. This may override individuals’ personal views on a matter and lead them to follow the group’s response due to a desire to belong or the bandwagon effect. It is important to note that the extreme and obsessive passion-based activism is not necessarily indicative of the cognitive mechanisms of individuals who identify with a particular religious group. Instead, it may reflect the passion type that the religious leader encourages and instills in their followers. This finding has significant practical implications when selecting a leader for an ideological group. Rather than evaluating a leader based on the time and effort they invest in the cause, their competence should be assessed based on the type of passion they foster and encourage in their followers.
Additionally, this study presents a noteworthy differentiation in the categorization of religious individuals based on Social Identity Theory (SIT). Specifically, our findings demonstrate that religiosity alone does not necessarily lead to narrow-mindedness or extremist attitudes. Rather, the crucial factor in determining an individual’s extremist or harmonious stance toward religion is the type of passion they hold for it. As such, this implication holds significant importance for the context of Pakistan, as it can aid in the removal of labels associated with religious individuals, promote acceptance of diverse religious beliefs, and reduce stereotyping and subsequent discrimination. These findings further add to intergroup relations literature. For instance, previous research in this area focused more on the consequence of being a member of a particular group (Huddy, 2001). However, the current study addresses the development of identity suggesting that different types of internalization of a cherished ideology can lead to preference for qualitatively different activism tactics in social identity threatening situations.
This study holds important implications for Pakistan as a nation-state, given that religion has often been used as an ideological tool by political actors to gain public favor (Shaikh, 2009). In fact, the state narrative of Pakistan has been contested by Alavi (1983), who argues that religious factors did not motivate the creation of Pakistan, but rather it was driven by political and economic forces. Following independence, the absence of unity was rooted in a struggle over competing interpretations of Islam, with some considering it “corrupt” and others “reformed.” While Islam was intended to provide a shared national identity, it instead became a source of dissent and conflict (Shaikh, 2009). As such, the present study adds to the local literature on religious ideology, which is often the most deeply held passion among believers. Moreover, Pakistan is often ranked as one of the most dangerous countries in the world (Schwab et al., 2017) because of the violence and religious extremism prevalent in the country. The assassination of Salman Taseer—Governor of Punjab, and the mob “justice” of Mashal Khan are only some examples which have been brought to the limelight involving violence perpetrated by citizens in the name of religious passions (also see Akbar, 2017; Kamal, 2017). The reaction from the public in each of these cases has been largely divided between resorting to violence or taking peaceful and legal course of action. Therefore, this study is relevant because it offers insights into the internal factors that motivate violent behavior in Pakistan, especially when violence is employed to defend a threatened religious ideology. The differential preference for a violent or non-violent activist tactic found in Pakistan’s recent history could lend support to the literature on the role of passion as a motivating factor for choice of activist tactic.
The findings of this study address a critical question of why Shia minorities in Pakistan participate in peaceful activism, despite rising violence against them (Kabir, 2016; Zaidi, 2016). Even though many members of the Shia community, especially Hazaras, continue to be affected by sectarian violence attacks (Dawn, 2017; Yousafzai, 2017), their response may stem from their harmonious identity. The ongoing protest against the slain Hazara miners in Quetta (Dawn, 2021) supports this claim. However, while various Shia communities’ ideology may be driven by harmonious passion, their limits should not be tested. Instead, the state must protect them, rather than push them toward violent responses. Moreover, promoting harmonious passion and resulting peaceful activism may facilitate a reduction in violence. By practicing higher levels of harmonious passion and related activism, all groups can adapt to modernity. The minimization of obsessive passion could reduce extremist rhetoric, an identity mechanism that remains fixated on the past.
Limitations
A key limitation of this study was that a measure of action tendencies was not included in the questionnaire. Therefore, while analyzing the outcomes of the study, one cannot say for certain that it could imply actual behavioral tendencies of people. For example, the study gauged people’s judgment of appropriate activist tactic, it did not explore how one may behave in a situation where the person’s identity is threatened. Perhaps, if the study could be conducted in a bidirectional laboratory method so that the behavior could be observed in terms of action and not just perception, it would provide a more specific view.
The current design of the study also had a limitation related to social desirability. Since in a questionnaire the person filling it out is often trying to gauge what they are expected to answer, and they try to meet those expectations, it does not always reflect the real thoughts of the participants. Another weakness of the design, which was pointed out by the participants, after the survey was conducted as a part of the identity-threatening condition. The survey included questions where the person was expected to read a threatening paragraph and rate the intensity of feeling certain emotions. However, one cannot reduce their range of emotions to a specific category of limited choices in a survey. The survey included options that are to be expected when being exposed to negative and explicitly threatening stimuli, which can be seen as an example of a leading question.
Thirdly, the generalizability of these findings is limited because the demographics of the participants were not specific. While gender was almost balanced, the age of the participants was spread across teenagers to people in their fifties. This wider range of age does not account for the fact that youth is generally more passionate and impulsive in their reactions as compared to those who are older and much more sated to when they might have been younger. To bunch the ages under one umbrella could lead to a difference in the results. Another key limitation of the current study is that it does not account for the impact of this prolonged persecution on the ability to perceive threats. For instance, if the Shia, particularly the Hazara community, have been persecuted for an extended period, how do these protracted conflicts affect their perception of threats to their religious identity and influence their forms of activism?
Future Recommendations
The findings and limitations of this study provide multiple directions for future research that can be potentially fruitful. Firstly, if there is a possibility of a bi directionality in the causal relationship then it should be explored. The existence of causality that is bi-directional in nature could be established with a study that employs a cross-lagged panel design. For instance, in order to see what the cause factor is and what is the outcome factor future researcher can collect data for these groups and scales from a larger group of people at different points in time. Only such a design would ensure the change from time one to time two and real causal effects.
Another direction for future research could be to explore the actual behavior of people in an identity threatening situation, instead of the attitude toward threat which the current study focuses on. There are multiple possible mechanisms at play between expressing one’s attitude about reactive measures and carrying out the reactive measure. One may be able to accomplish this by carrying out a laboratory or a field experiment. In the field experiment, a confederate supposedly belonging to a religious group could approach the religious group for advice. The confederate could share an incident about being threatened for his religious identity, by a person from an outgroup. The confederate can then lead the group to discuss the best course of action to deal with the problem. This study may be ethically fragile as taking informed consent is not possible, however it should be ensured that the participants are debriefed, and their anonymity and confidentiality should be maintained. In a laboratory, emotional, physiological, and behavioral responses to the circumstances that threaten one’s identity can be observed. Understanding these long-term impacts and dynamics in the current and global context of other persecuted religious minorities could be an avenue for future research in this area. Moreover, future research may also investigate making an empirical and theoretical distinction between real and perceived identity threat erasing religious, political, and social reality among religious minorities.
Conducting studies on oppression against minorities in Pakistan has several implications not only for Shia minorities of Pakistan, but also for other minority communities such as Hindu and Parsi believers. Studies like this can help in raising awareness of the issues faced by minority groups and the discrimination and violence they experience. This can lead to increased public and government attention and action to address the problem. Secondly, it provides insight into the underlying causes and mechanisms of oppression, which can inform the development of effective strategies and policies to prevent and address it. Thirdly, such studies can help counter stereotypes and misconceptions about minority groups and promote greater understanding and acceptance of diversity. Finally, research on minority oppression can contribute to a broader understanding of the dynamics of power, inequality, and social change in Pakistan and beyond.
Lastly, future research could explore how endorsement of peaceful activist tactics can be reinforced in an exacerbated context that can build a harmonious passion for one’s ideology. Positive reinforcement for peaceful actions, such as receiving praise and being labeled as kind and thoughtful, can influence one’s self-concept and integrate it as part of one’s identity. Conversely, indulging in violent and extremist activism tactics can also lead to positive reinforcement from in-group members in the form of praise, being labeled brave, and a voice of the voiceless. This positive reinforcement can make one defensive against the out-group, as it can influence a person’s self-concept and form their identity.
Conclusion
In conclusion, religious identity plays a vital role in shaping our ideological and activist tendencies, and the results of this study support existing theoretical and empirical predictions about passion pathways and the threat to religious identity. Our findings are discussed in the context of contemporary identity threats and activism strategies of Muslim minorities in Pakistan. It predicts the level of passion that drives social, political, and religious movements with significant societal impacts. However, our research has shown that identity threats can negatively impact the type of passion that inspires such movements. Under non-threatening circumstances, harmonious passion leads individuals to endorse peaceful activism tactics, while obsessive passion can lead to the endorsement of hatred and extremism. In identity-threatening circumstances, both types of passion endorsed negative tactics, with obsessively passionate individuals displaying a higher level of extremism. However, it is important to note that the results of our study may be influenced by the recent events unfolding in Pakistan. More research is needed in this area to explore the behavior of individuals beyond self-report judgments and capture actions or action tendencies in other situations and populations. Overall, our findings emphasize the importance of understanding how SIT based identity threats can impact ideological passion, which in turn shapes the nature and direction of activism.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The author (Gulnaz Anjum) received financial support from University of Oslo (UiO) for the publication of this article.
