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Does Proximity Matter in Promoting Interfaith Dialogue?

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Abstract

This paper explores the role of physical proximity of places of worship in facilitating interfaith dialogue. The research focuses on a religious cluster within the Greater Toronto Area, which emerged due to incremental zoning changes over time. Using key informant interviews as the method and Allport’s contact hypothesis as the guiding theoretical framework, it explores the effects of proximity and contact (interaction or encounters) on intergroup relations. The findings suggest that physical proximity is not a strong factor in facilitating interfaith dialogue initiatives. However, proximity does seem to have an effect in creating a space for interactions and encounters to occur, which can lead to attitudinal shifts concerning the religious “other.”

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Notes

  1. This hypothesis posits that immigrants become more secularized as they integrate into Canadian society.

  2. Pseudonyms are used to preserve the anonymity of the participants.

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  1. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta

    Sandeep Agrawal & Caitlin Barratt

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  1. Sandeep Agrawal
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Correspondence to Sandeep Agrawal.

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Agrawal, S., Barratt, C. Does Proximity Matter in Promoting Interfaith Dialogue?. Int. Migration & Integration 15, 567–587 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-013-0295-3

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