Recent research in the social scientific study of religion has drawn attention to how distinct religious identities and cultures have supported nationalist impulses and fueled political polarization across a variety of national contexts. This growing body of literature makes it clear that religious ideals and identities can be used to frame issues, draw boundaries, and drive a wedge down the middle of the political landscape. What is less frequently analyzed are the various ways that religion can provide resources to depolarize society. This article identifies the various resources that religion can offer for depolarization, and calls for future research aimed not only at better understanding the extent and nature of religion’s deployment of these resources, but also their effectiveness in countering the polarizing dynamics in contemporary society.

中文翻译：

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宗教作为日益两极分化社会中的一种资源

最近对宗教的社会科学研究引起了人们对不同宗教身份和文化如何支持民族主义冲动并助长各种国家背景下的政治两极分化的关注。越来越多的文学作品清楚地表明，宗教理想和身份可以用来框定问题、划定界限，并在政治格局的中间挖一个楔子。较少被分析的是宗教可以提供资源以消除社会两极分化的各种方式。本文确定了宗教可以为去极化提供的各种资源，并呼吁未来的研究不仅要更好地理解宗教部署这些资源的范围和性质，还要了解它们在对抗当代社会的两极分化动态方面的有效性。