Mass pilgrimage strengthens pan-ethnic religious identity while boosting trade

Evidence

Participation in religious festivals and holidays provides members with increased access to resources and reaffirms the shared worldview and language, in addition to promoting social affinity between members (Bose, 2006; Caporael, 1997). Every year at least 2 million Muslims from around the world complete the pilgrimage to Mecca, or the Hajj. Pilgrims, or Hajji, benefit from an increased sense of unity with other Muslims, and it strengthens their common Muslim identity despite diverse national and ethnic backgrounds (Clingingsmith, Khwaja, & Kremer, 2009). The Hajj has historically also increased trade opportunities across the Muslim world and fostered the exchange of economic and scientific ideas (Bose, 2006; Clingingsmith et al., 2009). — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 901

Categorization

• XREF: The Hajj uniting Muslims of diverse nations via a superordinate identity parallels Allport’s contact-hypothesis conditions and common-ingroup-identity work, and echoes the reputation-and-trade institution arguments (Milgrom, diamond bourse) — shared religious identity lowering transaction costs between strangers.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Roderick M. Kramer, Geoffrey J. Leonardelli, Robert W. Livingston, Social Cognition, Social Identity, and…, 901