Researchers from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study have found Kiwis who follow the news closely have greater prejudice towards Muslims than New Zealanders with less news exposure.
They also felt more anger and less warmth towards Muslims than they did towards other ethnic groups, such as Asians, Arabs, Pakeha and Maori.
Researchers found there was about twice as much anger towards Muslims as there was towards Asians, University of Otago religion lecturer Dr John Shaver, the study's lead author, says.
"You see the more people watch the news, the more they are angry at Muslims. There's also a trend of anger towards Arabs, but there's no effect towards Asians," Shaver says.
"New Zealand is a really tolerant society, and attitudes towards Muslims tend to be pretty good. The problem is, though, that there's a sort of gap, and Muslims do seem to receive greater prejudice than other groups." [Stuff.co.nz] Read more
