Features of Religious Categorization of Women with and without a Hijab

The paper examines the role of external appearance in the religious categorization of Another (identification of Another as a representative of a certain confession). The paper provides an overview of domestic and foreign literature on this issue, as well as the results of the carried out study. The authors examine the role of external appearance in the process of categorization of Another in whole, as well as relationships with representatives of various different confessions. The study involved girls at the age from 18 to 25 living in the Southern Federal District. Research methods included a number of authors' questionnaires, when respondents had to evaluate their relation to representatives of various religious confessions (a modified “Technique for diagnostics of positivity–negativity of relation to ethnic groups” by V. A. Labunskaia, A. A. Bzezian), as well as their relation to girls with hijabs (a traditional veil in Islam, which usually covers the head and neck) and without hijab, and also categorize the girls according to their religious beliefs (“Diagnostics of a relations to Another depending on the external appearance” questionnaire). To carry out the comparative analysis the authors used non-parametric mathematical procedures. The present study confirmed that external appearance (presence/absence of a hijab) is a starting mechanism of religious categorization of Another and influences the formation of relation to him/her (friendly or hostile). Taking into account migration processes in Russia and Europe, further study of the issue is still required.