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Abstract
Refugee resettlement is one solution to the current refugee crisis. However, refugee admittance and resettlement policies lack public support, largely due to a fear of terrorism (FoT) associated with the Muslim identity of many refugees. Social identity can explain the negative attitudes and, theoretically, how social identity can be used to reduce negative attitudes by manipulating salient identities. An experiment was conducted which increased the salience of a superordinate identity, hypothesizing that an identification with humanity (IWH) would increase support for pro-refugee policies regardless of religion. Results indicate that IWH was not strong enough to overcome religious identity. Interviews were conducted to refine the theory. Results indicate that IWH is a motivational factor for supporting refugee admittance. FoT was identified as the strongest contributor to negative attitudes. Changing rhetoric, increasing education, and increasing contact with refugees were proposed solutions to placate the FoT and increase support for refugee admittance policies.