Urban Skills and Religion: Mechanisms for Coping and Defense among the Ugandan Asians

The Asians of Uganda were a middle-man minority under great pressure during 1971. Many were leaving the country each week, and most viewed themselves as having no future in East Africa. A random sample of 190 Kampala, Uganda, Hindus, and 104 Ismaili Muslims was used to test, in this natural setting, several hypotheses concerning coping ability and defenses among a minority under stress. Findings were (1) religiosity reduces anxiety or insecurity, but tends to be accompanied by feelings of empirical fatalism in a stressful situation; (2) those Asians with high socioeconomic status and local investments see themselves as more vulnerable and are thus more emotionally insecure, but high SES also makes them feel more able to cope or change their situations if necessary. The significance and implications of these findings are explored in closing.