Islamic gatherings: experiences of discrimination and religious affirmation across established and new immigrant communities

Abstract

To what extent are perceptions of discrimination associated with religious affirmation among Muslim minorities in the Netherlands? Drawing on recent nationally representative surveys among self-identified Muslims from five ethnic groups in the Netherlands, we test boundary conditions of reactive religiosity. Our findings indicate that for Muslims from established immigrant groups, perceptions of discrimination are associated with more frequent religious attendance, but that this is not the case for Muslims from smaller, less established ethnic communities. Findings are interpreted using a boundary framework.

Keywords:

• discrimination
• Muslim
• identity
• religious practice
• boundary formation
• reactive religiosity

Notes

1. In Studies 1 and 2, when the analyses are performed with either perceived personal or group discrimination (instead of a composite measure), results are highly comparable in terms of the direction of effects and effect sizes.

2. Despite the partly gendered nature of mosque attendance, additional analyses indicate that this relation was the same for men and women in both Studies.

3. See note 1.

4. See note 2.

Additional information

MIEKE MALIEPAARD is Assistant Professor in the European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations at Utrecht University, Netherlands.

ADDRESS: European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations, Utrecht University, PO Box 80.140, 3508 TC Utrecht, Netherlands. Email: [email protected]

MEROVE GIJSBERTS is Senior Researcher in the Netherlands Institute for Social Research/SCP.

ADDRESS: Netherlands Institute for Social Research/SCP, PO Box 16164, 2500 BD The Hague, Netherlands. Email: [email protected]

KAREN PHALET is Professor of Social Psychology in the Center for Social and Cultural Psychology at Leuven University.

ADDRESS: Center for Social and Cultural Psychology, Faculty of Psychology & Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B - 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Email: [email protected]