Religious minorities and secularism: an alternative view of the impact of religion on the political values of Muslims in Europe

Abstract

This paper proposes an alternative explanation of Muslims' endorsement of secular values based on their belonging to religious minorities. We argue that, contrary to what is often asserted in both the academic literature and the public debate, Muslims' endorsement of secular values is not simply a matter of strong individual religiosity, but may also result from belonging to a religious minority. We suggest that this group-level variable may explain differences in the support for democratic values by Muslims in Europe, in addition to the individual-level variable pertaining to individual religiosity. Our findings show that belonging to a religious minority in the country of origin positively affects the degree of support of secularist values. More generally, they suggest that denominational Muslim identities should be investigated by taking into account the role of belonging to religious minorities. Moreover, the article will show how belonging to a religious minority can moderate the negative effect of religiosity on secular values.

Acculturation, decoupling, or both? Migration’s impact on the linkage between religiosity and gender equality attitudes

“…Our study thus provides some support for Röder's (2014) and others' findings (cf. Banfi, Gianni, and Giugni 2016;Diehl, Koenig, and Ruckdeschel 2009). Most importantly, our comparison between migrants' and non-migrant counterparts helps to attribute the found differences to migration.…”

“…Yet, evidence also suggests that transmission of religiosity across generations is relatively strong Guveli 2015;Kashyap and Lewis 2013), which implies decoupling rather than complete acculturation is likely to strengthen with each migrant generation, given that the primary socialisation of the origin country's gender norms through parents wanes. Accordingly, Banfi, Gianni, and Giugni (2016) registered that many second-generation immigrants still strongly identify as religious, sometimes even more so than the first generation. However, compared to the first generation, they also feel more connected to the host country.…”

Religion and integration among immigrant and minority youth

“…marriage, divorce, and fertility, see Manning and Georgiadis 2012; on intermarriage, see Fleischmann and Phalet 2012;Carol 2016), civic engagement (McAndrew and Voas 2014), political orientations (e.g. national identity and voting behaviour, see Broughton and Napel 2000; secularism, see Banfi, Gianni, and Giugni 2016), and attitudes (e.g. gender roles, see Kretschmer 2018).…”

The Quest For Equal Citizenship: Middle Eastern Christian Narratives of Migration and Inclusion in the United Kingdom

“…51 Indeed, debates regarding the integration of migrants (primarily Muslims) often point to presumed incompatibility between their religious beliefs and practices and secular values enshrined within Western liberal democracy. 52 The perspectives of Middle Eastern Christians on issues of sexual liberalization allows this theme to be explored beyond the Islam-secularism prism. Due to their origins, this group has experienced similar cultural influences as Muslims coming from the Middle East, and as shown below, interviewees indicated that their culture was not supportive of policies such as the legalization of same-sex marriage.…”