Intermarriage Attitudes Among Minority and Majority Groups in Western Europe: The Role of Attachment to the Religious In‐Group

Abstract

The key question of this paper is whether social integration, both for minority (migrants) and majority groups (natives) in Western Europe, varies across contexts of exit (ethnic origins) and contexts of reception (Western European countries); and if so, how does religious identity and practice serve to mediate these contextual differences? To investigate this question I draw on the international comparative dataset EURISLAM which includes comparisons between Muslim migrants of ex-Yugoslav, Turkish, Moroccan and Pakistani origin with majority group members of Belgium, Britain, Germany and Switzerland. Social integration is measured through attitudes towards intermarriage across Muslim/non-Muslim lines. As results show, ethnic groups differ in their probabilities to approve of intermarriage. Especially migrants from the former Yugoslavia encounter a significantly lower approval of intermarriage by natives. However, approval of intermarriage is closely tied to religiosity. Once religiosity is controlled for, all migrant groups become significantly more positive about intermarriage than natives. Following theories on in-group favouritism and the homophily principle, we find that religious identity among migrants and practice among both natives and migrants are associated with reluctance to intermarry. Policy makers are advised to take note that contextual differences in perceived social integration of immigrant groups could be confounding other factors, including how differences in religiosity affect social integration. Migrants' significantly higher approval of intermarriage after controlling religiosity implies that policy makers may conceivably have to shift attention from migrants to natives and undertake some action in order to enable a greater intercultural understanding.

Educational Sorting in Mixed Marriages in Switzerland

“…Nevertheless, we consider the investigation of cohort differences as a partial indirect signal of how increased opportunities for in-group contact in recent years steered higher educated immigrants away from intermarriages in which they would marry down. Furthermore, both attitudinal and behavioural research indicates that younger cohorts of Swiss natives are increasingly open towards intermarrying (Carol 2013;Potarca and Bernardi 2016), meaning that our findings are more likely a manifestation of the endogamous preferences of well-educated immigrants than those of natives.…”

“…Riaño (2011) also observes that the ethnic discourse behind immigration policies in Switzerland portrays non-EU immigrants married to Swiss natives in a non-favourable light, invoking their insufficient language skills and overall greater incongruence with the native culture, irrespective of the level of training. The greater cultural distance, whether real (i. e., determined by differences in norms and religion) or perceived (i. e., derived from the state discourse on immigrants), that separates ex-Yugoslavs and Turks from Swiss natives is likely to shape natives' low preferences for marrying a partner from this immigrant group (Carol 2013). At the same time, cultural distance is also likely to guide the expected negative appraisal of such union by third parties (Carol 2016), regardless of immigrants' socio-economic integration.…”

Ethnic Boundaries in Core Discussion Networks: A Multilevel Social Network Study of Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands

“…Around 95% of the Turks and Moroccans in the Netherlands are self-identified Muslim, whereas most Dutch are secular or belong to a Christian denomination (Gijsberts, Huijnk, and Dagevos 2011). Because religion is so closely connected to norms, values and attitudes people have, as well as the attitudes people have towards other groups (Carol 2013), I expect that religion will be a barrier towards interethnic relationships. To examine this idea, I consider people's religious practices, and assume that when Turks and Moroccans are more strongly involved in their religious community this will increase the (sociocultural) barriers with the native Dutch.…”

Die Entstehung interethnischer Kontakte von Neuzuwanderern aus Polen und der Türkei in Deutschland – eine Frage der Religion? / The Acquisition of Interethnic Ties among Recent Immigrants from Poland and Turkey in Germany – a Matter of Religion?

“…Auch wenn die Relevanz interethnischer Beziehungen bereits früh erkannt wurde (Gordon 1964), ist erst seit einigen Jahren ein vermehrtes Interesse an der Analyse ihrer Entstehungsbedingungen zu beobachten: Neben Faktoren wie z. B. der ethnischen Diversität des Wohnumfeldes (Babka von Gostomski & Stichs 2008;Petermann 2014) oder den Sprachkenntnissen (Schacht et al 2014), erlangte Religion als Bedingungsfaktor sozialer Integrationsprozesse zuletzt wachsende Aufmerksamkeit (Baumann & Salentin 2006;Haug 2005;Müs-sig & Stichs 2012;Windzio & Wingens 2014;Carol 2013). Nachdem in der Religionssoziologie lange die Säkularisierungsthese die Diskussion dominierte, haben religiçse Pluralisierungsprozesse spätestens seit der Jahrtausendwende neue Fragen nach der Relevanz von Religion für die Integration heutiger Gesellschaften aufkommen lassen (Koenig & Wolf 2013).…”

“…Ob dies auf eine integrationshemmende Wirkung des Islams zurückzuführen ist, bleibt jedoch fraglich. Während sich in einigen Studien durchaus Effekte der Religiosität zeigen ließen (Haug 2005;Müssig & Stichs 2012;Carol 2013), führen andere Autoren die Gruppenunterschiede überwiegend auf soziodemographische und migrationsbiographische Variationen zwischen den Herkunftsgruppen zurück (Schacht et al 2014).…”