Social Integration and Religious Identity Expression among Dutch Muslims

Abstract

Against the background of contrasting religious versus secular norms in immigrant communities and in Dutch society, this study examines how religious identity expression is related to the social integration of Dutch Muslims within (a) Turkish or Moroccan minority groups and (b) Dutch majority groups. Using nationally representative survey data (N = 2,027), we distinguish religious identification from religious practice (worship and dietary practices) and assertion (support for the role of religion in politics and society) as different forms of religious expression. Structural equation models confirm that minority group contact supports and, conversely, majority group contact suppresses religious practice and assertion. In line with religion as social identity, this result is partly because Dutch Muslims with more minority contacts identify more strongly with their religion, whereas those with more majority contacts identify less strongly. As found in a social capital approach, social integration also directly influences religious expression, especially within the most cohesive Turkish minority group.

Religious change of new immigrants in the Netherlands: The event of migration

“…Such patterns of social influence have been observed earlier among immigrants who have been on average much longer in the Netherlands (Maliepaard and Phalet, 2012;Van Tubergen, 2007). Possibly, previous studies have overestimated the role of social ties, as both studies relied on cross-sectional data without controlling for prior religiosity.…”

“…Following the logic of social influence theory, what matters is the frequency with which new immigrants have contacts with co-ethnics (''bonding ties'') vis-à-vis with Dutch majority members (''bridging ties''). Bonding ties will help to retain the religious practices and beliefs, whereas bridging ties lead to an increased exposure to more-secular attitudes and behavior (Maliepaard and Phalet, 2012;Van Tubergen, 2007). I therefore hypothesize that among new immigrants in the Netherlands bonding ties will have a positive effect and bridging ties a negative effect on frequency of religious attendance and praying (H7).…”

Bonding and bridging among first generation Asian migrants in Australian protestant churches

“…This idea has been prevalent in sociology since pioneering studies of Christian or Jewish migrants in the USA (Handlin 1951, Herberg 1955, Gordon 1964) and more recently has been applied to Muslim migration in various parts of the world (Maliepaard andPhalet 2012, Allen 2010). Where religion and ethnic or national identity are closely intertwined there can be strong segregation between migrants and natives, which is fostered by religion creating what has been termed 'bright boundaries' between these groups (Alba 2005).…”

The Interrelation of Immigrants’ Interethnic Ties and Socioeconomic Status in Germany. An Autoregressive Panel Analysis

“…Typically, scholars tend to differentiate between strong and weak ties or so-called bridging and bonding social capital. In integration research, contacts within the own ethnic enclave are usually considered as bonding social capital, while bridging social capital usually refers to Inter-ethnic contact (Drever and Hoffmeister 2008;Kanas et al 2011Kanas et al , 2012Lancee 2010;Maliepaard and Phalet 2012). On the one hand, bonding social capital prototypically connects individuals which are alike and whose relationship is characterized by high intimacy and trustworthiness.…”

“…Thus, it seems to be the distinct resources attached to ties to German natives that facilitate the positive effect on immigrants' SES in Germany. Moreover, a multitude of international studies explicitly (Lancee 2010;Xie and Greenman 2011) or implicitly (Fleischmann et al 2011;Lindemann and Saar 2012;Maliepaard and Phalet 2012;van Tubergen and Kalmijn 2009) found positive effects of interethnic networks on immigrants' overall integration processes. Thus, advancing from a perspective of social capital, a positive influence of ties to host society members on the socioeconomic attainment of immigrants is expected.…”