Norface Research Programme: Re-emergence of Religion as a Social Force in Europe? Norface Research Project: Ethnic Relations and Religious Identities: Muslim Minorities in Multicultural Cities Karen Phalet, Universities of Utrecht and Leuven Norface 2009 Conference Crossing Boundaries in Social Science Research Brussels, September 18, 2009
Who is Who? Senior Researchers Karen Phalet, Ercomer, Universities of Utrecht and Leuven (PI) Michael Bommes, Imis, University of Osnabrück Maurice Crul, Imes, University of Amsterdam Merove Gijsberts, Social Research Institute, The Hague Miri Song, School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent, Maykel Verkuyten, Ercomer, University of Utrecht Charles Westin, CEIFO, University of Stockholm
Who is Who? (continued) Early Career Researchers Fenella Fleischmann, Ercomer, Universities of Utrecht and Leuven Mieke Maliepaard, Ercomer, University of Utrecht and SRI, The Hague A. Aslan Yildiz, Ercomer, University of Utrecht Disciplinary backgrounds social and cultural psychology sociology of migration sociology of religion
Crossing Boundaries: What Do We Do Together? International meetings with research partners and external experts (Norface seminars, TIES- RTN workshops, Imiscoe and Equalsoc meetings, TIES-ESF conference ) Study visits of ECRs (to SRI, CEIFO and IMIS) Data access and exchange for cross-national comparison Co-supervision of PhDs Co-publication
Research Project Aims Create data infrastructure on new religious diversity Develop new research strategies rich qualitative research on Muslim communities and youth in European cities lack of large-scale optimally representative or comparative data sources introduce longitudinal, multi-level and mixed methods Connect separate research lines neglect of new diversity within European religious studies neglect of religious dimension within European migration studies
Research Aims (continued) Connect national research traditions cross-national comparison Netherlands-Germany- Sweden test US findings of religious revival in European migration context Question prevailing public discourses in Europe normative secularisation Islamic exceptionalism
Common Themes across Studies and Partners Understanding religious continuity and change public hostility and reactive religiosity ethnic ties and embedded religion new Islam of second generation? Contextualising religion / Islam religious supply side in ethnic neighborhoods group positions and intergroup boundaries public discourses and policies Religion as a social force focus on how young Muslims are DOING religion, in particular public assertion Multiplicity of second-generation identities articulation of multiplicity, in particular of communal and civic identity and involvement
Subproject 1 Muslims in the Netherlands an analysis of religious change (PhD M. Maliepaard) How do religious identity and practices of Dutch Muslims change between generations and over time? What evidence is there of religious vitality and/or reactivity? Which actual and perceived contextual factors affect religious change?
Subproject 2 Ethnic relations and religiosity of young Turks and Moroccans in Europe (PhD F. Fleischmann) How do religious identity and practices of second generation Turkish Muslims vary between European cities? How does the minority position of Muslim youth in different local/national contexts affect their religious identity?
Subproject 3 Discourses on Muslim identities in the UK and the Netherlands (PhD Aslan Yildiz) How do Muslim media/organisations construct Muslim identities? When and how do these identity discourses enable political claimsmaking by local-born Muslims? Subproject 1: Turkish Muslim organisations and youth in Amsterdam-Cologne Subproject 2: British Muslim university students and student organisations in Canterbury-London
Religious Trends among Dutch Muslims 1998-2006: Continuity or Decline? Ref. Phalet, Gijsberts & Hagendoorn 2008 in special issue Kölln Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie (ed. Frank Kalter) Unique series of repeated cross-sections of Turkish and Moroccan Dutch Muslims in 1998 2002 2005 Repeated measures of religious practice (visiting mosque) and preferences (religious school and religious partner for children)
Religious Trends: Practice Turkish Muslims % visiting mosque 1998 2002 2005 never 12 18 25 sometimes 44 47 41 weekly 44 35 34
Religious Trends: Multivariate Analysis Qualified religious decline Gross and net generational change: 2nd generation less religious than 1rst Decline net of cohort and life cycle effects on religion Gross and net period effects 1998 2005: Linear religious decline over time Decline net of compositional change of Muslim population over time Replicated before and after critical incidents and downturns in public climate (Fortuyn murder in 2001, Van Gogh murder in 2004) Differential trends! Decline religious behavior > preferences Decline preferences public > private domains Continued decline for Muslim women > men
Religious Trends (continued) Extended trend analysis on repeated cross-sections 98 02 04 with SIM 06 surveys (N=7377) in 11 major Dutch cities Multi-level analysis combining individual survey data with yearly neighbourhood context data CBS in period 1998 2006 more recent stagnation We find a decline in religious practices and attitudes between 1998 and 2004, followed by a stabilisation in 2006 Especially the second generation shows religious vitality Especially the highly educated show religious vitality
Religious Trends (continued) religious supply side in ethnic neighborhoods? Muslims living in ethnic neighborhoods are more strongly and actively religious than those in white or mixed areas Contextual variation in religious life is not explained by personal interethnic contact Living close to a mosque is related to more religious practice in women, not in men Trends are not explained by changes in neighbourhoods 1998-2006: increasing segregation, more religious opportunities
Religious Trends among Dutch Muslims: Preliminary Conclusions Qualified religious decline until 2005 Gendered! Most decline for visiting mosque Least decline for prefered marriage with Muslim partner for child More recent stagnation: religious continuity in 2006 Especially 2nd generation Especially highly educated No indication of religious revival following critical events in 2001 and 2004
New Islam of Second Generation? Ref. Maliepaard, Lubbers & Gijsberts 2009, to appear in Ethnic and Racial Studies Analyses on LAS 2004 survey data (N=1800) in 50 Dutch cities among Turkish- and Moroccan-Dutch households Generational decline in 2004 Majority of second generation self-identifies as Muslim: > 85% Yet, they identify less strongly with their religion and ethnic origin and they are less involved in religious and ethnic practices
New Islam (continued) Ethnicization of religion Among the second generation ethnic and religious identity overlap more: e.g., more Moroccan = more Muslim No support for symbolic religiosity Relation between religious identification and practice does not change over generations
Comparative Extensions: 2nd Generation Religion in 7 European Cities Ref. Phalet, Fleischmann & Stojcic, to appear in special issue Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (Ed. Peggy Leavit) TIES 2008 Survey Data comparison samples of Turkish 2nd generation young adults in Brussels, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Stockholm, Berlin and Frankfurt Advantages beyond cross-national comparison: more extensive, less biased measures of religious identity, practices and claims associations with socio-economic integration (education and employment) effects of social integration with (retrospective) longitudinal measures of (cross-ethnic) friends
Religious Continuity across 7 cities: Parental and Filial Affiliations 100 90 80 70 88 87 62 74 73 74 91 91 82 80 88 89 religious socialisation: Islam current religion: Islam 60 50 40 42 49 30 20 10 0 Berlin Frankfurt Brussels Antwerp Amsterdam Rotterdam Stockholm
Religion and Structural Integration Multiple regressions with religion as a dependent variable religious practice = praying and visiting mosk Step 1: groups-in-cities and gender Step 2: + education, employment, school segregation Step 3: + (cross)ethnic friends in school No consistent associations with socio-economic integration (education and employment) Mainly social integration explains religious continuity: (cross)ethnic friendship networks in youth predict religious practice of young adults
Beyond More or Less Religion: Ways of being Muslim 5 Mean Profiles of Social Muslims:, Social and Ritual Practice 4 Ide n tity Id en tity Ide n tity Id e ntity Ide n tity Ide n tity Id en tity 5 Mean Profiles Private Muslims:, Social and Ritual Practice 3 4 2 3 1 Berlin Frankfurt Brussels Antwerp Amsterdam Rotterdam Stockholm 2 5 4 Mean profiles of Ritual Muslims:, Social and Ritual Practices 1 Berlin Frankfurt Brussels Antwerp Amsterdam Rotterdam Stockholm 3 2 1 Berlin Frankfurt Brussels Antwerp Amsterdam Rotterdam Stockholm
Varying Ways of being Muslim in 7 Cities: % Strict, Social and Private Muslims 100% Private Muslims 90% 80% 16,7 15,1 24,6 21,6 20,5 25,9 Social Muslims Ritual Muslims 70% 60% 50% 33,3 43,8 47,6 33,4 50 32,3 52,9 40% 30% 24,5 20% 50 41,1 45 42 10% 27,7 29,5 22,6 0% Berlin Frankfurt Brussels Antwerp Amsterdam Rotterdam Stockholm
Embedded Religiosity: Father visited When Child? 5 4,36 4,34 4,44 4,3 4,32 4,5 4 3,4 3,6 3,45 3,76 3,37 3,68 3,41 3,73 3 2,88 2,83 3 3,12 2,85 3,02 2,48 2 Private Muslims Social Muslims Ritual Muslims 1 Berlin Frankfurt Brussels Antwerp Amsterdam Rotterdam Stockholm
Embedded Religiosity: Koran Lessons as a Child? 100 90 80 70 60 67,3 78,2 71,1 52,2 53,2 84 93,7 79,5 89,8 64,2 80,2 77,3 Private Muslims Social Muslims Ritual Muslims 61 52,3 50 40 45 41,6 32,4 44,1 39,1 30 20 16,7 15,1 10 0 Berlin Frankfurt Brussels Antwerp Amsterdam Rotterdam Stockholm
Reactive Religiosity: Perceived Religious Discrimination? 60 50 48,3 53,9 Private Muslims 40 40,7 31,8 Social Muslims Ritual Muslims 30 20 10 15,4 27,8 24,1 24,1 14,3 10,7 8,9 9,6 24,1 23,2 19,7 14,7 14,3 15,1 4,6 13,7 2,5 0 Berlin Frankfurt Brussels Antwerp Amsterdam Rotterdam Stockholm
New Islam of 2nd Generation: Preliminary Conclusions Religious continuity > decline Embedded Religion Family and community socialization strongly predict 2nd generation religion across cities Reactive Religiosity Experiences of religious discrimination are sometimes associated with 2nd generation religion
Preliminary Conclusions (continued) Religious dimensions and types?, social and ritual practice Private, social and strict Muslims Contextualising religion? Strict > Social Muslims in Berlin, Antwerp, Rotterdam Social > Strict Muslims in Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt Private > Social and Strict Muslims in Stockholm City profiles? Qualitative pattern matching! To be continued