Perceived discrimination among Muslims and its correlates. A comparative analysis

Author(s) : Anaïd Lindemann, Jörg Stolz

Source : https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2020.1729389

Abstract:

“Many studies have found that Muslims in Western countries perceive more discrimination than most other religious groups. However, less attention has been paid to the life domains and correlates of this perceived discrimination. The aim of this study is to determine the scope of perceived discrimination among Muslims and to test hypotheses regarding how their perceived discrimination is correlated with socio-structural disadvantages and ingroup identification in comparison to other religious groups. We use a representative cross-sectional sample of 12,241 residents in Switzerland that has a very fine measure of perceived discrimination. Our study yielded three main findings. First, there is a much higher level of perceived discrimination among Muslims across all life domains and attributes. Second, socio-structural disadvantages do not correlate with perceived discrimination among Muslims. Third, perceived discrimination is significantly higher among Muslims who have a higher level of ethno-religious ingroup identification and who do voluntary work in associations.”

KEYWORDS: Ingroup identification, islamophobia, migration, muslims, perceived discrimination, religious minority