TY - JOUR

T1 - Islam and Patriarchy

T2 - How Robust is Muslim Support for Patriarchal Values?

AU - Welzel, Christian

AU - Alexander, Amy Catherine

PY - 2011/7

Y1 - 2011/7

N2 - Evidence that Muslims support patriarchal values more than non-Muslims is abundant but the nature of this evidence is contested. The 'cultural' interpretation suggests that patriarchal values are an inherent element of Muslim identity. The 'structural' interpretation holds that patriarchal values reside in structural characteristics and have little to do with Muslim identity. Evidence on these contradictory claims is inconclusive. Neither have advocates of the cultural position shown that Muslim support for patriarchal values remains robust under control of structural characteristics; nor have proponents of the structural position demonstrated that Muslim support for these values vanishes under such controls. Filling this gap, we use multi-level models to test whether Muslim support for patriarchal values vanishes under control of patriarchy's structural underpinnings. We find that Muslim support for patriarchal values is robust against various controls; and we identify mosque attendance as a mechanism to sustain Muslim support for patriarchy in non-Muslim societies. Yet, rising levels of education, labor market participation, and a glacial emancipative trend diminish Muslim support for patriarchy, especially among women.

AB - Evidence that Muslims support patriarchal values more than non-Muslims is abundant but the nature of this evidence is contested. The 'cultural' interpretation suggests that patriarchal values are an inherent element of Muslim identity. The 'structural' interpretation holds that patriarchal values reside in structural characteristics and have little to do with Muslim identity. Evidence on these contradictory claims is inconclusive. Neither have advocates of the cultural position shown that Muslim support for patriarchal values remains robust under control of structural characteristics; nor have proponents of the structural position demonstrated that Muslim support for these values vanishes under such controls. Filling this gap, we use multi-level models to test whether Muslim support for patriarchal values vanishes under control of patriarchy's structural underpinnings. We find that Muslim support for patriarchal values is robust against various controls; and we identify mosque attendance as a mechanism to sustain Muslim support for patriarchy in non-Muslim societies. Yet, rising levels of education, labor market participation, and a glacial emancipative trend diminish Muslim support for patriarchy, especially among women.

KW - Politics

KW - Cross-national study

KW - Multiculturalism

KW - Muslim

KW - Patriarchy

KW - Values

KW - Gender and Diversity

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79960857960&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/03906701.2011.581801

DO - 10.1080/03906701.2011.581801

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 21

SP - 249

EP - 276

JO - International Review of Sociology

JF - International Review of Sociology

SN - 0390-6701

IS - 2

ER -