Sociology of Religmn 2003, 64:2 207.222
The Sources of Gender Role Attitudes
among Christian and Muslim
Arab-American Women
Jen'nan Ghazal Read*
U./~-rae oŸCa///orn/a, lr~ne
INTRODUCTION
The influence of religion on women's gender tole attitudes is well documented in the social science literature (Bartkowski 1999; Bartkowski and Read
2003; Hardacre 1997; Hartman and Hartman 1996; Heaton and Comwall 1989;
Lehrer 1995; Mosher, Williams, and Johnson 1992; Sherkat 2000; Thomton,
Alwin, and Cambum 1983; Wilcox and Je|en 1991). Women who belong to and
participate in conservative denominations are typically more traditional in their
gender tole orientations than are those with weaker religious ties. Despite a
wealth of research on this topic, no study to date has examined the impact of
religion on Arab-American women's gender tole attitudes. This oversight is
D/recteorresl~ndow.e~ ]en'nan O. Read,D~m,nent of Soc/oio~, Uravets/ryoŸCal/foro/a, lm.e, Ca//fom/a
92697. I wmdd~ to thankM/chaelEmerson,]ohn Bartko~ski, Chris EUison, Nancy Nmon-Ciark, and the.
anon3nnom ret~,~~~ at the Sociology of Rdigion for their insi91191comments and feedback. This study ~as rnade
posable by supponfrom ~ Texas f~~,ram for ~
a~l H e ~ a.d ~
of Sodoio~ at Rice u.i~.s~,
Zogby Internat¨ the Amb American Im~~a~ Founda¡ American-Arab Anti-DiscriminaaonCommitw.e, and
Amb C_,ommr~ Cen~ Ÿ ~
a.d SociaISm, ices.
207
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
This study examines the impoct of reli~on on the gender tole attitudes of Arab-American
u~men, members of ah ethn/c group conW~ed of Chr/st/ans and Mus//ms. A popular stereory~ of
Arab-Amer/can ~umnenporrrays them as lslamic traditionalists ~ veiled and secluded ~thin the.
borne, yet few empirical studies document the effects of Islam on Arab.American women's attitudes
and behav/ors. Th/s study addresses this question ard distinguishes parffodar cultural influences on
ummen's gender beliefs using survey data coUected from a national sample of Arab Americans.
Resuhs of the anal~sis find that Arab.American wornen ate more diverse and less traditiond than
popular stereot?lpes impl?l. Over one-half of women sampled ate Christian, nearly one-half ate
foreign-born, and man:y hold progressive gender tole beliefs. Moreover, the analysis finds that
relig~osity and ethrticiry ate more important in shapŸ ummen' s gender tole attitudes than ate their
afs
as Muslims and Chrisaans.
208
SOCIOLOGYOF RELIGION
BACKGROUND
Ah extensive body of research on Judeo-Christian influences finds a strong
association between fundamentalist affiliation and participation and inegalita¡
gender tole attitudes (Bartkowski 1999, 2001; Bartkowski and Read 2003;
Beaman 2001; Heaton and Cornwall 1989; Lehrer 1995; Peek, Lowe, and
Williams 1991; Read and Bartkowski 2000; Sherkat 2000; Wilcox and Jelen
1991). Women who belong to and participate in orthodox Jewish and conservative Christian denominations, where issues regarding the family and gender
roles ate particularly important, hold more traditional gender tole attitudes than
women who belong to more moderate denominations of who have no religious
affiliation (Hardacre 1997; Peek et al. 1991).
Explanations for these variations highlight the importance of religion in
promoting and maintaining subcultural differences in social attitudes, especially
on issues that are salient to the group (Hertel and Hughes 1987; Gay, Ellison,
and Powers 1996). Family and gender relations are among the most important
for aU major religious traditions, and there has been extensive attention paid to
denominational variations on these decisive issues (e.g., Bartkowski 2001;
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
striking because Arab Americans are diverse in their affiliations as Christians
and Muslims, which offers an ideal opportunity to compare the influences of
Islam and Christianity on women's attitudes and behaviors.
Cultural stereotypes of Amb-American women tend to collapse religion and
ethnicity into synonymous components of culture, portraying them as veiled
Islamic traditionalists (Shakir 1997; Suleiman 1999; Terry 1985). However,
there are numerous reasons to believe that cultural influences on ArabAmerican women's attitudes are more complicated than these images would
suggest. On the one hand, Arab Americans as a group ate more highly educated,
have higher labor force participation rates, and earn higher incomes than the
U.S. adult population, aU of which suggest an assimilated and progressive ethnic
population (Samhan 2001; U.S. Bureau of the Census 1990). On the other
hand, Arab cultural and religious customs reinforce traditional gender roles,
especially those regarding women's responsibilities in the home and family
(Bilge and Aswad 1996; Haddad and Smith 1996).
This research constitutes the first national study of Arab-American women
and aims to distinguish religious and ethnic influences on women's gender tole
attitudes. Using national survey data collected from 501 Arab-American
women, this study examines the impact of Muslim affiliation, Arab ethnicity,
and religiosity on women's degree of gender traditionalism. Prior research flnds
that religious affiliation, religiosity, and ethnicity can have complicated and
contradictory effects on women's attitudes and behaviors (e.g., Lehrer 1995;
Wilder and Walters 1998). The current study aims to extend this literature to a
lesser-known population of Arab-American women.
GENDER ROLE ATTITUDES A M O N G ARAB-AMERICAN WOMEN
209
1 There are extensive debates surrounding the culture wars thesis; however, a review of these debates is
be?ond the scope and pm~ose of this study.
2 The Census Bureau defines Arab Americans as people who trace their ancestry to Algeria, Egypt,
Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia (North Africa) and to Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Ornan,
Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen (westem Asia).
3 Ancestry data from the 2000 census wiU not be available until the spring of 2003.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Hunter 1991; Williams 1997). 1 While the vast majority of research has focused
on America's more established Christian and Jewish populations, a rapidly
growing literature describes the importance of religion in the adjustment process
of immigrant populations, especially in maintaining group identity and cultural
traditions (Bankston and Zhou 1996; Ebaugh and Chafetz 1999, 2000; Warner
and Wittner 1998). Women's roles ate central to this process, and available
evidence highlights the importance of distinguishing ethnic and religious
influences on their attitudes and behaviors. Religion reinforces traditional gender expectations to varying extents for different immigrant groups, depending on
their unique historical and situational circumstances (Chong 1998; Ebaugh and
Chafetz 2000; Sabagh and Bozorgmehr 1994).
Arab Americans similarly represent a population at the intersection of
religion and ethnicity, and historical conditions have likewise shaped their
assimilation experiences. By definition, Amb Americans constitute an ethnic
group that originates from seventeen Arabic-speaking countries in northern
Africa and western Asia (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1990). 2 Although Arab
ethnicity can be derived from the birth and ancestry questions on the long forro
of the U.S. Census, the standard classification for Amb Americans is with nonHispanic whites. Thus, to date, their exact numbers are unknown. The most
frequently cited estimate is 3 million, roughly equal to the size of the NativeAmerŸ population (e.g. Samhan 2001).
Arab Americans have immigrated to the United States in two major waves
over the past century, resulting in considerable heterogeneity in their socioeconomic and cultural adaptation. Contrary to popular perceptions of this ethnic group, most Arabs in America today are native-born (59 percent), U.S.
citizens (82 percent), proficient in the English language (83 percent), and well
educated, with 36 percent holding a bachelor's degree or higher (U.S. Bureau of
the Census 1990). 3 In the past decade, a smaller stream of less-skilled immigrants has arrived in the United States as refugees from Iraq, Palestine, and
Yemen. Nevertheless, Arab Americans asa group remain more highly educated
and more concentrated in prestigious jobs and higher income brackets than the
U.S. adult population as a whole (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1990).
Notably, two-thirds of Arabs in America affiliate with Christianity and onethird follow the Muslim faith, reflecting distinct migration patterns from the
Middle East (Samhan 2001). Despite diversity in their immigration histories,
210
SOCIOLOGYOF RELIGION
4 Greater S~ria includes modero dau Lebanon, S~ia, Palestine, and Israel.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Christian and Muslim Arabs share an ethnic heritage greatly influenced by
Islamic values, especially those regarding gender roles and family relations (Bilge
and Aswad 1996; GhaneaBassiri 1997; Haddad 1994). The family is considered
the foundation of the Amb community, and there is a strong emphasis on traditional gender roles (Esposito 1998; Haddad 1994). Amb women have primary
responsibility for childbearing, childrearing, and socializing future generations
with Amb values. While normative in many countries in the Middle East, there
is considerable variability in the degree to which Arab Americans support these
ideals. Some believe that adhering to religious traditions is essential for
maintaining an ethnic identity and believe that female domesticity is fundamental for preserving and reproducing Arab culture (Cainkar 1994; Haddad and
Lummis 1987). Others consider it inhibitive of their integration and achievement in U.S. society, and support women's education and employment. Like
liberal Christians or Jews, they differentiate between religion and culture and see
compatibility between Arab and Islamic values and western life (Haddad and
Lummis 1987; Haddad and Smith 1996:20).
These attitudes vary by nativity, partly reflecting differences in religious
affiliation between the native- and foreign-born populations. The majority of
native-born Arab-Americans are descendents of Christians who immigrated to
the U.S. between 1890 and World War I. Most of these early arrivals were
working-class ›233 from Greater Syria4 seeking better economic opportunities
for their families. While many attempted to sustain traditional gender roles,
most recognized and needed the economic benefits provided by educated female
workers (Shakir 1997). Conversely, the majority of foreign-born ArabAmericans ate Muslims who began immigrating to the United States after
World War II, largely in response to political turmoil in the Middle East, such as
the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars (Bozorgmehr, Der-Martirosian and Sabagh
1996; Naff 1994; Suleiman 1999). Christian Arabs continue to migrate in this
newer wave, but most of the arrivals are educated Muslims, whose achievements
encourage integration into the American middle class (Haddad 1994). Their
status asa religious minority, however, has militated against easy acculturation
into mainstream society, and some choose to reside in ethnic communities for
social and psychological support. As newer immigrants, they are also more likely
to maintain ties with their sending countries, where traditional norms favor
women's domestic roles (Bilge and Aswad 1996).
Patterns in cultural assimilation become more complicated within these
broad categories of Christian and Muslim affiliation. As is true for other ethnoreligious groups, there is considerable intra-group diversity among Christians and
Muslims in their social class backgrounds and subjective feelings of religiosity
and ethnicity. And similar to research on Jewish Americans, these factors can
GENDER ROLE ATTITUDES AMONG ARAB.AMERICAN WOMEN
211
exert contradictory influences on Arab-American women's attitudes and
behaviors (Aswad 1994; Cainkar 1994; Read 2002). Women living in secular
Muslim families, for example, are more likely to be in the paid labor force and
typically enjoy greater household decision-making power than women living in
religious families (Aswad 1994; Read and Bartkowski 2000). Similarly, immigrant women with weaker attachments to indigenous values and customs ate
more egalitarian in their gender beliefs than those who maintain stronger ties to
their ethnicity (Cainkar 1994). In sum, available evidence suggests considerable
diversity in Amb-American women's cultural identities, yet no study to date has
investigated explicitly the impact of religion and ethnicity on the achievements
of this population.
Data
Data for this study derive from a mail survey that I administered to a
national cluster sample of women with presumed Arab surnames in the spring of
2000. Nationally representative data on Amb Americans is extremely limited,
and data sets with information on religion are nonexistent. The U.S. Census, for
example, identifies Arab ancestry on the long form of the decennial count;
however, this resource contains no Ÿ
on religious or ethnic identity
(Bozorgmehr et al. 1996; Samhan 1999; Zogby 1990). Likewise, national data
sets containing questions on religion do not identify Arab Americans; consequently, research on this population typically focuses on localized, accessible
communities.
To reach a broader segment of Arab-American women, I used two national
lists provided by the Amb American Institute (AAI) and Zogby International. 5
The first list comprises AAI's membership list, which contains 7,195 names of
Amb Americans and non-Arab supporters of the Arab-American community.
The second list derives from a 1995 cluster sample of 550,000 U.S. voters with
presumed Arab surnames. Zogby InternatŸ
first used U.S. Census Bureau
information to identify twenty Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) with high
concentrations of Amb Americans.6 From these twenty MSAs, Zogby derived an
exhaustive list of Arab surnames from current voter registration records. Since
5 Zogby Intemational is a political polling and market research firm based in Ithaca, New York. The
company frequently collects data on Arab-American attitudes and demographics. John Zogby is the founder
and owner of the company and is featured regularly on CNN during election years discussing the results of his
political polls.
6 Twenty metropolitan areas ate home to 48 percent of Arab Americans; the top six areas ate Los
Angeles, Detroit, New York City, Northeastern New Jersey, Chicago, and Washington, DC, including
Virginia and Maryland suburbs.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
METHODS
212
SOCIOLOGYOF RELIGION
Measures
The dependent variable for this study is degree of gender traditionalism.
Gender traditionalism is measured with a five-item index that gauges women's
attitudes on marital roles, parenting, and non-traditional public roles. Each of
the five items has Likert~scale response categories ranging from (1) Strongly
disagree to (5) Strongly agree. The resulting index ranges from 5 to 25, with
higher scores representing greater support for traditional gender roles (alpha =
.67). Appendix A provides additional information on variable measures.
To identify cultural differences among Arab-American women, the independent variables include several dimensions of religion and ethnicity. Religious
affiliation is operationalized with a dummy variable for Muslim affiliation, and
religiosity is operationalized with three variables measuring degree of religious
involvement and strength of beliefs. The first item measures the respondent's
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Arab surnames are common among other ethnic groups (e.g. Abraham and
Moses ate common among Jewish Americans) and among non-Arab Muslims
(e.g. Pakistanis), I used a filter question on Arab ancestry to exchde non-Amb
respondents (phone conversation with Zogby, 1999). The question identifies the
birthplace of the respondent, the respondent's mother and father, and the
respondent's maternal and paternal grandparents.
The survey questionnaire was administered to a systematic, random sample
of women drawn from these two frames. The final sample size was 501; a
response rate of 47.2 percent. The median age of women sampled is 45 and their
geographic distribution is similar to that found in the 1990 census - - 32.4
percent ate clustered in the east/northeast (mainly in the New York and
Washington, DC areas), 35.3 percent ate located in the midwest (mainly in
Detroit and Chicago), 25.6 percent live in the west (mainly in Los Angeles),
anda minority (6.7 percent) live in the south.
Though the sample is more geographically diverse than previous studies on
Arab-American women, the ability to generalize findings remains limited, which
is a common and often unavoidable problem in research on unidentified populations, such as Arab Americans. Since the sampling frame is based on sumames,
the most assimilated women ate likely underrepresented, those who have outmarried or whose names have been Anglocized over time. The sample is likelu
older and more highly educated than Arab Americans a s a group, given the
sampling frame characteristics (i.e., voluntary membership and registered
voters). Since education is known to have a liberating impact on women's
gender ideologies, the sample wŸ likely be skewed in that direction. However, it
should be equally so for Muslims and for Christians. In sum, this research
represents one of the first national studies of Arab-American women and has the
unique ability to examine intra-ethnic, inter-religious differences in women's
gender tole attitudes.
GENDERROLEATTITUDESAMONGARAB-AMERICANWOMEN 213
7 The stavey questionnaire was pre-tested with three focus groups, and this Ÿ
Mmlim and Christian participants.
was understood by both
8 In altemate model specifications not shown here, I created another variable that identified three
categories of ethnic homogamy: Amb spouse, non-Amb spouse, and not currently married. Sul~tantive
flndings wete identical.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
belief in scriptuml inerrancy. To address both Christian and Muslim respondents, I modffied the traditional question on biblical inerrancy to read: "Do you
agree or disagree with the following statement: The holy book of my religion is
the literal word of God. "7 The second Ÿ
captures frequency of religious
attendance, and the third item measures the respondent's religiosity over the life
cycle, ranging from low religiosity in childhood and adulthood to high religiosity
in both periods. I also measure the spouse's religious affiliation and family's
affiliation during the respondent's youth and find minimal apostasy of switching.
To avoid problems of mukicollinearity, only the respondent's current religious
affiliation is included in the analysis.
The impact of Amb ethnicity on women's gender role attitudes is measured
with three items: duration of U.S. residence, ethnic homogamy, and ethnic
organizational affiliations. Assimilation theory suggests that these ate important
indicators of acculturation, thus we might expect them to be associated wŸ
women's gender tole attitudes. Duration of U.S. residence represents an objectire measure of ethnic identity and is measured with two variables identifying
foreign-bom respondents who have resided in the U.S. for "less than 15 years"
and for "15 years or more," with native-bom women serving as the reference
group. Ethnic homogamy indicates the importance placed on in-group solidarity
and is a known mechanism for reproducing cukumlly normative gender expectations among other ethnic groups (c.f., Ebaugh and Chafetz 1999). This Ÿ is
measured with a dummy variable for respondents with an Arab spouse, with the
reference group being all other respondents. 8 The final measure of Amb ethnicity identifies the number of organizational affiliations the respondent shares
with other Arabs, which signifies their degree of involvement in ethnic communities.
This study also controls for several background characteristics known to
affect women's gender tole attitudes. Educational attainment is consistently
found to increase women's support of gender equality, while parenting is often
associated with greater support for more traditional roles (Cassidy and Warren
1996; Glass 1992; Plutzer 1988). Gender tole attitudes also vary across the lifecourse, with older women holding less ega[itarian views. Accordingly, I measure
the effects of these characteristics with dummy variables for educational attainment (1 = college educated) and parenting ( 1 = children present in home), and
with two variables for respondent's age, a continuous measure in years and a
214 SOCIOLOGYOF RELIGION
quadratic term. I include the quadratic term to account for potential
nonlinearity in the relationship between age and gender ideology.
RESULTS
Se.
9 Women who report "other" or "no" affiliation (6.6 percent) ate excluded from Tables 1 and 3 and
coded ~ " in Table 2.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Table 1 examines respondents' characteristics separately by Muslim (39.3
percent) and Christian (54.1 percent) affiliation. 9 The data show that both
Muslim and Christian women sampled are fairly progressive in their gender role
attitudes, with Muslims holding more traditional views than their Christian
counterparts (mean scores of 11.37 and 10.63, respectively). Table 1 next examines differences among respondents on key predictor variables. Looking first at
dimensions of Amb ethnicity, Muslim respondents are twice as likely to be
foreign-bom (69.5 percent compared to 36.2 percent of Christians), and of those
foreign-born, are more likely to be newer immigrants - - 14.4 percent have
resided in the U.S. for less than 15 years compared to 9.2 percent of Christian
women. It is noteworthy that the majority of foreign-born women, both Christian and Muslim, have lived in the U.S. for 15 years of more. MuslŸ women are
also more likely to have an Arab husband (65.5 percent compared to 38.4
percent) and to share most or all of their organizational affiliations with other
Arab members (53.4 percent compared to 29.2 percent). These differences in
ethnicity are consistent with known patterns of MusIim and Christian emigration from the Middle East.
Muslim and Christian respondents are likewise diverse in their |evels of
religious involvement and strength of religious beliefs. Attendance rates among
Christian women ate high, with nearly three-fourths (72.5 percent) reporting
that they attend services once or more a month. Muslim women's rates are
somewhat lower (44.7 percent), which may in part reflect Islamic restrictions on
female attendance. Christian respondents also have greater exposure to religious
socialization over the life-course, with 77.5 percent claiming high levels of
religiosity in childhood and adulthood compared to 65.6 percent of Muslim
women. The pattern is reversed, however, in their degree of religious conservatism. Compared to their Christian counterparts, Muslim women are twice as
likely to believe in scriptural inerrancy (81.9 percent compared to 43.8 percent).
This finding may reflect a general belief among Muslims that the Koran was
written by God, or it may suggest that belief in scriptural literalism is more
representative of a conservative ideological stance than a relŸ
attitude, per
GENDER ROLE ATTITUDES AMONG ARAB-AMERICAN WOMEN
215
TABLE 1
Distribution of Characteristics among Muslim and Christian Arab-American Women (n - 468)
Christian
(n = 271)
11.37
10.63
69.5%
14.4
85.6
36.2%
9.2
90.8
55.47**
65.5%
7.1
27.4
38.4%
18.5
43.1
12.44**
46.6%
53.4
70.8%
29.2
28.46**
3.0%
84.85**
X2
.73a**
Reli~osiry:
Attend services
Never
19.2%
A few times a year
46.1
Once of more a month
44.7
Religiosity over the life cycle
Low in childhood and adulthood
9.9%
Decreased since childhood
9.8
Increased since childhood
14.7
High in childhood and adulthood
65.6
Religious conservatism
~Holy book of my religion is the literal word of God."
Strongly disagree or disagree
6.2%
Neither agree nor disagree
11.9
Strongly agree of agree
81.9
24.5
72.5
4.8%
9.5
8.2
77.5
8.35*
24.3%
31.9
43.8
75.94**
a T-test for difference in means.
Table 2 examines ordinary least squares regression coefficients for the influences of these variables on women's degree of gender traditionalism. Muslim
affiliation is included in Model 1 as a baseline measure, and changes in its coefficient across models will help explain why Muslim women hold more traditional
gender tole attitudes than their Christian counterparts. Resulta in Model 1 f'md
that Muslim respondents ate more gender traditional t h a n Christian respondents, even when considering differences in educational attainment, presence of
children, and age. These background characteristics have expected effects on
women's gender ideologies- education decreases their support for traditional
roles, while parenting has the opposite effect. Women's beliefs vary over the life
course, with o[der women holding more traditional views on gender roles.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Gender traditionalism lndex
Etha/c/tS:
Foreign-bom
% U.S. resident less than 15 years
% U.S. resident 15 yearsor more
Homogamy
Arab spouse
Non-Arab spouse
Not married
Organizations shared with other Arabs
None of some of them
Most of all of them
Muslim
(n = 197)
216
SOCIOLOOYOF RELIGION
TABLE 2
OLS ~ c i e n t s for the Estimated Effects of Religion and Ethnici~ on
Arab-AmericanWomen's Gerder Role Attitudes (n = 501)
Gender Traditionalism Index
Model 1
Model 2
Model 3
b
Beta
b
Beta
b
Beta
Muslim affiliation
1.315"*
.195
.498+
.074
-.116
-.017
n
Constant
R2
Adjusted R2
8.973
.150
.142
9.616
.233
.219
7.371
.337
.318
+ p = < .10, * p = < .05, ** p - < .01.
Model 2 examines whether the relationship between Muslim affiliation and
gender traditionalism holds when A m b ethnicity is considered. As Model 2 indicates, each dimension of A m b ethnicity has a robust Ÿ
on women's degree
of gender t r a d i t i o n a l i s m - those who ate foreign-bom, married to ah Arab
spouse, and share most of all of their organizational memberships with other
Arabs are significantly more traditional in their gender tole attitudes than ate
those respondents without these ethnic affiliations. Duration of U.S. residence is
particularly salient, with the newest arrivals holding the most traditional views.
Importantly, when these dimensions of Arab ethnicity ate considered, the
association between Muslim affiliation and gender traditionalism drops appreciably, both in magnitude and significance.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Ethn/c/ty
Duration of U.S. residence
Native-bom
2.150"* .154 2.185"* .157
Less than 15 years
1.059"* .159 1.255"* .188
15 q
ca"more
.824** .125
.711"* .108
Amb spouse
1.001"* .146
.754** .111
Amb ethnic organizatiom
Rd/g/os/oj
1.767"* .266
Belief in scriptural inerrancy
.573*
.083
High attendance
Religiosityover the life cycle
Low in childhood and adulthood
.616
.058
Dr
sime childlxxxt
1.306"* .122
Increased since chiidhood
1371"* .193
Hi$h in childhood and aduldxxxt
Bac~ound/'aams:
-1.625"* -.239 -1.239"* -.182 -.523* -.077
College education
.837*
.126
. 2 5 5 + .038
.164
.025
Children present in home
-.015+ .148 -.131+ -.164 -.055+ -.184
Age
Age2
.001+ .063
.002+ .359
.001+ .363
GENDERROLEATTITUDESAMONGARAB-AMERICANWOMEN 217
10 Lesser variation in Christian womea's attendance rates may contribute to this finding.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Similarly, when measures of religiosity are added in Model 3, the effect of
Muslim affiliation on women's gender ideologies is no longer significant. The
effects of Amb ethnicity, on the other hand, remain hrgely unchanged, which
underscores the distinctiveness of women's ethnic and religious affiliations.
Model 3 also shows that religiosity is linked to inegalitarian views on gender,
and the effects are especially strong for women who believe in sc¡
inerrancy and who maintain religious convictions over the life course.
Taken together, results in Table 2 suggest that ethnicity and religiosity
mediate the effects of Muslim affiliation on gender traditionalism. Put differently, the findings suggest that Muslim affiliation may be acting asa proxy for
acculturation u Muslim respondents are more likely to be newer immŸ
arrivals, have an Amb spouse, affiliate with ethnic organizations, and believe in
scriptural inerrancy, and correspondingly, hold more traditional gender tole
attitudes. What remains unclear from Table 2 is whether ethnicity and religiosity have similar effects on Christian respondents' gender role attitudes, or if
they ate only significant for Muslim women's.
To examine this question, Table 3 examines separate models for Muslim and
Christian women. In general, the effects of Arab ethnicity on gender traditionalism ate comparable to those found in Table 2 and are surprisingly similar
for both groups of respondents. Newer immigrant arrivals are more gender
traditional than their native-bom counterparts, a finding that corroborates
stronger ties to indigenous values among immigrants. Having an Arab spouse is
more important for Muslim than Christian respondents, which may in part
reflect differences in marital status between the two groups (see Table 1). Ethnic
networks have a stronger effect on Christian respondent's gender role attitudes,
but again, the difference is minimal.
The effects of religiosity on gender traditionalism ate more variable by
religious affiliation. Belief in scriptural inerrancy is associated with inegalitarian
attitudes for both Christian and Muslim respondents, which is not surprising
since the Bible and Qur'an prescribe female domesticŸ (Memissi 1991; Sherkat
2000). Religiosity over the life course, on the other hand, appears more significant for Muslim women, even though they share similar patterns of relŸ
socialization with Christian respondents (Table 1). Likewise, religious attendance has a greater impact on Muslim women's gender ideologies than Christian
respondents'. 10 Despite these variations, the general finding in Table 3 is that
ethnicity and religiosity ate associated with inegalitarian gender tole attitudes
for Christian and Muslim respondents alike m gender egalitarianism is greatest
among women with longer exposure to U.S. norms and values and weaker
attachments to Amb ethnic and religious institutions.
218
SOCIOLOGYOF RELIGION
TABLE 3
OLS Coefficients for the Estimated Effects of Ethnicity and Religiosity on
Muslim and Christim: Women's Gender Role Attitudes (n =, 468)
Gender Traditionalism Index
Muslim
Ch¡
b
Beta
b
Beta
Ethnidt~:
.
2.026**
1.689"*
1.154"
.741+
.
.
.
.180
.243
.161
.109
3.525**
.968**
.483+
.788*
.204
.147
.076
.115
.166
.119
1.890"*
.287
.302
.039
.122
.216
.260
.367
,270
,822+
.034
.023
,111
-.062
-.056
.035
.024
-.645+
.281
-.041
.001 +
-.103
.034
-. 139
.380
Relig~osity:
Belief in scriptural inerrancy
High attendance
Religiosity over the life cycle
Low in childhood and adulthood
Decreased since childhood
Increased since chiidhood
High in childhood and adulthood
Bac~
f~:
CoUege education
Children present in home
Age
Age2
Constant
R2
Adjusted R2
1.432**
.963+
.
1.441
2.080*
1.855"*
-.441+
-.391
-.050
.001 +
5.965
.253
.201
.
.
.
7.834
.366
.333
+ p " < .I0, * p = < .05, ** p = < .01.
CONCLUSION
Several noteworthy findings emerge from this research, many of which challenge cultural stereotypes of Arab-American women. O n e of the more important
findings of this study c o n t e r o s t h e impact of Muslim affiliation on women's
gender beliefs. Muslim respondents ate more gender tmditional t h a n their nonMuslim peers, but rather than reflecting the impact of religious affiliation per se,
this study finds that differences in ethnicity and religiosity are more signfficant.
Muslim respondents ate more likely to be immigrants to the U n i t e d States, have
an A m b spouse, participate in e t h n i c organizations, and believe in scriptural
inerrancy. O n c e these differences ate considered, the influence of Muslim affiliation on gender traditionalism disappears.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Duration of U.S. residence
Native-bom
Less than 15 years
15 years of more
Amb spouse
Arab ethnic organizations
GENDER ROLE ATTITUDES AMONG ARAB-AMERICAN WOMEN
219
REFERENCES
Aswad, B. C. 1994. Attitudes of immigrant women and men in the Dearbom atea toward women's
employment and welfare. In Mus//m communities in North America, edŸ by Y. Y. Haddad and
J. I. Smith, 501-519. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Bankston, C. L., and M. Zhou. 1996. The ethnic church, ethnŸ identification, and the social
adjustment of Vietnamese adolescenrs. Review of Reli#ous Research38(1): 18-37.
Bartkowski, J. P. 1999. One step forward, one step back: 'Progressive traditionalism' and the
negotiation of domestic labor within Evangelical families. Gender Issues 17:40-64.
2001. Remaking the godly marriage: Gender negotiation in Evangelical …
New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Bartkowski, J. P., and J. G. Rea& 2003. Veiled submission: Gender, power, and identity among
Evangelical and Muslim women in the United States. Qua//tatŸ Soc/o/ogy 26(1):71.92.
Beaman, L. G. 2001. Molly Mormons, Mormon feminista and moderates: Religious diversity and
the LDS church. Soc/o/ogyof Re//g/on 62:65-86.
Bilge, B., and B. C. Aswad, eds. 1996. Introduction. In Family and gender among American Muslims:
Issues facing Middle Eastern im~grants and the.ir clescendants, 1-16. Philadelphia: Temple
Universitn/Press.
Bozorgraehr, M., C. Der-Martirosian, and G. Sabagh. 1996. Middle Eastemers: A new kind of
immigrant. In Ethn/c Los Angdes, edited by R. Waldinger and M. Bomrgmehr, 345-75. New
York: Russeli Sage Foundation.
Cainkar, L. 1994. Palestinian women in American socieW. The interaction of social class, culture,
and politics. In The deve/opmemo/Arab-Amer/can/dent/ry, edited by E. McCams, 85-105. Ama
Arbor: The University of Michigan Press.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
In contrast, the effects of religiosity and ethnicity on gender tmditionalism
ate more stable and follow somewhat similar patterns for Christian and Muslim
respondents. This finding may in part reflect the fact that Arabic traditions and
Christian and Muslim doctrine all teach similar roles for women, so ethnic and
religious affiliation may be less predictive of gender beliefs than degree of attachment to these communities. Like other U.S. groups, belonging to a community
of believers serves to reinforce lifestyles prescribed by that particular community
(Bankston and Zhou 1996; Cornwall 1987; Ellison and George 1994; Heaton
and Comwall 1989; Sherkat 2000).
Overall, results of this study underscore the need for additional research on
America's emergent ethnic and religious populations, such as Arab Americans
and U.S. Muslims. Mainstream scholarship in religion, ethnicity, and immigmtion has been slow to document the experiences of these groups, despite their
tremendous growth over the past few decades. Consequently, the social and economic adjustments of these communities remain less understood than those of
other U.S. groups. Though not without limitations, this study points to the
relevance of distinguishing between ethnicity and religion among persons of
Middle Eastern descent, particularly in light of recent events. Sociologists of
relŸ
are uniquely qualified to provide greater insight into this increasingly
important subgroup of Americans.
220 SC~IOLCg3Y OF RELIGION
Cassidy, M. L., and B. O. Warren. 1996. Family emplo~aent status and gender tole attitudes: A
comparison of women and men coUege graduates. Gender 6' Soc/et,j 10(3)'312-29.
Chong, K. H. 1998. What ir meam to be Christian: The tole of religion in the comtruction of
ethnic identity and boundary among second-generation Korean Americans. Soc/do~ of
Religum 59(3) :259-286.
Comwall, M. 1987. The social bases of religion: A study of the factors influencing religious beliefs
and commitment. Rev/e~ oŸRd/g/ous Resear 29:44-56.
Ehaugh, H. IL, and J. S. Chafetz. 1999. Agents for cultural reproduction and strucuwal change:
The ironic tole of women in immigrant religious imtitutiom. Soc/a/Forces 78(2):585-612.
~ .
2000. Rdi~on ancl the neva immigrants: Conthudties and ada#tations in iramigrant
cor~egatUms. New Yo&: Altamira Press.
EI-Badry, S. 1994. The Arab-American market. Amer
Ekqno91
16:22-31.
Ellison, C. G., and L. K. Geor 1994. Rehgtous mvolvement, social ties, and social support in a
Southeastem community. Jouma/for the Sc/enti~ Stud~ of Rd/gion 33:46-61.
Esposito, J. L 1998. Women in Islam and Muslim societies. Introduction to Is/am, Gender, and
Soda/Change, edited by Y. Y. Haddad and J. L. Esposito. New York: Oxford University Pre~
Gay, D. A., C. G. Ellison, and D. A. Powers. 1996. In search of denomination subcultures:
Religious affiliation and 'pro-family' issues revisited. Reviewof Rd/g/ous Resem'ch38( 1):3-17.
GhaneaBassi¡ K., ed. 1997. Com#et/ng t/s/ons of Islam in the Un/tM States: A study of/os
WestlX~ CT: Greenwood Press.
Glass, J. 1992. Housewives and employed wives: Demographic and attitudinal chang,e, 1972-1986.
Jouma/ofManoge and the Fam//~ 54(3):559-569.
Haddad, Y. Y. 1991. The Mud/ms of Amer/ca, edited by Y. Y. Haddad. New York: OxfoM
University Press.
~ .
1994. Maintaining the faith of the fathers: Dilemma of religious identity in the Christian
and Muslim Arab-American communities. In The devebpment of Arab-Amer/can/dent/t~,
edited by E. McCarus, 61-84. Ann Arbor.. The University of Michigan Press.
Haddad, Y. Y., and A. T. Luramis. 1987. Islan• ~alues in the Unitecl Statzs: A comparative stud~.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Haddad, Y. Y., and J. I. Smith~ 1996. lslamic vahes among American Muslims. In Fam//~ and
gender anumg ~
Mud/ms: lssues fadng M/dd/e Eastem imm/grams and thetr descerghnts,
edited by B. C. Aswad and B. Bilge, 19-40. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Hardacre, H. 1997. The impact of fundamentalisms on women, the family, and interpersonal
relations. In Fundamenta//sms and soc/et~: Rec/a/nu'ng the scŸ
the familv, and
edited by M. E. Marty ancl S. R. Appleby, 129-50. Chicag~: University of Chicago Press.
Hartman, H., and M. Hartman. 1996. More Jewish, less Jewisk Implications for education and
hbor force characteristics. Soc/o/o~ of Rd/g/on 57(2):175-93.
Heaton, T., and M. C. ComwalL 1989. Religious group variation in the socioeconomic status and
family behavior of women. Joumalfor the Sc/ent/~ Stud~ of Re//~~m28(3):283-299.
Hertel, B. IL, and M. Hughe~ 1987. Religious affiliation, attendance, and support for 'pro-family'
issues in the United State~ Soda/Forces 65(3):858-82.
Hunter, J. D. 1991. Cu/ture ~va~s:The ~
to defimeAmer New York: Basic Books.
Lehrer, E. L 1995. The effects of religion on the labor supply of married women. Soc/a/Sc/ence
Resean:h 24(3):281-301.
Memissi, F. 1991. The ~eil and the mah elite: A [eminist inte~etation of uaymen's rights in Islam.
Tramlated by M. J. Lakeland. New York: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Mosher, W. D., L. B. Williams, and D. P. Johnson. 1992. Religion and fertility in the United
States: New pattems. Donogra#h~ 29(2):199-214.
Naff, A. 1994. The early Arab immigrant experience. In The &mlolm~*ntof A r o b - ~ / d e n t / t ~ ,
edited by E. McCarus, 22-35. Ann Arbor:. The Universit~of Michigan Press.
9
.
~.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
GENDER ROLE ATTI'KJDES AMONG ARAB-AMERICAN WOMEN
221
Sherkat, D. E 2000. 'That they be keepers of the home': The effect of conservative religion on
eady and late tramiUons into hota~wifery. Ret~~vof Re//gª Research41(3):344-58.
Suleiman, M. W. 1999. Introductiom The Arab immigrant experience.* In Arabs in Amer/ca:
Bu//d/nga new fuuae, edited by M. W. Suleiman, 1-21. Philadelphia:Temple UniversŸ Press.
Suleimarh M. W., and B. Abu-Laban. 1989. Introduction. In Ar Amer/c.mu: Cont/n~t~ and
change, edited by B. Abu-Laban and M. W. Suleiman, 1-13. Belmont, MA: AssocŸ
of
Arab-~
Univem~tyGraduates, Inc.
Terry, J. J. 1985. Mistaken identity: Arab stereotypes in popular writing. Washington, DC:
~-Arab
Affa~s Cota~iL
Thomton, A., D. F. Alwin, and D. Cambum. 1983. Causes and consequences of sex-role attitudes
and attitude changes. ~
~
Rev/ew48(2):211-21.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1990. Census o…pottm/a6on and hous/ng, CP-2-1, social and economic
char~,
1990. Washington, DC: U.S. Govemment Printing Office.
Wamer, IL S., and J. G. Witmer, eds. 1998. Gmher
in d/aspora: Religu~us communities ancl the
new 91
Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Wilcox, C., and T. G. Jelen. 1991. The effects of emplo~aent and religion on women's feminist
attitude~ The I ~
Jouma/… the P ~
of Rd/g/on 1(3):161-71.
Wilder, E I., and W. H. Walten. 1998. Ethnic and reli8ious components of the Jewish income
advantage, 1969-1989." ~
Inqu/~ 68(3):426-36.
Williams, 1L H., ed. 1997. Cu/ture ~varsin Amer/canpo//t/cs: C r / ~ tercetosof a popu/ar m~th. New
York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Zogbu J. 1990. Ar Ame6ca todas: A demograf~/c profl/e of Arab Amer/cans. Washington, DC:
Amb Americ.anImtitute.
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Peek, C~ W., (3. D. Lowe, and L S. William~ 1991. Gender ancl God's word: Another look at
reltlgiom fimdmmmmlimaand sexism. Soda/Forces69(4):1205-22.
~ ,
E. 198& Wor life, ~mily life, and women's support of feminism. Ame6can Sodo/og/ca/
53(4).~g~49.
Read, J. (3. 1002. Challen8in8 m~ths of Mus[im womerg The infhence of Islam on Arab~mmen's labor furce participatio~ Mus//m World96(1):19-38.
Read, J. G., and J. P. ~
2000. To veil or not to veil? A case studu of identiw negotiation
anamg lr
women in Austin, Texa~ Gender 6' S0r
14(3):395-417.
Sabash, G., and M. Bozot8mehr. 1994. Secuhr immigrants: Religiosity and ethniciw amon8
Iranian Muslims in Los Anseles./n Mus//m commun/t/es/n North Amer/ca, edited by Y. Y.
Haddad and J. I. Smith, 445-73. Albanu Sr UniversiWof New York Pres~
Samhan, H. I-L 1999. Nor quite white: Race classification and the Arab-American experience. In
in ~ :
B u / / ~ a ne~/uture, edited by M. W. Suleiman, 209-26. Philadelphia:
Temple Univenity Pres~
.2001. Amb Americam. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Gro[ier Inc.
Shaldr, E. 1997. Bint Arab: Amb and Arab American u,mnen in the United St_~es. Westport, CT:
222
SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION
APPENDIX A
Variable Measures
Variables
Measurement and Coding
De~-ndemVarª
1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree
1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree
1 = Strongly agree, 5 = Strongly disagree
1 = Strongly agree, 5 = Strongly disagree
1 = Strongly agree, 5 = Strongly disagree
lndelx'rdem Variables
Ethnicity:
Duration of U.S. residence
Native-born
Less than 15 years
15 years of more
Homogamy
Number of organizational memberships
shared with other Arabs
Religion and religiosity:
Religious affiliation
Belief in scriptural inerrancy
Attendance
Religiosity over life cycle
Low in childhood and adulthood
Decreased since childhood
Increased since childhood
High in childtxxxt and adulthood
Background factors:
Educational attainment
Presence of children in home
Age in years
Reference category
1 = yes, 0 = other
1 = yes, 0 = other
1 = Married to ah Arab, 0 = other
1 = Most of all of them, 0 = other
1 = Muslim, 0 = other
1 = Strongly believe of believe, 0 = other
1 = Once of more a month, 0 -- other
Reference category
1 = yes, 0 = other
1 = yes, 0 -- other
1 = yes, 0 = other
1 = college education, 0 = other
1 = children present, 0 -- other
Two items, continuous and quadratic
Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on October 17, 2012
Gender role attitude index:
Preschool children will likely suffer ir
their mother is employed
It is better for everyone if the husband
makes major decisions for the family
Parents should encourage justas much
independence in doughters as in sons
Ir a husband and wife both work full-time,
they should share in housework equally
Women should be allowed to lead religious
services