The Sources of Gender Role Attitudes among Christian and Muslim ...

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 oŸ Ca///orn/a, lr~ne 

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 ~umnen porrrays 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. 

INTRODUCTION 

The influence of religion on women's gender tole attitudes is well docu- 

mented 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/rect eorresl~ndow.e ~ ]en'nan O. Read, D~m, nent of Soc/oio~, Uravets/ry oŸ Cal/foro/a, lm.e, Ca//fom/a 

92697. I wmdd ~ to thank M/chael Emerson, ]ohn Bartko~ski, Chris EUison, Nancy Nmon-Ciark, and the. 

anon3nnom ret~,~~~ at the Sociology of Rdigion for their insi91191 comments and feedback. This study ~as rnade 

posable by suppon from ~ Texas f~~,ram for ~ a~l He~ a.d ~ of Sodoio~ at Rice u.i~.s~, 

Zogby Internat¨ the Amb American Im~~a~ Founda¡ American-Arab Anti-Discriminaaon Commitw.e, and 

Amb C_,ommr~ Cen~ Ÿ ~ a.d SociaI Sm, ices. 

207 

Downloaded from 

http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ 

by guest on January 18, 2013

208 SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION 

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 Arab- 

American 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. 

BACKGROUND 

Ah extensive body of research on Judeo-Christian influences finds a strong 

association between fundamentalist affiliation and participation and inegali- 

ta¡ 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 conser- 

vative 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; 




GENDER ROLE ATTITUDES AMONG ARAB-AMERICAN WOMEN 209 

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 gen- 

der 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 non- 

Hispanic whites. Thus, to date, their exact numbers are unknown. The most 

frequently cited estimate is 3 million, roughly equal to the size of the Native- 

AmerŸ 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 socio- 

economic and cultural adaptation. Contrary to popular perceptions of this eth- 

nic 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 immi- 

grants 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 one- 

third follow the Muslim faith, reflecting distinct migration patterns from the 

Middle East (Samhan 2001). Despite diversity in their immigration histories, 

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. 





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 tra- 

ditional 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 funda- 

mental for preserving and reproducing Arab culture (Cainkar 1994; Haddad and 

Lummis 1987). Others consider it inhibitive of their integration and achieve- 

ment 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 Arab- 

Americans 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 ethno- 

religious 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 

4 Greater S~ria includes modero dau Lebanon, S~ia, Palestine, and Israel. 




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, immi- 

grant 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. 

METHODS 

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; conse- 

quently, 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. 





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 popula- 

tions, such as Arab Americans. Since the sampling frame is based on sumames, 

the most assimilated women ate likely underrepresented, those who have out- 

married or whose names have been Anglocized over time. The sample is likelu 

older and more highly educated than Arab Americans asa 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. 

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 indepen- 

dent 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 





belief in scriptuml inerrancy. To address both Christian and Muslim respond- 

ents, 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 objec- 

tire 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 expecta- 

tions 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 ethni- 

city identifies the number of organizational affiliations the respondent shares 

with other Arabs, which signifies their degree of involvement in ethnic com- 

munities. 

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 life- 

course, with older women holding less ega[itarian views. Accordingly, I measure 

the effects of these characteristics with dummy variables for educational attain- 

ment (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 

7 The stavey questionnaire was pre-tested with three focus groups, and this Ÿ was understood by both 

Mmlim and Christian participants. 

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. 





quadratic term. I include the quadratic term to account for potential 

nonlinearity in the relationship between age and gender ideology. 

RESULTS 

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 exam- 

ines 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 Christ- 

ian 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 emigra- 

tion 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 conser- 

vatism. 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 

Se. 

9 Women who report "other" or "no" affiliation (6.6 percent) ate excluded from Tables 1 and 3 and 

coded ~" in Table 2. 





TABLE 1 

Distribution of Characteristics among Muslim and Christian Arab-American Women (n - 468) 

Muslim Christian 

(n = 197) (n = 271) X 2 

Gender traditionalism lndex 11.37 10.63 .73 a** 

Etha/c/tS: 

Foreign-bom 69.5% 36.2% 55.47** 

% U.S. resident less than 15 years 14.4 9.2 

% U.S. resident 15 years or more 85.6 90.8 

Homogamy 

Arab spouse 65.5% 38.4% 12.44** 

Non-Arab spouse 7.1 18.5 

Not married 27.4 43.1 

Organizations shared with other Arabs 

None of some of them 46.6% 70.8% 28.46** 

Most of all of them 53.4 29.2 

Reli~osiry: 

Attend services 

Never 19.2% 3.0% 84.85** 

A few times a year 46.1 24.5 

Once of more a month 44.7 72.5 

Religiosity over the life cycle 

Low in childhood and adulthood 9.9% 4.8% 8.35* 

Decreased since childhood 9.8 9.5 

Increased since childhood 14.7 8.2 

High in childhood and adulthood 65.6 77.5 

Religious conservatism 

~Holy book of my religion is the literal word of God." 

Strongly disagree or disagree 6.2% 24.3% 75.94** 

Neither agree nor disagree 11.9 31.9 

Strongly agree of agree 81.9 43.8 

a T-test for difference in means. 

Table 2 examines ordinary least squares regression coefficients for the influ- 

ences 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 coeffi- 

cient 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 than Christian respond- 

ents, 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. 




216 SOCIOLOOY OF RELIGION 

Muslim affiliation 

TABLE 2 

OLS ~cients for the Estimated Effects of Religion and Ethnici~ on 

Arab-American Women's Gerder Role Attitudes (n = 501) 

Ethn/c/ty 

Duration of U.S. residence 

Native-bom 

Less than 15 years 

15 q ca" more 

Amb spouse 

Amb ethnic organizatiom 

Rd/g/os/oj 

Belief in scriptural inerrancy 

High attendance 


Low in childhood and adulthood 

Dr sime childlxxxt 

Increased since chiidhood 

Hi$h in childhood and aduldxxxt 

Bac~ound/'aams: 

College education 

Children present in home 

Age 

Age 2 

Constant 

R 2 

Adjusted R 2 

+ p = < .10, * p = < .05, ** p - < .01. 

Gender Traditionalism Index 

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 

b Beta b Beta b Beta 

1.315"* .195 .498+ .074 -.116 -.017 

2.150"* .154 2.185"* .157 

1.059"* .159 1.255"* .188 

.824** .125 .711"* .108 

1.001"* .146 .754** .111 

1.767"* .266 

.573* .083 

n 

.616 .058 

1.306"* .122 

1371"* .193 

-1.625"* -.239 -1.239"* -.182 -.523* -.077 

.837* .126 .255+ .038 .164 .025 

-.015+ .148 -.131+ -.164 -.055+ -.184 

.001+ .063 .002+ .359 .001+ .363 

8.973 9.616 7.371 

.150 .233 .337 

.142 .219 .318 

Model 2 examines whether the relationship between Muslim affiliation and 

gender traditionalism holds when Amb ethnicity is considered. As Model 2 indi- 

cates, each dimension of Amb ethnicity has a robust Ÿ on women's degree 

of gender traditionalism- 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 appre- 

ciably, both in magnitude and significance. 





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¡ iner- 

rancy 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 differ- 

ently, 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 reli- 

giosity 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 tradi- 

tionalism 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 signi- 

ficant for Muslim women, even though they share similar patterns of relŸ 

socialization with Christian respondents (Table 1). Likewise, religious attend- 

ance 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. 

10 Lesser variation in Christian womea's attendance rates may contribute to this finding. 





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~: 


Native-bom . . . . 

Less than 15 years 2.026** .180 3.525** .204 

15 years of more 1.689"* .243 .968** .147 

Amb spouse 1.154" .161 .483+ .076 

Arab ethnic organizations .741+ .109 .788* .115 

Relig~osity: 

Belief in scriptural inerrancy 1.432** .166 1.890"* .302 

High attendance .963+ .119 .287 .039 


Low in childhood and adulthood . . . . 

Decreased since childhood 1.441 .122 .367 .034 

Increased since chiidhood 2.080* .216 ,270 .023 

High in childhood and adulthood 1.855"* .260 ,822+ ,111 

Bac~ f~: 

CoUege education -.441+ -.062 -.645+ -.103 

Children present in home -.391 -.056 .281 .034 

Age -.050 .035 -.041 -. 139 

Age 2 .001 + .024 .001 + .380 

Constant 5.965 7.834 

R 2 .253 .366 

Adjusted R 2 .201 .333 

+ p " < .I0, * p = < .05, ** p = < .01. 

CONCLUSION 

Several noteworthy findings emerge from this research, many of which chal- 

lenge cultural stereotypes of Arab-American women. One of the more important 

findings of this study conteros the impact of Muslim affiliation on women's 

gender beliefs. Muslim respondents ate more gender tmditional than their non- 

Muslim 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 United States, have 

an Amb spouse, participate in ethnic organizations, and believe in scriptural 

inerrancy. Once these differences ate considered, the influence of Muslim affilia- 

tion on gender traditionalism disappears. 





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 attach- 

ment 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 immigm- 

tion has been slow to document the experiences of these groups, despite their 

tremendous growth over the past few decades. Consequently, the social and eco- 

nomic 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. 

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 Research 38(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/ogy of 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/opmem o/Arab-Amer/can/dent/ry, edited by E. McCams, 85-105. Ama 

Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. 




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~ oŸ Rd/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. 

9 . ~. 

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. Review of Rd/g/ous Resem'ch 38( 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//~~m 28(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 defime Amer 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~*nt of Arob-~/dent/t~, 

edited by E. McCarus, 22-35. Ann Arbor:. The Universit~ of Michigan Press. 




GENDER ROLE ATTI'KJDES AMONG ARAB-AMERICAN WOMEN 221 

Peek, C~ W., (3. D. Lowe, and L S. William~ 1991. Gender ancl God's word: Another look at 

reltlgiom fimdmmmmlima and sexism. Soda/Forces 69(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 World 96(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 UniversiW of New York Pres~ 

Samhan, H. I-L 1999. Nor quite white: Race classification and the Arab-American experience. In 

in ~ : Bu//~ 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: 

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~~v of Re//gª Research 41(3):344-58. 

Suleiman, M. W. 1999. Introductiom The Arab immigrant experience.* In Arabs in Amer/ca: 

Bu//d/ng a 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~ty Graduates, 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/ew 48(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 ~vars in Amer/can po//t/cs: Cr/~ tercetos of 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.an Imtitute. 





APPENDIX A 

Variable Measures 

Variables Measurement and Coding 

De~-ndem Varª 

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 

lndelx'rdem Variables 

Ethnicity: 


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 

1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree 

1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree 

1 = Strongly agree, 5 = Strongly disagree 



Reference category 

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 = college education, 0 = other 

1 = children present, 0 -- other 

Two items, continuous and quadratic

The Sources of Gender Role Attitudes among Christian and Muslim ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?