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218 SOCIOLOGY OF 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~: Duration of U.S. residence 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 Religiosity over the life cycle 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 affiliation on gender traditionalism disappears. Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on January 18, 2013
GENDER ROLE ATTITUDES AMONG ARAB-AMERICAN WOMEN 219 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. Downloaded from http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/ by guest on January 18, 2013
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