Religious Identity Formation Among Muslim American Youth

Introduction: Several studies (Peek, 2004; Chaudhry and Miller, 2008; Stuart and Ward, 2011; Gaffar-Kucher, 2012) have explored religious identity formation for older Muslim adolescents; however Fowler and Dell (2004) suggest that religious identity development is context dependent so that greater negative stereotypes may force Muslim youth to consider their religious identity at an earlier age.  The present study seeks thus seeks to understand how Muslim American youth ages 10-13 conceptualize their religious identity.  In addition, the study seeks to understand the impact of the proximal microsystems for Muslim students – including their families, schools and peers.  Finally, the study attempts to understand whether there is a process of “religious socialization” that may serve as a protective factor for these youth. 

Methods: This mixed-method study will utilize both focus groups and a survey instrument to understand the religious identity development of Muslim American students (ages 10-13) in the Nashville, TN area.  Since school and peer relationships have an increasing impact on students in adolescence (Steinberg, 2011), the proposed project would contrast three particular school settings – Metro Nashville public schools (MNPS) that have a large Muslim population, public schools that have few Muslim students, and Islamic schools.  Both the focus group and the survey will focus on how Muslim youth view their own religious identity, and the impact of families, schools, and peers on their religious identity development.  The qualitative data will be analyzed using a combination of content analysis and grounded theory, while survey data will be utilized to understand group differences between and among focus group participants.

Results: It is anticipated that the data collection for the project will be completed by January 2013.  Possible outcomes include the identification of perceived problems associated with the stigma of being Muslim, as well as possible protective factors that support positive religious identity formation.  Students with greater support from parents, schools, and peers are anticipated to have fewer problems with religious identity development.  Likewise, students with greater knowledge of Islam (religious socialization) are anticipated to have fewer problems.

Conclusions: The goal of the study is to better understand how Muslim American youth conceptualize their religious identity in the context of widespread Islamophobia, to identify possible protective factors that lead to healthy religious identity formation, and to determine the extent of religious socialization.  The hope is that the present research will provide a foundation for future preventative interventions for positive youth development programs for Muslim youth.