Perceived Discrimination Among Muslim Americans: Examining the Role of Religious Identity and Authenticity
Date
2018-06-14
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Abstract
This study examined whether religion provides an overall greater sense of well-being when the
religion being practiced is Islam. Over 400 Muslims in the US completed a survey assessing
perceived discrimination and a variety of well-being indicators. Results suggested that
discrimination was positively associated with anxiety, but not significantly associated with
religiosity. When examining the two subscales of the religiosity measure: God consciousness and
formal practices (going to mosque, praying), discrimination was negatively associated with God
consciousness, but positively associated with formal practices. There was no relationship
between overall religiosity and anxiety, but overt religious presentation (wearing a hijab, being
open about one’s faith) was positively associated with discrimination. These findings suggest
that for Muslims in the US, outwardly expressing one’s faith is more strongly tied to experiences
of discrimination than religious belief itself. Further analyses revealed that the relationship
between experiences of discrimination and well-being outcomes such as anxiety and self-esteem
was moderated by authenticity and religiosity. Overall, frequent experiences of discrimination
were associated with low levels of well-being regardless of one’s authenticity or religiosity. In
contrast, religiosity and authenticity were associated with higher well-being for people with less
frequent experiences of discrimination.In addition to these findings, differences were found in
both race and gender. Future studies would benefit by focusing on this segment of the population.
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Keywords
psychology, religion, authenticity, self-esteem, anxiety