Examining the Role of Parental and Peer Religious Socialization in Muslim-Adolescents’ Religious and National Group Identities

Abstract

The development of religious minorities’ sense of identity regarding both their religious group and the majority group is particularly important during adolescence. Adolescents receive cultural messages from those around them through cultural socialization practices. However, few studies examine the role of religious socialization in adolescents’ identity development. Even less is known about how Maternal Religious Socialization (MRS) and Peer Religious Socialization (PRS) may independently and interactively impact adolescents’ group identities. Furthermore, although Muslim individuals comprise the fastest growing religious minority group in the U.S., research on this group is scarce. Hence, the present study examined the role of MRS, PRS, and the interactive effect of MRS and PRS on Muslim-American adolescents’ religious (Muslim) and national (American) identities. Muslim-American adolescents (N=212; 13-18 years-old) reported on their perceptions of their MRS, PRS, and Muslim and American identity. Overall, PRS was a stronger predictor of adolescents’ Muslim identity than MRS. Mothers’ promotion of pluralism predicted stronger Muslim identity, whereas promotion of mistrust predicted lower levels of American identity. Finally, the positive relations between MRS and adolescents’ Muslim and American identities were weaker and became non-significant with increasing levels of PRS. Implications forsupporting healthy identity development among Muslim-American adolescents are discussed.