Fenella Fleischmann

Integration and religiosity among the Turkish second generation in Europe: a comparative analysis across four capital cities

Abstract Drawing on recent cross-national surveys of the Turkish second generation, we test hypotheses of secularization and of religious vitality for Muslim minorities in Europe. Secularization predicts an inverse relationship between structural integration and religiosity, such that the Turkish second generation would be less religious with higher levels of educational attainment and intermarriage. The religious vitality hypothesis predicts the maintenance of religion in the second generation, highlighting the role of religious socialization within immigrant families and communities. Taking a comparative approach, these hypotheses are tested in the context of different national approaches to the institutionalization of Islam as a minority religion in four European capital cities: Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels and Stockholm. Across contexts, religious socialization strongly predicts second-generation religiosity, in line with religious vitality. The secularization hypothesis finds support only among the second generation in Berlin, however, where Islam is least accommodated.

Religious Identification, Beliefs, and Practices Among Turkish Belgian and Moroccan Belgian Muslims: Intergenerational Continuity and Acculturative Change

In light of the religious vitality of Muslim immigrants in historically Christian and highly secularized West-European societies, this study addresses three related questions: (a) How does childhood religious transmission affect adult religiosity among second-generation Muslims? (b) How do acculturating groups as proximal acculturation contexts affect effective transmission? and (c) How do second-generation acculturation orientations affect the transmission process? Using the cross-cultural TIES (“The Integration of the European Second Generation”) surveys among adult community samples of Turkish and Moroccan Belgian Muslims in two cities (Ns = 500 and 481), cross-cultural Structural Equation Models were tested in the four groups to estimate the paths from childhood religious transmission to adult religiosity and acculturation orientations as latent dependent variables. As expected, (a) religious transmission was generally effective for religious identification, beliefs, and practices across groups, yet (b) transmission was most effective in the Turkish Belgian groups as acculturation contexts with high collective cultural continuity. And finally (c) across groups and religious dimensions, individual orientations toward heritage culture maintenance strengthened effective transmission, and host culture adoption played a minor role. We conclude that the religious life of the second generation is part of a continued orientation toward the heritage culture in acculturating families and communities.

Unemployment among immigrants in European labour markets: an analysis of origin and destination effects

This article presents a multilevel analysis of 1363 male and female first- and second-generation immigrants’ unemployment rates. In addition to individual characteristics, the effects of macro-characteristics of 13 destination countries in the EU and of more than 100 origin countries of the immigrants are analysed. Immigrants are found to be more often unemployed in countries where natives have higher unemployment rates. Immigrants’ unemployment rates are lower in countries with a larger segment of low-status jobs, with higher immigration rates and with a higher GDP per capita. Destination countries’ integration policies and welfare state regimes do not affect the unemployment risk of immigrants. At the level of origin countries, immigrants from more politically stable and free, more developed and more wealthy societies are found to be less often unemployed. Immigrants coming from Islamic countries have higher rates of unemployment, while those originating from Western Europe are less likely to be unemployed.

Religious identification and politicization in the face of discrimination: Support for political Islam and political action among the Turkish and Moroccan second generation in Europe

Taking an approach from religion as a social identity and using large-scale comparative surveys in five European cities, we investigate when and how perceived discrimination is associated with religious identification and politicization among the second generation of Turkish and Moroccan Muslims. We distinguish support for political Islam from political action as distinct forms of politicization. In addition, we test the mediating role of religious identification in processes of politicization. Study 1 estimates multi-group structural equation models of support for political Islam in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. In line with a social identity model of politicization and across nine inter-group contexts, Muslims who perceived more discrimination identified (even) more strongly as Muslims; and high Muslim identifiers were most ready to support political Islam. In support of a competing social stigma hypothesis, however, negative direct and total effects of perceived discrimination suggest predominant depoliticization. Using separate sub-samples across four inter-group contexts in Belgium, Study 2 adds political action tendencies as a distinct form of politicization. Whereas religious identification positively predicts both forms of politicization, perceived discrimination has differential effects: Muslims who perceived more discrimination were more weary of supporting political Islam, yet more ready to engage in political action to defend Islamic values. Taken together, the studies reveal that some Muslim citizens will politicize and others will depoliticize in the face of discrimination as a function of their religious identification and of prevailing forms of politicization.

The educational attainment of second generation immigrants from different countries of origin in the EU member-states

Drawing on the second wave of the European Social Survey, we analyse the educational attainment of 1,039 second generation immigrants from different countries of origin in 13 EU countries, relative to that of the natives of these EU countries. In addition to testing the effects of individual factors, such as parental education and religion, we estimate the effects of macro characteristics of both origin and destination countries. Next to parental educational level, the average educational level of the natives of the countries of destination and the generosity of the naturalization laws have positive effects on the educational level of both male and female second generation immigrants. Other macro-characteristics of countries of origin and destination have no significant effects on educational outcomes of these immigrants. However, Muslim men of the second generation are found to have lower levels of education.

Comparing Concepts of Ethnicity in Ethnic Composition Measures: Local Community Contexts and the Educational Attainment of the Second Generation in Belgium

This study examines the relation between the ethnic composition of municipalities and the secondary-school completion of the second generation of Italian, Moroccan and Turkish origin and of the Belgian majority. Drawing on random samples from the Belgian census and on contextual data at the level of municipalities, we use multilevel models to compare two competing concepts and measures of ethnic composition. The percentage of ethnic minorities in a municipality is found to be negatively related to secondary-school completion among Belgians, but not among ethnic minorities. In contrast, a positive association is found for the percentage of co-ethnics for all groups. Compared to measures of socio-economic composition, however, ethnic composition measures are more weakly associated with school completion. The findings are discussed in light of research on neighbourhood effects, in particular ethnic density effects. We argue that combining different ethnic groups into one measure of ethnic minority concentration, though relevant for the majority population, glosses over crucial ethnic differences from the perspective of ethnic minorities.

Gender Inequalities in the Education of the Second Generation in Western Countries

Drawing on comparative analyses from nine Western countries, we ask whether local-born children from a wide range of immigrant groups show patterns of female advantage in education that are similar to those prevalent in their host Western societies. We consider five outcomes throughout the educational career: test scores or grades at age 15, continuation after compulsory schooling, choice of academic track in upper-secondary education, completion of upper secondary, and completion of tertiary education. Despite great variation in gender gaps in education in immigrants’ origin countries (with advantages for males in many cases), we find that the female advantage in education observed among the majority population is usually present among second-generation immigrants. We interpret these findings in light of ideas about gender role socialization and immigrant selectivity.

Contextualizing ethnic educational inequality: The role of stability and quality of neighborhoods and ethnic density in second-generation attainment

This study examines the joint impact of neighborhood structure and ethnic density on the educational attainment of the second generation. Using second-generation samples and a majority reference sample from the Belgian Census, multi-level analysis yields the expected positive effects of neighborhood stability and quality and ethnic density on second-generation school completion. Reflecting the ethnic stratification of the Belgian housing market, majority residential concentration tends to coincide with high neighborhood stability and quality and high completion rates, whereas Moroccan concentrations overlap with low neighborhood quality, and low completion rates. For the Turkish and Italian second generation, neighborhood structure moderates ethnic density effects on school completion, in line with segmented assimilation. Our findings suggest distinct Moroccan, Turkish and Italian incorporation modes which reflect differential access to, and investments in ethnic versus mainstream social networks.

Gendering Islamic Religiosity in the Second Generation: Gender Differences in Religious Practices and the Association with Gender Ideology among Moroccan- and Turkish-Belgian Muslims

Departing from the debate about the importance of gender ideology in the integration of Muslim minorities in Western Europe, this article studies the association between Islamic religiosity and gender ideology among second-generation Turkish and Moroccan men and women in Belgium. Islamic religiosity is conceptualized as consisting of religious identification, (partly gender-specific) religious practices, and belief orthodoxy. The comparability of this model across genders and national origin groups is tested with recently collected survey data. The association between Islamic religiosity and gender ideology is analyzed with regard to gender and ethnic differences. Taking a number of control variables into account, the analysis reveals no significant differences between national origin groups. More importantly, Islamic religiosity is found to be only weakly negatively associated with gender egalitarianism; this association is somewhat stronger for men than for women. These results challenge the alleged strong connection between Islamic religiosity and traditional gender ideology and highlight the importance of taking gender differences into account when studying religiosity among Muslim minorities in Europe.

The Making and Unmaking of Religious Boundaries

In public debates over multiculturalism in Europe, Islamic values and ways of life are commonly represented as incompatible with Western rights and liberties. Against this background, Muslim minorities have developed generally strong and stable religious identities. This paper asks when and how multicultural cities and ethnic communities give rise to strong and stable religion. Taking an approach from religious boundary making as a heuristic framework, we bring together a series of five studies on the religious identities of Muslim minorities. The studies compare religious group boundaries and replicate boundary making processes (cf. Wimmer, 2008) across ethnic communities and multicultural cities as comparative cases. Drawing on several large-scale surveys of Muslim minorities, our comparative findings illuminate the making and unmaking of religious boundaries. We conclude that strong religion is ‘made in Europe’ as institutional rigidities and social inequalities enforce religious boundary making through social closure and cultural maintenance within ethnic communities.