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"It is for God to judge"1: Understanding Why and When Islamic Religiosity Inhibits Homotolerance
Nella Geurts1, Saskia Glas1, Niels Spierings1
1Department of Sociology, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Journal of Homosexuality
|October 27, 2023
Summary
Islamic religiosity does not directly cause intolerance towards homosexual people among young Muslims. Instead, intolerance is linked to a personal willingness to judge, rather than leaving judgment to a higher power.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Sociology of Religion
- Cultural Studies
Background:
- Public discourse in Western Europe frequently links Muslim intolerance of homosexual people to their religious interpretations.
- Previous studies indicate Muslims are, on average, more homonegative than other populations.
- The causal link between Islamic religiosity and homonegativity remains empirically under-addressed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether Islamic religiosity is the primary driver of intolerance towards homosexual people among Muslims.
- To empirically test the assumption that religious interpretations of Islam directly cause homonegativity.
- To explore the nuanced relationship between religious beliefs, interpretation, and attitudes towards homosexuality.
Main Methods:
- Utilized unique survey data from young Muslim adults in the Netherlands.
- Employed direct measurements of individuals' religious interpretations concerning homosexuality.
- Analyzed the correlation between Islamic religiosity, specific religious interpretations, and levels of intolerance.
Main Results:
- Islamic religiosity itself showed minimal impact on fostering intolerance towards homosexual people.
- Beliefs that Islam prohibits homosexuality did not inherently lead to intolerance.
- A willingness to personally judge homosexuality, rather than deferring judgment to Allah, was identified as a pivotal factor.
Conclusions:
- The study concludes that Islamic religiosity alone is not a significant predictor of homonegativity.
- Intolerance is more strongly associated with young Muslims who believe it is their prerogative to judge homosexuality.
- Personal judgment, not religious doctrine per se, mediates the relationship between Islamic interpretations and intolerance towards homosexual individuals.
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