Clash of Cultures: Muslims and Christians in the Ethnosizing Process

22 Pages Posted: 29 Dec 2006

See all articles by Amelie F. Constant

Amelie F. Constant

Princeton University; UNU-MERIT; CESifo; University of Pennsylvania

Liliya Gataullina

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Klaus F. Zimmermann

Global Labor Organization (GLO); UNU-MERIT; Maastricht University, Department of Economics; Free University Berlin; University of Bonn; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); Journal of Population Economics

Laura Zimmermann

IZA Institute of Labor Economics; University of Oxford

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 2006

Abstract

The paper explores the evolution of ethnic identities of two important and distinct immigrant religious groups. Using data from Germany, a large European country with many immigrants, we study the adaptation processes of Muslims and Christians. Individual data on language, culture, societal interactions, history of migration and ethnic self-identification are used to compose linear measures of the process of cultural adaptation. Two-dimensional variants measure integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization. Christians adapt more easily to the German society than Muslims. Immigrants with schooling in the home country and with older age at entry as well as female Muslims remain stronger attached to the country of origin. Female Muslims integrate and assimilate less and separate more than Muslim men, while there is no difference between male and female Christians. Christians who were young at entry are best integrated or assimilated, exhibiting lower separation and marginalization in the later years, while for Muslims a similar pattern is observed only for assimilation and separation. Christian immigrants with college or higher education in the home country integrate well, but Muslims do not. For both religious groups, school education in the home country leads to slower assimilation and causes more separation than no education at home. While school education has no impact on integration efforts for Muslim, it affects similar attempts of Christians negatively.

Keywords: Ethnicity, ethnic identity, religion, migrant assimilation, migrant integration, ethnic exclusion

JEL Classification: F22, J15, J16, Z10, Z12

Suggested Citation

Constant, Amelie F. and Gataullina, Liliya and Zimmermann, Klaus F. and Zimmermann, Laura, Clash of Cultures: Muslims and Christians in the Ethnosizing Process (October 2006). CEPR Discussion Paper No. 5910, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=954136

Amelie F. Constant

Princeton University ( email )

189 Wallace Hall
Princeton, NJ 08544
United States

HOME PAGE: http://opr.princeton.edu/visitors/

UNU-MERIT ( email )

Keizer Karelplein 19
Maastricht, 6211TC
Netherlands

HOME PAGE: http://www.merit.unu.edu/about-us/profile/?staff_id=2419

CESifo ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://www.cesifo-group.de/ifoHome/research/Network/Members.html

University of Pennsylvania ( email )

Philadelphia, PA 19104
United States

Liliya Gataullina

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

Schaumburg-Lippe-Str. 7 / 9
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Klaus F. Zimmermann (Contact Author)

Global Labor Organization (GLO) ( email )

Bonn
Germany

HOME PAGE: http://https://glabor.org/

UNU-MERIT ( email )

Keizer Karelplein 19
Maastricht, 6211TC
Netherlands

Maastricht University, Department of Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 616
Maastricht, Limburg 6200MD
Netherlands

University of Bonn

Postfach 2220
Bonn, D-53012
Germany

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

Journal of Population Economics

Tiergartenstr. 17
D-69121 Heidelberg
Germany

Laura Zimmermann

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

University of Oxford

Oxford
United Kingdom