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Identity, Issues, and Religious Commitment and Participation: Explaining Turnout among Mosque‐Attending M uslim A mericans
Author(s) -
Choi Jangsup,
Gasim Gamal,
Patterson Dennis
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
studies in ethnicity and nationalism
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.204
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 1754-9469
pISSN - 1473-8481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1754-9469.2011.01138.x
Subject(s) - turnout , salient , voting , politics , religious identity , presidential election , political science , social psychology , identity (music) , demographic economics , psychology , public relations , law , economics , religiosity , physics , acoustics
While work on the political behaviour of religious groups in A merica has shown that, among other things, religious commitment and strong opinions on salient issues can encourage turnout and raise the probability of these groups' members voting in national elections, much less is known about these relationships with respect to M uslim A mericans. Using data collected at mosques in 2006 during the holy month of R amadan, this article maps the turnout patterns of M uslim A merican respondents and then investigates the factors that explain the political participation of members of this increasingly important religious group. The article focuses on reported turnout in the 2004 presidential election and shows that, more than anything else, strong opinions on salient issues boosted the participation rates of members of this religious group in the election, even when controlling for other factors known to help explain turnout.