Cultural Frames of Deviance. Muslim Religiousness and Adolescents’ Attitudes Toward Violent Control of Female Behavior

Abstract

ABSTRACT Using a survey of a culturally and religiously diverse students in Germany, we investigate the influence of Muslim religiousness on violence-accepting gender role orientations. We argue that the religious frame of “fornication” (zinā) defines deviance and refers to a cultural frame of order between and within clans in non-state societies, namely the “culture of honor.” Muslim religiousness has a robust effect on violence-accepting gender role orientations, controlling for culture of honor and confounders. Results of cross-level interactions indicate a social influence on these attitudes, which we interpret as a social proof mechanism: the higher the share of religious Muslims in a school class-context, the higher the acceptance of violent-accepting attitudes. We also show that Muslim religiousness tends to increase the accordance with violent control of females within the family. We argue that according to the religious-cultural frame of a divine order, zinā is interpreted as a violation of a sacred norm and thus as deviant.