Praying on Friday, voting on Sunday? Mosque attendance and voter turnout in three West European democracies

Michalis Moutselos

doi:10.1080/1369183x.2019.1662283

Michalis Moutselos

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183x.2019.1662283

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Abstract

ABSTRACTSeveral studies have demonstrated a positive association between regular church attendance and turning out to vote in established democracies. This paper examines whether the relationship holds for Muslims who regularly attend religious services. Using an original dataset of Muslim-origin citizens in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, I find that regular mosque attendance is indeed associated with higher likelihood to vote in national elections in Germany and the United Kingdom, while among Dutch Muslims turnout is positively associated with individual religiosity. I find evidence that the proposed association between regular mosque attendance and voting is mediated through the acquisition of relevant political information and stronger associational involvement. The paper provides an individual-level analysis complementing studies of country-level institutional particularities and group-level characteristics that are conducive to higher levels of turnout among Muslims. The findings dispel the myth that mosques are sites of civic alienation and self-segregation, but can, in fact, play the role of ‘schools of democracy’.

Highlights

The decision to show up at the polling station and vote on election day is regarded as a sign of successful civic integration and engagement of ethnic minorities
A separate analysis of the factors associated with knowledge of the national Islam Council was run, in order to preclude for the possibility that reporting high levels of politically valuable resources is the effect of individual characteristics other than mosque attendance
This article set out to investigate the link between regular religious attendance among Muslims with the right to vote in three West European democracies and voting in elections

Summary

Introduction

The decision to show up at the polling station and vote on election day is regarded as a sign of successful civic integration and engagement of ethnic minorities. In providing empirical evidence for positive and statistically significant associations across countries and exploring potential mechanisms is an important first step towards studying the link between Muslim religious attendance and electoral participation in European democracies.

Results

Conclusion