UHCL : Is Your Child In The Religious Minority In School?

Press release from University of Houston-Clear Lake:

December 31, 2021

Houston is the most diverse metropolitan city in the U.S., the Kinder Institute for
Urban Research at Rice University reports. That means that our children are exposed
to a wide array of racial, ethnic and religious diversity throughout their years in
public schools. This can be a source of strength as children learn about the rich
tapestry that makes up their schools, neighborhoods and wider society.

But it can also challenge their taken-for-granted identities as they navigate a calendar
of ethnic, cultural and religious holidays and sacred festivals. How can parents help
their kids traverse this religious diversity and "cope" in a setting where their religion
is not only in a numerical minority but also misunderstood and met with some level
of intolerance?

As a sociology professor at University of Houston-Clear Lake, I frequently have students
study the amazing ethnic and religious diversity of the Houston metropolitan area.
Recently, one of my graduate students did his thesis on perceived Islamophobia experienced
by Muslim teenagers. There were two main factors that reduced the self-perception
that these young people were victims of stereotyping and negative judgment.

The first was the degree to which their Muslim parents reinforced their identity as
Muslims. The more frequently the student attended Friday prayers at the mosque, the
more they studied the Qur'an, the more they fasted during Ramadan, the less likely
they were to perceive Islamophobia. This counterintuitive finding was explained by
the students themselves, who said that their strong identity as Muslims allowed them
to not be defensive about their faith, but to explain its beauty and meaning in their
lives, which had the effect of educating their peers and reducing their fears.

The second factor in reducing the perception of Islamophobia among Houston-area Muslim
students was their participation in extracurricular activities. The more students
"assimilated" into American high school life through athletics and student organizations,
the less they perceived negative reactions from peers. This perfectly reflects what
in sociology we call "Contact Theory," which states the way to reduce prejudice in
social relations is to develop personal connections with people who are different
from yourself. Reducing bias does not necessarily come from academic lectures/films
or workshops, but through the cultivation of friendships via personal contact.

This interesting combination of strong religious identity plus active participation
in high school life, insulated Muslim students from the most damaging effects of being
the "other."

As for my own daughters, they did not experience intolerance from their school friends.
As members of the Baha'i Faith, they didn't encounter bigotry so much as unfamiliarity
with what it meant to be a Baha'i. They found that since they wore no distinctive
clothing or had no unique names associated with other countries or languages as members
of the Baha'i Faith, they faced the ubiquitous assumption of being Christian. They
learned to politely explain that no, they were not celebrating Easter on Sunday, but
would be celebrating the first, ninth and twelfth day of the Ridvan celebration later
that month. They took the assumption from friends as an opportunity to educate others
about the religious diversity in their high school.

Mike McMullen, Ph.D., is a professor of sociology and cross-cultural studies at UHCL.
He specializes in the sociology of religion, urban sociology, research methods and
conflict resolution/mediation. He has published numerous books and articles, and sits
on several Houston-area boards of directors.

This press release was produced by University of Houston-Clear Lake. The views expressed here are the author’s own.