Research
Attitudes Toward Muslims Among Majority Youth in Norway: Does Ethno-Religious Student Composition in Schools Matter?
Authors:
- Erika Braanen SterriEmail Erika Braanen Sterri
Abstract
This article examines how attitudes toward Muslims among native majority adolescents in Norway are associated with the ethno-religious composition of their school environment. The inflow of immigrants has changed the sociodemographic landscape in Norway, introducing new dimensions of urban school segregation. The school context represents a key socializing context outside of the family and structures contact opportunities across ethnic and religious lines. Research on how exposure to peers from different backgrounds influences majority group students’ out-group attitudes have produced conflicting findings, and central theories propose different mechanisms influencing the relationship between relative group size and prejudice. Using a unique dataset with both individual- and school-level information from Norway’s capital region and controlling for observed characteristics of students and their parents, the results show that levels of negative attitudes toward Muslims decreased with relative out-group size. This finding indicates that multiethnic settings bolster tolerant attitudes toward Muslims in Norwegian schools.
- Year: 2022
- Volume: 12 Issue: 4
- Page/Article: 413–434
- DOI: 10.33134/njmr.404
- Submitted on 7 Oct 2020
- Accepted on 29 Mar 2022
- Published on 7 Dec 2022
- Peer Reviewed