2026/07/21 by Jana Kuhlemann, Lena Arnold, L. Kristian Arnold +2
Social Sciences · Psychology · #Family Dynamics and Relationships #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Migration, Health and Trauma
paper · doi:10.1111/jssr.70084
ABSTRACT The present study examines how religion shapes partnership formation and religious homogamy among Syrian and Afghan male refugees who arrived in Germany during the 2015/16 influx. It provides new insights by focusing on a particularly vulnerable group of refugees who are culturally distant from the host society and comparing them to descendants of immigrants. It extends existing research by examining both marital and nonmarital partnerships and by explicitly analyzing patterns of religious homogamy among Muslim and non‐Muslim individuals. Using CILS4EU‐DE and PARFORM data, we conduct weighted logistic regression analyses on multiply imputed samples. Results show that Muslim refugees are less likely than immigrant descendants and non‐Muslim refugees to engage in nonmarital partnerships. However, if they do, their partners are less likely to share their religion. These findings suggest that (Muslim) refugees are more conservative regarding engagement in nonmarital partnerships compared to immigrant descendants, but less so when it comes to their nonmarital partners’ religion and ethnic background.