Examining Conflict Resolution Styles in Muslim-Christian Couples Living in the Southern US

• In Event: 21061 - Section on Race, Gender, and Class Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2: Intimacy, Romance, and Relationships

Abstract

Abstract
Increased migration from predominantly Muslim countries is slowly changing the religious landscape in the U.S. Globalization, conflicts in the Middle East and Asia, and/or the need to secure stability and job security have driven many Muslim individuals to leave their countries of origin in search for safer and better living conditions. As the numbers of immigrants have increased over the last few decades, it is important to understand some of the broader implications for American society. Often, immigrants seek to replicate the world they have left behind and choose to stay within their diaspora, thus limiting their interaction with other groups. Other times, they may actively try to fit in by adopting local values, manner of speech and dress, and sometimes, they may choose to marry outside their faith. Interfaith marriages are common in the US as they are legally allowed. Before the influx of Muslim immigrants, many interfaith relationships involved Christian and Jewish partners or Christians of different denominations. Christian-Muslim couples are becoming more frequent because of the latest immigration patterns. This project seeks to understand how these ‘newer’ interfaith couples negotiate for space, interpret and resolve conflict, and manage their differences. Using primarily qualitative data collection methods, this exploratory research uses narratives and shared experiences to understand how conflict is perceived and managed within Muslim-Christian relationships. Muslims are some of the latest groups to enter American society and very little literature exists that illustrate their different experiences, adaptive journeys, and the ways they choose to integrate American society, especially when they choose to marry outside their faith. This project offers a glimpse of these experiences and helps us understand the universality of human choices when it comes to love, religion, intimacy, long-term relationships, and parenting.

Author

• Rita Kettani Christiansen, Kennesaw State University