A comprehensive understanding of racial attitudes for Muslims among whites.

Abstract

How do white racial attitudes shape anti-Muslim opinion in a racially diversifying American society where many whites are anxious about their race’s self-interest? Using ANES 2016, this study examines if the white anxiety informs anti-Muslim opinion independently to ethnocultural prejudice. Based on different statistical methodologies, findings illustrate that white anxiety independently predicts anti-Muslim sentiment, yet a lack of white anxiety does not result in warmness or even acceptance of Muslims. However, both pro- and anti-Muslim attitudes are significantly predicted by ethnocultural prejudice. It indicates that many whites do not need to embrace that whites are ethnoculturally superior to Muslims: they can also perceive Muslims as threat to the group self-interest. Last, this study implies that social scientists should adopt a new theoretical paradigm to understand interracial relationships between white Americans and non-white immigrants in the contemporary America.