Given the widespread nature of Islamophobia in the recent sociopolitical climate, it seems imperative to consider the influence of minority-related stress in understanding the discriminatory experiences faced by Muslim Americans. Minority stress theory is a framework that explains and accounts for marginalization, stress, and stigma faced by minority groups (Meyer 2003; Parent et al., 2018). In particular, minority stress can be characterized as the marginalization and stigmatization faced by minority groups when their values, beliefs, and practices are deemed to conflict with that of the mainstream culture (Meyer, 1995; Pearlin, 1989). According to minority stress theory, stigmatized individuals face stressors in the form of harassment and discrimination that lends to higher risk for negative mental health outcomes (Lehavot & Simoni, 2011; Williams et al., 2005). Being perceived as a member of a marginalized group (e.g., racial, ethnic, religious, or sexual minorities) has been known to increase the likelihood of expecting rejection from the dominant society and interpreting events as discriminatory (Mendoza-Denton et al., 2012).

Although the narrative of religious freedom and the separation of church and state are foundational to this country, the United States has been referred to as a largely Christian nation (Curtis IV, 2009), such that approximately 65% to 70% of Americans identify with some form of Christianity (Pew Research Center, 2016). Throughout U.S. history, certain Christian identities can be linked to disproportionate amount of sociopolitical power, for example in that all but two of the 46 presidents have been Protestants (Pew Research Center, 2020). Furthermore, many Americans’ perceptions of religion have been historically viewed through a Christian lens, which has placed other religions in a position of being viewed as “different” and incompatible with American values (Cainkar, 2002; Rubenstein, 2004). In addition, Westernized media has often referred to terrorism when discussing Islam and Muslims, making the faith synonymous with most attacks in Western countries (Poynting et al., 2004).

Although minority stress theory was originally created to help explain the experiences of discrimination among sexual minorities (Meyer, 2003), the theoretical tenets can be used to understand and explain how other groups perceived to be different from the dominant society experience stress (Carr & Friedman, 2005). Experiences faced by religious minorities can result in the same health risks as other marginalized groups presented through the minority stress model. The scrutiny placed on Muslims since 9/11 has undoubtedly contributed to the rise in overt forms of violence against Muslim communities based on depictions of Islam as a foreign belief system that contradicts American values (Cainkar, 2002; Rubenstein, 2004). In particular, Islamic values and practices are typically viewed as conflicting with American culture (Ahmad, 2009), and this perceived contention (with dominant values) can lend to greater stress and fewer resources for underrepresented communities (Williams, Neighbors, & Jackson, 2003). Given the external stresses of facing discriminatory treatment and anti-Muslim attitudes, Muslim Americans are likely to experience a stress process that is likely to affect their overall wellbeing. Indeed, existing studies that have explored the impact of discrimination among Muslim Americans suggest that greater experiences with religious discrimination have been related to higher rates of depression (Hodge, Zidan, & Husain, 2016) and PTSD symptoms (Abu-Ras & Suarez, 2009; Lowe, Tineo, Bonumwezi, & Bailey, 2019), lower self-esteem (Ghaffari & Çiftçi, 2010), and physical health problems (Kira et al., 2010; Sheridan, 2006). Most research in this area has examined discrimination from an interpersonal standpoint such that participants are asked about their experiences with microaggressions (Nadal et al., 2012) and being harassed or treated unfairly based on their Muslim identity (Ghaffari & Çiftçi, 2010; Lowe et al. 2019). In addition to facing ongoing interpersonal religious discrimination from people in society, Muslim Americans face prejudice and bias through repercussions of sensationalist news outlets and other publicized forums. For example, mainstream media tens to further perpetuate Islamophobic sentiments by framing Muslim Americans within the context of terrorism and violence (Laird, et al., 2013; Mercier, et al., 2018; Shaver, Sibley, Osborne, & Bulbulia, 2017). While interpersonal discrimination can result in instances of harassment and hate crimes from individuals in society, prejudicial depictions in the media can lead to systemic discrimination and policies aimed at impacting Muslim Americans. These different types of discrimination impact and affect Muslim Americans differently.

Within the framework of minority stress, it is important to underscore that Muslim Americans are likely to experience different variations of minority-related stress that can be categorized as distal and proximal stressors. Distal stressors (e.g., discrimination, violence, Islamophobic attitudes in the media) are considered external influences that target an individual based on their identity whereas proximal stress is considered a byproduct of distal stress that relies on a person’s internal and subjective appraisals of their experiences with discrimination (Meyer, 2003). In particular, by sensing ongoing threats to safety, victims of discrimination are likely to internalize their distress (Major, Kaiser, O’Brien, & McCoy, 2007). In one of the only studies on Muslim Americans that examined indicators of distress within a minority stress framework, the results revealed a positive and significant relationship between perceived discrimination and negative psychological symptoms (Rippy & Newman, 2006). In addition, this study considered multiple forms of religious discrimination (i.e., interpersonal prejudice, environment, and bicultural identification) and found that higher forms of religious discrimination positively correlated with higher levels of suspicion, mistrust, and wariness. In their conclusions, the authors emphasized that when working with Muslim Americans, it is essential to consider the realities of their environmental context when interpreting any hypervigilant behaviors (Rippy & Newman, 2006).

One of the unique and devastating aspects of Islamophobia compared to other forms of prejudice is its characterization of being an active threat to America’s religious and national values and security (Wang et al., 2019). Within the framework of minority stress theory (Meyer, 1995; 2003), developing concerns for personal safety would not be an out-of-proportion response for Muslims given the widespread stigma, violence, and loss linked to Islamophobia (Abu-Ras & Suarez, 2009). Indeed, following 9/11, Muslim Americans have reported feeling less safe in society (Abu-Ras & Abu-Bader, 2008; Ali et al., 2004). Furthermore, studies have found evidence that Muslim women indeed experience and are impacted by internal stressors causing them to have to choose whether or not to remove their hijab or conceal their religious identity due to feelings of hypervigilance and feeling unsafe (Ghaffari & Çiftçi, 2010).

Given the rise in hate crimes against Muslims combined with Islamophobic rhetoric in media outlets (Dunn et al., 2007; Kalek et al., 2010), the purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between religious discrimination and life satisfaction in a sample of Muslim Americans. Based on a minority stress framework, we considered both distal (religious discrimination) and proximal stressors (fear for safety) commonly experienced by Muslim Americans and first proposed that two different forms of religious discrimination (religious prejudice and environmental religious discrimination) would positively relate to fear for safety and negatively relate to life satisfaction among Muslim Americans. Second, we hypothesized that fear for safety would at least partially mediate the relationships between the two forms of religious discrimination and life satisfaction.

Bivariate correlations were used to test Hypothesis 1, which proposed that scores on the dimensions of religious discrimination (religious prejudice and environmental religious discrimination) would significantly and positively relate to fear for safety and negatively relate to life satisfaction among Muslim Americans. Both religious prejudice and environmental religious discrimination significantly and positively related to fear for safety (r = .55, p < .001; r = .56, p < .001) respectively. Overall, the results of the correlational analysis indicated that all relationships between variables were significant and in the expected direction (Table 2). Given that participant age was significantly related to both religious discrimination variables, fear for safety, as well as life satisfaction, age was entered as a covariate in the remaining study analyses.

To test hypothesis 2, we used PROCESS, an SPSS macro that enables testing of models that combine mediation and moderation, effect sizes for indirect effects, and probing for interaction effects (Hayes, 2013). Model 4 was used to test when controlling for participant age, fear for safety would at least partially mediate the relationships between the two forms of religious discrimination (religious prejudice and environmental religious discrimination) and life satisfaction. When fear for safety was entered as a mediator between religious prejudice and life satisfaction, the path between fear safety and life satisfaction was negative and significant (β = −.35, p <.001) and the direct path from religious prejudice to life satisfaction became non-significant (β = −.04, p =.63), suggesting a partial mediation effect. To test the significance of the indirect effect (β = −.18), 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals were estimated and revealed the absence of zero (CI: −.27, −.10), suggesting that the partial indirect effect of religious prejudice on life satisfaction through fear for safety was significant (see Figure 1).

The same model was used to test the effect of environmental religious discrimination on life satisfaction through fear for safety when controlling for participant age. When entered into the equation as a mediator, the path between fear for safety and life satisfaction was negative and significant (β = −.38, p < .001) and the direct path from environmental religious discrimination to life satisfaction became non-significant (β = .02, p = .835), suggesting a partial mediation effect. To test the significance of the indirect effect (β = −.20), 95% bias-corrected confidence intervals were estimated and revealed the absence of zero (CI: −.28, −.12), suggesting that the partial indirect effect of environmental religious discrimination on life satisfaction through fear for safety was significant (see Figure 2). Overall, hypothesis 2 was supported.

In an effort to help elucidate the discriminatory experiences of Muslim Americans particularly within the recent climate of heightened Islamophobia, the purpose of the current study was to examine the relationship between religious discrimination and wellbeing in a sample of adult Muslim Americans. Given the current sociopolitical context of Islamophobia that serves to stereotype Muslims as a singular and uniform group (Wang et al., 2019), we considered two distal stressors that included targeted experiences of prejudice (religious prejudice) as well as discriminatory messages through the media (environmental religious discrimination). Based on the framework of minority stress theory (Meyer, 1995; 2003), we expected that Muslim Americans who experienced high levels of religious discrimination would contribute as a proximal stressor and appraise their experiences as threatening to their safety, which in turn would have negative consequences on their wellbeing.

Overall, participants who faced higher rates of environmental religious discrimination and prejudice also reported lower levels of life satisfaction. These findings are consistent with prior research indicating that Muslim Americans who face high rates of discrimination also tend to experience poor mental health outcomes as evidenced by higher rates of depression (Hodge et al., 2016), anxiety, and PTSD (Abu-Ras & Suarez, 2009; Lowe et al., 2019; Nadal et al., 2012). Importantly, study results also help underscore the significance of media-based discrimination. Although studies suggest that Muslim communities are indeed affected by the political climate based on indicators of social engagement and national identity (Kunst et al., 2012), current study results speak to the ongoing prevalence and denigrating impact of anti-Muslim sentiments in mainstream media and other public outlets.

Although minority stress theory was originally created for sexual minorities, this study’s results provide some evidence in support of minority stress theory’s applicability with other groups, such that based on their experiences with both forms of discrimination (distal stressor), participants were more likely to express fear for their safety (proximal stressor) and in turn were more likely to report lower rates of life satisfaction. In particular, participants who experienced high levels of individualized prejudice as well as discrimination through the mainstream media appraised their sense of safety as being compromised and reported lower life satisfaction. Based on the results of the present study, minority stress theory has been shown to be generalizable to this Muslim population. Although prior studies have certainly documented that fear for safety is a significant concern among Muslim and Arab communities (Abu-Ras & Abu-Bader, 2008; Ali et al., 2008), current study results suggest that fear for safety may help explain the link between experiencing discrimination and adverse outcomes among Muslim Americans. As a proximal stressor, fear for safety is considered to be more subjective and related to personal identity, which may vary depending on the individual (Meyer, 2003). Results suggest that participants in the current study expressed significant concern for their safety as Muslim Americans, which helped partially explained the link between both forms of religious discrimination and lower life satisfaction. It is important to note that in the current study, women made up 76% of the sample and also reported significantly higher concerns for safety compared to men (M=48.46 vs. M=39.31). These results are consistent with prior studies that suggest women, in general, feel less safe in public compared to men, as well as hijabi Muslim women feeling less safe due to their visible Muslim identity (Al Wazni, 2015; Ghaffari & Çiftçi, 2010; Zaal et al., 2007).