Negotiating modernization: A study of religiosities among Druze and Muslim students in Israel

This dissertation examines the impact of modernization on the religiosities of young adult Druze and Muslim university students in Israel, providing a comprehensive analysis in five peer-reviewed articles.
Modernity is a multifaceted cultural process of change that has evolved differently among countries, resulting in substantial transformations in life views, religion, and values. However, most scholarship on modernization has focused on Western contexts or Muslim-majority populations. There is little research on the hybrid and intertwined nature of religion and secularism among religious minorities. This dissertation aims to explore the religiosities of young adult Druze and Muslim university students in Israel, both separately and comparatively, while accounting for their complex positions as minorities. It focuses on the interplay between traditionalism and two fundamental processes of modernization—secularization and technological development as reflected in internet and social media use—addressing three key areas: (1) contemporary religiosities of young adult Druze and Muslim students, (2) the role of religion in their lives, and (3) how modernization affects their religiosities.
Data were collected through the Centre of Excellence in Research, Young Adults and Religion in a Global Perspective (YARG) research project (2015-2019) led by Åbo Akademi University in Finland, spanning 13 countries worldwide. Using a mixed-methods approach, the study involved a survey with the Portrait Value Questionnaire (PVQ) (N=425: 226 Druze, 199 Muslims) and the Faith Q-Set (FQS; Wulff, 2009) along with semi-structured thematic interviews (N=45: 23 Druze, 22 Muslims).
Article I (Kheir, 2023) focuses on how these students navigate secularism and modernization while keeping their distinct ethnic and religious identities. Article II (Broo, Kheir, & Sarkar, 2019) examines religious socialization patterns among Muslim students in India and Druze students in Israel. Article III (Kheir, Gökce, Meijer, & Illman, 2022) contrasts Turkish and Israeli Muslim students, demonstrating how cultural settings shape religious subjectivities and value profiles. Article IV (Kheir & Moberg, 2020) examines internet and social media use among Druze and Muslim students in Israel, showcasing how digital engagement affects their religious practices. Article V (Moberg, Kheir, & Gökce Erdis, 2020) broadens the comparison to include Turkish Muslims, investigating how trust and religious authority interplay with internet use.
The findings indicate that both Druze and Muslim students in Israel display a spectrum of involvement with religion and spirituality, from devout practices to more distanced expressions of belief. Despite this diversity, no purely secular worldviews emerged, indicating that cultural and religious life remain inextricably linked. Both groups showed high levels of self-reported religiosity in the YARG dataset (on a 0-10 scale, where 0 = not at all religious and 10 = very religious), with Muslim students averaging 5.56 (SD=2.11), and Druze students 4.66 (SD=2.47), both surpassing the overall YARG sample mean of 3.93. While communal religious participation was relatively low for both groups (Muslims: M=3.15, SD=1.23; Druze: M=2.93, SD=2.93 on a 7-point scale from ”Never” to ”Every day”), personal religious practices were significantly higher among Muslims (M=5.93, SD=2.07) compared to Druze (M=3.17, SD=1.95; p<.01), suggesting that religion functions as a more individualized, internalized aspect of their identities rather than a strictly communal or institutional one.
Familial ties also emerge as a significant factor influencing religiosity in both groups. Both Muslim (M=6.43, SD=2.09) and Druze (M=5.89, SD=2.38) students in Israel reported high levels of perceived family religiosity (on a 0-10 scale, where 0 = not at all religious and 10 = very religious), ranking second and third-highest among all YARG samples. While the Druze rely more on family bonds to maintain their religious identity, higher discrimination against Muslims in Israel strengthens Muslim students’ religious belonging.
The extensive use of the internet and social media further impacts the religiosities of both groups, albeit in different ways. Muslim students actively used online platforms for religious purposes (M=1.4, SD=1.19 on a 5-point scale from ”Never” to ”Every day”). For them, internet and social media provided new avenues to affirm their faith and interact with a larger religious community, with many incorporating these platforms into their daily religious routines. In contrast, Druze students had minimal direct religious engagement online (M=0.82, SD=0.94; p<.01), but the internet still played a key role in preserving cultural ties and enhancing community awareness, albeit indirectly.
Through semi-structured interviews, students articulated diverse and sometimes contradictory approaches to faith. Many expressed a personal and introspective approach to religion, emphasizing spirituality over rigid adherence to formal practices, while others maintained strong devotional commitments or distanced themselves from institutionalized religion. Among students of both groups, engagement ranged from deep connections to communal traditions to more secularized and individualized worldviews. Across both groups, religion functioned as a meaning-making system, shaping personal morality and identity regardless of adherence to traditional practices. The interplay between secularism and religiosity revealed a nuanced landscape, challenging simplistic categorizations of religious and secular identities.
In conclusion, an extensive examination of these five articles demonstrates that modernization profoundly affects religious identity among young adult Druze and Muslim university students in Israel, fostering more individualized forms of religiosity rather than leading to outright secularization. The findings challenge Western-centric theories of secularization, while emphasizing the importance of exploring the impact of modernization on religiosity at both macro (cultural context) and micro (individual) levels, highlighting the need for further cross-cultural comparisons to deepen our understanding of the interplay between cultural context and religious adaptation in an increasingly globalized world.