Acculturation and decoupling processes on attitudes towards gay marriage: A survey study in Denmark and the Netherlands among Russian Christian and Turkish Muslim migrants
Within Europe, migrants are often the subject of societal debate, stressing the incompatibility of outside cultures with so-called Western values. Through Social Identity Theory we investigate how first-generation migrants adapt their attitudes towards gay marriage. We compare Turkish Muslim to Russian Orthodox Christians. Adaptation processes (acculturation and decoupling) are investigated in both migrant groups in the Dutch and Danish context, in light of degree of religiousness and home-country connectivity. Our results indicate that adaptation takes place through a decoupling mechanism both for Turkish Muslim and Russian Orthodox with regards to the degree of religiousness. Meaning that those who have been in the receiving country longer are more likely to adapt their attitudes, regardless of their religiousness. This process appears much slower among Turkish Muslims than among Russian Orthodox Christians.