Racial-Religious Decoupling in the University: Investigating Religious Students’ Perceptions of Institutional Commitment to Diversity

Abstract

Muslims face racism based on their racialized religious identities, yet few address their experiences through critical race theory or campus racial climate. This paper addresses how religious students rate institutional commitments to campus diversity when considering racial and religious respect. This study examines undergraduate experience surveys across nine campuses and a Muslim student photovoice project through a mixed-methods design. I argue that racial and religious respect derived from interpersonal, discursive, and material sources influence Muslim students’ perceptions of institutional commitment to diversity. I introduce racial-religious decoupling to refer to how the separation of race and religion as distinct social experiences hinders campus commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion for addressing anti-Muslim racism and intersections of race and religion. This study uses critical race theory to demonstrate how hegemonic Whiteness embedded in higher education includes Christian normativity, which racializes non-Christians as outsiders who have to justify their needs and resources for their communities.