Religion,Gender,and the Development of Leisure Time Activities from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Case of Muslim Girls in Germany

Abstract

Previous research shows that Muslim girls in Western societies are less likely to do sports than both Muslim boys and non-Muslims of either gender. But we know little about whether other leisure time activities also differ by religion and gender and whether these patterns change during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. In this data visualization, we use large-scale representative data from Germany to show how 13 leisure time activities of Muslim and non-Muslim boys and girls develop from adolescence to young adulthood. Muslim girls are more involved in housework than other youth but are least active in doing sports and other activities that involve mingling beyond the immediate peer group, such as going out or attending clubs. There are few differences in other activities, such as reading, watching TV, or visiting relatives. Moreover, Muslim girls start to stand out less as they transition from adolescence into young adulthood.

The interplay of religion and gender shapes many spheres of life, including people’s leisure time activities (Kretschmer, Lämmermann, and Leszczensky 2024; Stodolska and Livengood 2006). A prime example is Muslim girls’ participation in sports in Western societies. Although some Muslim girls are involved in sports activities, others struggle to reconcile them with religious demands for modest clothing and behavior (Abo-Zena 2019). Large-scale studies consistently find that Muslim girls are less likely to do sports than Muslim boys and non-Muslims of either gender (Strandbu, Bakken, and Sletten 2019; van Tubergen and Molteni 2024).

However, we know little about how the interplay of religion and gender shapes Muslim youths’ leisure time activities beyond participation in sports. This research gap is unfortunate because leisure time activities can impact integration by exposing minority youth to majority institutions and peers, for example, through clubs and group activities. Additionally, nonparticipation in mainstream activities may fuel perceptions of self-segregation among the majority, which can affect stereotypes and intergroup attitudes. We also know little about how gender-specific activity patterns, including those for doing sports, develop as Muslim youth transition into young adulthood. This period is marked by critical life course transitions and increasing independence from parents and other third parties that may regulate leisure time activities, which may both lead to changes in activity patterns. Accordingly, the two research questions addressed in this visualization article are the following:

• Research Question 1: Does Muslim girls’ lower involvement in sports also extend to other leisure time activities?

• Research Question 2: How do gender-specific activity patterns evolve as Muslim youth transition from adolescence into young adulthood?

Concerning gender-specific determinants of leisure time activities, past research has consistently established that religious norms—mostly about modesty, chastity, and endogamy—apply more strongly to Muslim girls than boys (Buunk and Dijkstra 2017; Kretschmer 2024; Tezcan 2024). These norms can seek to constrain interreligious and cross-gender interaction because of the risks they entail for romantic relationships incompatible with these norms (Kretschmer and Leszczensky 2022, 2023; Munniksma et al. 2012). Therefore, Muslim girls may engage less often in leisure time activities that involve such cross-gender and intergroup interaction. This concerns not only doing sports but also other activities outside of an established peer group, such as going out or attending clubs. Restrictions on these activities can reflect either Muslim girls’ own decision to abstain from such activities to comply with religious norms (Abo-Zena 2019; Grønli Rosten and Smette 2023) or pressure from third parties, such as parents, peers, and the religious community (Grønli Rosten and Smette 2023; Hennink, Diamond, and Cooper 1999; Talbani and Hasanali 2000). Indeed, qualitative research suggests that Muslim girls are often encouraged to spend time with the family and religious community but discouraged from unsupervised activities that involve potential mingling with cross-gender and out-group peers (Giuliani, Olivari, and Alfieri 2017; Hennink et al. 1999; McGrath and McGarry 2014; Talbani and Hasanali 2000). Because these norms apply less to Muslim boys, restrictions on these activities are likely to be less prevalent among them, suggesting gendered patterns among Muslim youth.

In the non-Muslim majority, comparable gender differences are less likely because this group mainly consists of nonreligious and secular Christian youth, among whom these religious norms have largely lost their regulatory power (Kalmijn and Kraaykamp 2018; Kogan and Weißmann 2020; Kretschmer 2024). Accordingly, we expect Muslim girls to stand out specifically in terms of out-of-home leisure time activities that are prone to unsupervised cross-gender and intergroup interaction, such as doing sports, going out, or attending clubs. By contrast, specific patterns are less likely for leisure time activities at home or with a preexisting peer group approved by third parties, such as reading, watching TV, or going to the cinema.

The well-documented impact of family influence on Muslim girls’ leisure time activities also suggests that activity patterns may change at the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. On the one hand, religious norms related to romantic relationships become increasingly salient as romantic attraction becomes more prevalent in adolescence (Abo-Zena 2019; Collins, Welsh, and Furman 2009). On the other hand, youth become more independent over time, particularly when they enter young adulthood and move out of the parental household (Hennink et al. 1999; Talbani and Hasanali 2000). Accordingly, Muslim girls may start to stand out less in their leisure time activities as they enter young adulthood and family influence declines.

To assess gender-specific activity patterns and their development over time, our visualization displays the participation of Muslim and non-Muslim boys and girls in 13 leisure time activities at ages 14 to 15, 18 to 19, and 24 to 25. Estimates are based on large-scale panel data from the German part of the CILS4EU project (Kalter et al. 2016a, 2016b; Kalter, Kogan, and Dollmann 2019, 2021), weighted for population representativeness. The German part of CILS4EU followed youth from the ages of 14 to 28 across 10 waves of data collection; we rely on data from Waves 1, 4, and 8, which contain detailed information on leisure time activities. ¹ In Figure S3 of the supplementary material, we demonstrate that patterns of leisure time activities are very similar among Christian and nonreligious youth, who collectively comprise 98 percent of the non-Muslim sample. For that reason, we only differentiate between Muslim and non-Muslim youth in our main visualization.

Our visualization displays mean participation levels by activity and age group, differentiating activities that typically occur outside the home (Figure 1a) and at home (Figure 1b). To provide a consistent presentation across activities, we treat categorical measures of activity frequency as quasi-continuous and provide mean estimates of participation frequency. In Figure S5 in the supplementary material, we show that our insights remain unchanged when analyzing categories separately rather than calculating means. “Network” subgraphs at the bottom test for group differences: Lines between groups indicate significant (p < .05) differences in activity frequency, and thicker lines indicate larger substantive differences.

Figure 1.

Mean frequency of leisure time activities among Muslim and non-Muslim boys and girls from adolescence to young adulthood. (a) Out-of-home activities. (b) Activities at home.

In line with previous research, Figure 1a shows that Muslim girls do sports less often than Muslim boys and non-Muslims. These differences are largest at ages 14 to 15 but decline with the transition to adulthood, when Muslim girls increase their activity (ages 18–19) and Muslim boys reduce theirs (ages 26–27). Next to sports activities, Muslim girls also go out and attend clubs less often than the other groups, activities that involve mingling beyond a close peer group without family or community supervision. Gender-specific patterns for these activities persist into adulthood but attenuate over time.

By contrast, Muslim girls do not stand out in terms of out-of-home activities that are done alone, with an existing peer group, or with the family, such as going to the cinema or the museum or visiting relatives. Similarly, they show no specific patterns for the in-home activities displayed in Figure 1b. Some activities are highly gendered: Boys play computer games more than girls, and girls more frequently read books, with declining gender differences over time. However, these activities do not differ between Muslim and non-Muslim youth. The exception is that Muslim girls spend more time on household tasks even though group differences also decline as Muslim boys and non-Muslims catch up in young adulthood.

In summary, Muslim girls do not stand out in terms of leisure time activities that are usually conducted alone, with the family, or the immediate peer group. However, they are less active in sports and other out-of-home activities that involve mingling beyond their immediate peer group, such as going out or attending clubs. These gender-specific patterns can affect Muslim girls’ integration into Western societies. Leisure time activities beyond the peer group often facilitate intergroup contact with the non-Muslim majority, which may foster integration by providing opportunities for language acquisition for recent migrants (Moyer 2008) and resources, such as information about the educational system or labor market (Kretschmer 2019; Lancee 2012). A lack of participation in leisure time activities that are widespread in the majority may also fuel perceptions of Muslim girls’ self-segregation and otherness. This calls for a closer examination of the social inclusion and well-being of minority youth and their link to gendered leisure time activities.

Moreover, our visualization demonstrates that specific patterns of activity participation among adolescent Muslim girls decline as they transition into young adulthood. This is partially due to an overall decrease in certain activities (e.g., doing sports), which can reflect life course transitions, such as labor market entry and family formation (Gropper et al. 2020). However, Muslim girls also catch up with their male and non-Muslim peers in terms of activities beyond the immediate peer group, such as going out or attending clubs. The increase in such activities may suggest a reduction of parents’ and other third parties’ influence on the organization of female Muslims’ leisure time. More thoroughly identifying the mechanisms behind this increasing convergence in leisure time activities is an important task for future research.

Supplemental Material

sj-docx-1-srd-10.1177_23780231251349634 – Supplemental material for Religion, Gender, and the Development of Leisure Time Activities from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Case of Muslim Girls in Germany

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-srd-10.1177_23780231251349634 for Religion, Gender, and the Development of Leisure Time Activities from Adolescence to Young Adulthood: The Case of Muslim Girls in Germany by David Kretschmer and Lars Leszczensky in Socius