Identity Tethers: How the Secular Stay Muslim

What sustains affiliation as religiosity wanes? In American religion, increasing disaffiliation and liminality and decreasing religiosity tell a story of general religious decline. Yet despite decreasing levels of belief and ties to religious institutions, the overwhelming majority of Americans maintain a religious affiliation in some form, and identities based in religion continue to play an important role in American society and politics. We take the case of Muslim Americans and ask what sustains their ties to Muslim identity when religiosity and community ties falter. Using life history interviews with a uniquely varied sample of Muslims in the US, we find that Muslims can assert “political” or “cultural” Muslim identities that offer alternative ways of being Muslim: ones that allow respondents to simultaneously claim Islam while distancing themselves from some aspects of it. We argue that being “politically” or “culturally” Muslim functions as an identity tether for secular individuals. The paper places this phenomenon in conversation with growing literature on non-religion.