Why going to the mosque leads to a visit to the polling station

02 May 2025 Research news item

Scientists already knew that there are links between religion and political participation. But little is known about the link between being Muslim and political engagement. Sociologist Rachel Kollar is changing that with her research. As an incentive, she won one of the Christine Mohrmann Stipends, a research prize for talented female PhD students, at the beginning of April.

Do Muslims who pray five times a day do more voluntary work? Is reading the Quran regularly linked to signing petitions? And is there a connection between going to the mosque and voting in elections? In short, what links exist between religion among Muslims and political participation?

Sociologist Rachel Kollar conducts research on this topic. Although her PhD research is ongoing, she has already gained some interesting insights. ‘We see roughly two connections. On the one hand, practising Muslims are more politically engaged. Faith mobilises people to do something extra, both within their community and beyond.’ On the other hand, there are also Muslims who, precisely because of their faith, keep their distance from politics. ‘They see what is going on, but, for example because of discrimination, feel no longer motivated to be politically involved,’ explains Kollar.

Reminding people of their duties

To discover more about the links between being Muslim and political involvement, Kollar combines several research methods. Questionnaires enable her to identify broader trends, such as the fact that Muslims who visit the mosque more often are more likely to vote. Kollar then conducts in-depth interviews with people to find out more about their motivations. ‘Daily prayer reminds people of their Muslim identity and the duties that come with it, including civic responsibilities. One of the consequences of this may be that they are more inclined to vote.’

In early April, Kollar was one of ten winners of the Christine Mohrmann Stipends, which are awarded annually to promising female PhD students at Radboud University to encourage them to remain active as scientists after completing their theses.

Interviews with grandchildren

Kollar is using part of her scholarship, which amounts to 6,000 euros to further her research, for a working visit to England. Together with Ayse Guveli, professor of sociology at the University of Warwick, she will investigate in which way the grandchildren of the original Turkish migrant workers are religious and how this manifests itself in different areas of life. ‘We see that young people are very interested in religion, sometimes more than their parents or grandparents. We want to understand this better, for example, by looking at how they combine this with their European identity. In England, Guveli and I will draw up a plan to interview this group of young people.' Kollar will spend the rest of her grant on the interviews, which she will conduct in the Netherlands, and on presenting her research at an international conference.

With her research, Kollar hopes to gain a more dynamic understanding of the links between being Muslim and political participation. ‘It's not that you're either Muslim or you're not. There are all kinds of ways in which you can experience and shape your religion, and we see that this influences how people are politically engaged.’

Photo: Ali Kerem Erhan via Unsplash

Contact information

Organizational unit: Faculty of Social Sciences
Theme: Politics, Religion