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Jan-Philip Steinmann

Postdoctoral researcher

Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN)

My name is Jan-Philip Steinmann and I am head of the research unit “Aetiology of Deviance” at the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) and affiliated postdoctoral researcher at the Research Institute Social Cohesion (RISC) at the University of Bremen, Germany. I consider myself a sociologist, on the edge of cultural sociology and social structure analysis. My research interests, in the broadest sense, relate to causes and consequences of (decreasing or increasing) social cohesion. Thereby, I mainly focus on social inequalities, migration processes and immigrants’ integration, right-wing populism, and deviant behavior. Across all these topics, I investigate paradoxical effects of religion. Although I am mostly using quantitative empirical methods, I am also conducting mixed methods research.

I hold a doctoral degree from the University of Goettingen, Germany. I have been visiting student/researcher at Utrecht University and the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) in The Hague.

My work has been published in several journals, including leading general sociology outlets (Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie, Socius), as well as prominent journals in migration research (International Migration Review, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies) and criminology (Criminal Justice and Behavior, European Journal of Criminology).

Work in Progress

Religious boundary dynamics. Religious visibility and perceptions of religious discrimination among Christian and Muslim youth

This study examines where and how religious boundaries are drawn and maintained by exploring the relationship between the visible display of religious markers and perceived religious discrimination among Christian and Muslim adolescents in Germany. It asks whether religious visibility heightens perceptions of religious discrimination, and how this varies by religious affiliation, gender, and educational level. The data come from a 2024 survey of ninth graders in Lower Saxony, Germany. Empirical findings indicate that perceptions of religious discrimination increase with greater religious visibility. However, this effect is not uniform across subgroups. The strongest—though statistically somewhat uncertain—effects are observed among female and more educated Muslims. Drawing on Christian and Muslim adolescents in Germany, the results reveal that religious boundaries exist, but the main tension is not between religiosity and secularity. Instead, the findings underscore insights from prior research that reinforcing processes sustain religious boundaries—particularly those between Christianity and secularity, on the one hand, and Islam, on the other.

Religiosity, fundamentalism, and gender-role values among Christian and Muslim youth

This article examines gender-role values among Christian and Muslim adolescents with varying levels of religiosity. It asks whether religious fundamentalism, rather than religious affiliation or religiosity alone, is the key factor driving such values. School survey data from seventh graders in Germany (N = 4,025) show that Muslim adolescents are more likely to support patriarchal gender-role values than their Christian counterparts and that higher religiosity is linked to stronger endorsement of these values. Religious fundamentalism mediates the relationship between religious affiliation and patriarchal gender-role values, as well as between religiosity and such values. This study points to religious fundamentalism as the main driver of patriarchal gender-role values in both religious groups, challenging stereotypes about Islam’s inherent link to patriarchy.

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