INTERMARRIAGE ATTITUDES TOWARD TWO MAJORITY GROUPS: THE ROLE OF BICULTURAL IDENTITY INTEGRATION AND CULTURAL IDENTIFICATION

This study sheds light on the relationship between intermarriage and multicultural identity. It examines whether integration between two identities influences attitudes toward intermarriage with two majority groups and whether cultural identification influences the association between identity integration and intermarriage. This study was conducted among Palestinian Christians in Israel who live in a unique context of multicultural identities (Arab identity, Israeli identity, and Christian identity). It was hypothesized that Arab-Christian integration is positively correlated with marriage to Muslims and negatively correlated with marriage to Jews. On the other hand, Israeli-Arab integration is positively correlated with marriage to Jews and negatively correlated with marriage to Muslims. It was also hypothesized that cultural identification plays a moderating role in the association between integration and intermarriage. The results confirmed the hypotheses: Arab-Christian integration was positively correlated with marriage to Muslims and negatively correlated with acceptance of marriage to Jews. Furthermore, Israeli-Arab integration was positively correlated with marriage to Jews and negatively correlated with marriage to Muslims. Identification with the culture moderated the association between integration and intermarriage. The results were discussed in relation to the conceptualization of bicultural identity integration (BII) and the social context of Palestinian Christians in Israel.