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Article
Permitted to Build? Moral Foundations in Newspaper Framing of Mosque-Construction Controversies
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (2017)
  • Brian J. Bowe
Abstract
Recent proposals by American Muslims to build mosques have been met with technical and ideological opposition during the permitting process. This article examines the framing of these debates in newspaper stories between 2010 and 2013 to better understand the socially constructed position Muslims hold in American media and public spheres. Connecting framing and Moral Foundations Theory, this analysis identifies five frames: Local Regulation, Political Debate, Muslim Neighbors, Islamic Threat, and Legal Authority. These frames emphasized binding moral foundations related to in-group protection and deference to authority. A binary logistic regression found that moral evaluations were associated with mosque support, but not mosque opposition.

Keywords
  • framing,
  • Islam,
  • Moral Foundations Theory,
  • cluster analysis,
  • newspapers,
  • morality
Publication Date
2017
DOI
10.1177/1077699017709253
Citation Information
Brian J. Bowe. "Permitted to Build? Moral Foundations in Newspaper Framing of Mosque-Construction Controversies" Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (2017)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/brianjbowe/33/