LAUSR

ABSTRACT Muslims in the U.S. have been politically targeted as a threat to the nation. Yet, little is known about how most Americans’ attitudes are formed toward this growing group. While often othered in terms of their religion, race-ethnicity, and national background, Muslims also constitute the latest minority group in America’s racialized landscape. This study draws on theories of race-ethnicity, intergroup relations, and religious exclusion to situate Muslims relative to existing intergroup relations in the United States. Using four waves of the American National Election Survey, the study finds little evidence for affective solidarities between America’s largest racial-ethnic groups and Muslims. Instead, intergroup boundaries tend to predict lower levels of Muslim favorability. Further, the study uncovers a religious dimension concentrated among largely White evangelical Protestants. Findings are discussed within the context of sociodemographic changes in the U.S., and the prospect for shifting colour lines in the wake of increasing immigration-led diversity.