His Faith, Her Consumption: Halal Food Decisions in UK Interfaith Family Households
Date
Authors
Ibrahim, Khaled
Burnett, Megan
Sarfo, Christian
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
Degree name
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Emerald
Abstract
Purpose: This study aims to investigate how religious obligation, Halal purchase decision and spousal decision-making jointly shape Halal food consumption within interfaith marriages, specifically focusing on non-Muslim wives married to Muslim men in the United Kingdom. Design/methodology/approach: A survey of 103 non-Muslim wives in interfaith households was conducted. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to assess direct and indirect relationships among religiosity, spousal decision-making, Halal purchase decision and gendered consumption. Necessary condition analysis (NCA) was also used to identify non-compensatory conditions for gendered consumption. Findings: The results indicate that religiosity and spousal decision-making significantly influence both Halal purchasing and gendered Halal consumption. Halal purchase decisions partially mediate the effect of religiosity and spousal influence on consumption outcomes, revealing that religious obligation is enacted through relational processes within the household. Furthermore, NCA confirms that both religiosity and spousal decision-making are non-compensatory preconditions for high levels of gendered Halal consumption, reinforcing their essential role in shaping domestic religious practices. Practical implications: Marketers should recognise that non-Muslim partners are active agents in religious consumption and tailor Halal messaging accordingly, highlighting the theme of shared domestic practice. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to examine Halal food practices as relational and gendered outcomes of religious commitment in interfaith households. It contributes to further understanding the theory of family buying decisions by integrating value asymmetry and moral salience into domestic consumption models.Description
Keywords
1505 Marketing, 3506 Marketing, Gendered consumption, Halal purchase decisions, Spousal decision-making, Religiosity, Non-Muslim wives, Interfaith households
Source
Journal of Islamic Marketing, ISSN: 1759-0833 (Print); 1759-0841 (Online), Emerald, 1-29. doi: 10.1108/jima-06-2025-0381
Rights statement
© 2026 Khaled Ibrahim, Megan Burnett and Christian Sarfo. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/