Thursday, April 14, 2016
Concerto A (DoubleTree by Hilton Philadelphia Center City)
In light of the steady increase in immigration to Scandinavian countries, transnational migration and its impact on European national identity is a growing focus of study. Are ideas of European secularism shifting as a result of diversifying populations, and if so how? In the context of religion, there has been analysis devoted to understanding how religion can be a central tool for immigrants gaining social capital, adapting into a new society, and mobilizing politically to assert rights. Conflicts between religious values and national identity have spurred political action; however, the majority of these studies focus solely on religious and ethnic minorities in the community. In contemporary Europe, many have looked at Muslims and how their participation in Islam affects their understandings of national identity. This literature often treats Muslims as a separate from the mainstream; little attention is paid to how their ideas are similar to or different from those of other faith based groups. In order to understand if participation in a religious community influences ideas about national identity and in turn political participation, both the perspectives of religious and ethnic minorities as well as the religious ethnic majority must be accounted for. This research paper uses case material collected from a year-long doctoral research study of both Christians and Muslims in Norway to explore how the negotiation of racial and religious identity affects experiences with dominant discourses of secular European identity and ultimately participation in political movements.
