Muslims by Ascription: On Post-Lutheran Secularity and Muslim Immigrants

Abstract This article empirically explores the interplay between the secular, post-Lutheran majority culture and Muslim immigrants in Sweden. It presents the ambiguous role of religion in the country’s mainstream discourse, the othering of religion that is characteristic to this, and the expectation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Numen
Authors: Thurfjell, David 1973- (Author) ; Willander, Erika 1978- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2021
In: Numen
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Swedes / Interfaith dialogue / Christian / Family / Value ethics / Muslim / Secularism
IxTheo Classification:BJ Islam
CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations
KBE Northern Europe; Scandinavia
KDD Protestant Church
Further subjects:B state-church Lutheranism
B Sweden
B Migration
B religious family background
B Secular Muslims
B cultural Christians
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Summary:Abstract This article empirically explores the interplay between the secular, post-Lutheran majority culture and Muslim immigrants in Sweden. It presents the ambiguous role of religion in the country’s mainstream discourse, the othering of religion that is characteristic to this, and the expectations of Muslims to be strongly religious that follows as its consequence. Four results of a web-panel survey with Swedes of Muslim and Christian family background are then presented: (1) Both groups largely distance themselves from their own religious heritage – the Muslims do this in a more definite way; (2) the Muslim respondents have more secular values and identities than the Christians; (3) contrary expectations, Christian respondents show more affinity to their religious heritage than the Muslims do to theirs; and (4) the fusion between the groups is prominent. The article concludes that equating religious family heritage with religious identity is precipitous in the case of Swedish Muslims.
ISSN:1568-5276
Contains:Enthalten in: Numen
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15685276-12341626