Ethnicity Negotiations: Strategies of Young Muslims and Christians in Oslo

Religion and everyday cosmopolitanism among religious and non-religious urban youth

“…However, such perspectives run the risk of overlooking ongoing processes of individualization by Muslims as part of everyday practices for negotiating and balancing multiple identity belongings and various cultural expectations in Western Europe (Jeldtoft, 2011). Indeed, research has shown that individualization is an active strategy for managing stigma related to Muslim's religion and for equalizing and adapting themselves to mainstream society (Beaman, 2016;Killian, 2007;Synnes, 2018). In addition, our results show that religious identification and perceived discrimination are negatively associated with everyday cosmopolitanism for Muslims.…”

“…Beaman, 2016;Jacobson, 1997;Lamont et al, 2002) have shown how Muslims tend to emphasize a commitment to a set of principles informed by Islamic moral universalism, asserting the intrinsic equality, morals and destiny of humans across all boundaries (nationality, ethnicity, religion, etc.). In an analogous way, Synnes (2018) has shown how Christian youth emphasize a universal understanding of their religion with values such as inclusiveness and transcendence of (ethnic) symbolic boundaries. Bayat (2009: 186) has demonstrated how Muslims and Christians in an Egyptian suburb have imaginary and prejudiced views of the 'other' but still develop an 'everyday cosmopolitan coexistence' among each other.…”

“…The notion of 'rooted cosmopolitanism' enables an understanding of everyday cosmopolitanism as embedded in the interactions and negotiations between various belongings, loyalties and multiple identities of individuals in everyday life. It can grasp the 'in-between' situation of young people in superdiverse contexts, where cultural relations are actively reworked (Synnes, 2018;Turner et al, 2014).…”

The Role of Religion in Young Muslims’ and Christians’ Self-presentation on Social Media

“…Most migrants to Norway have a Christian background, and less than a quarter have a Muslim background (Statistics Norway, 2020). In a previous study (Synnes, 2018), Christian and Muslim youth with minority backgrounds were found to have different perceptions of the relationship between their religious identity and affiliation with Norwegian society. Because Christianity is the dominant religion in Norway, the Christian youth regarded their connection to Norwegian society as less tense than the Muslim youth.…”

“…However, few studies deal with both young Muslims and Christians with minority backgrounds and their use of social media in relation to religious topics (Synnes, 2018). Moreover, the studies that deal with gender are often solely about Muslim women (Echchaibi, 2013; Lövheim, 2012; Midden & Ponzanesi, 2013; Piela, 2011).…”