Issues Arising from an Ethnographic Investigation of the Religious Identity Formation of Young People in Mixed-faith Families

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-31
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Arweck ◽  
Eleanor Nesbitt
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Ethical Aspects ◽  
Research Experiences

This article documents and discusses issues arising from an ethnographic study of the religious identity formation of young people growing up in mixed-faith families. It reports and reflects on challenges to the design of our project, possible explanations for these challenges and the ways in which we addressed them. The areas where we encountered difficulties relate, firstly, to the combination of traditional ethnography with cyber-ethnography and, secondly, to sampling, interviewing and participant observation. There are implications for our project and for future empirical studies of families, especially those with particular focus on religion, culture and identity. The intention of this article is thus twofold: to make a contribution to debates regarding methodsand ethical aspects of ethnography and, through the reflections on our research experiences, to inform researchers who may face similar challenges.

scholarly journals How does career guidance at schools encounter migrant young people? Interactional practices that hinder socially just guidance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanna Vehviläinen ◽  
Anne-Mari Souto
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Young People ◽  
Career Guidance ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
School Career ◽  
Interaction Research

AbstractThe aim of this article is to show how interaction research can contribute to the understanding and praxis of socially just guidance. The article is theoretical, but it makes use of our previous empirical studies. We combine the ethnographic study of school and racism, and interactional research on guidance. We define guidance for social justice, explaining how this translates to the level of interactional practices. We show two empirical examples of interactional phenomena hindering socially just praxis. We lastly discuss our practical conclusions on how to help school career counsellors change their interactional practices.

Exploring Township Youth Perceptions: Vulnerable Girls and Their Caregivers in Chatsworth, Durban

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 292-302
Author(s):  
Gerelene Jagganath
Keyword(s):  
Religious Identity ◽  
Substance Abusers ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Religious Affiliation ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Drug Addicts ◽  
Female Youth ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Youth Perceptions

This article is based on a longitudinal, ethnographic study conducted in 2010, 2011, and 2012 among caregivers of female youth substance abusers in Chatsworth. Together with personnel of the Anti Drug Forum (ADF), the researcher used several qualitative research techniques, including participant observation, interviews, and focus group meetings to compile in-depth case studies of a small sample of vulnerable female youth drug addicts, primarily from the perspective of their caregivers. While the research questions focused on their substance-abuse experiences and challenges, the religious perceptions and spiritual practices of the young women and their caregivers raised several pertinent debates relating to religious identity specific to Chatsworth. The article also draws on a number of studies, news articles, and community discussions to supplement a topic that has been under-researched. For the purposes of this article and the religious affiliation of the sample, a snapshot of youth perceptions on Christianity and Hinduism in the township context will be examined.

scholarly journals Identity Formation and Developing Meaningful Social Relationships: The Role of the Polish Catholic Community for Polish Young People Migrating to Sweden

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oksana Shmulyar Gréen ◽  
Charlotte Melander ◽  
Ingrid Höjer
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Spiritual Development ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Religious Experiences ◽  
Making Sense

This article draws from a broader research project Transnational childhoods, illuminating the agency and experiences of children and young people migrating from Poland and Romania to Sweden under the age of 18. Focusing on young people born in Poland and having social relationships post-migration as central theoretical component, the article explores the role that the Polish Catholic community in Sweden plays in the lives of young Polish migrants. It does so by grounding the analysis on 23 qualitative interviews, combined with network maps and life-lines, produced by the young Polish participants. The study identifies three important dimensions in the role of the Polish Catholic community. These are comprised of the community's role for young Poles' spiritual development and religious identity, for building new friendships and making sense of common migration and religious experiences, and guidance by specifically Polish Catholic priests in the young migrants' family relationships and in future life projects. The article concludes that while practicing religion and building significant social relationships within the Polish congregations the young migrants shape feelings of belonging and inclusion, however primarily within the limits of their own ethnic community. Further research is needed on the wider implications of primarily mono-ethnic relational practices for the young Poles' lives within the increasingly ethnically heterogeneous Swedish society.

Interfaith Families

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-104
Author(s):  
Halima Krausen
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Learning Environment ◽  
Meaningful Learning ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
New Normal ◽  
World Today ◽  
The World ◽  
Interfaith Marriages ◽  
Plural Society

In our plural society, interfaith marriages and multicultural families have become a new normal and are either considered problematic for the religious communities or welcomed as a contribution to a secular and more peaceful world. In the course of my work with European Muslims, I could accompany such families through a few generations. In this article, I am going to outline some typical challenges and crises in such relationships and their effects on young people growing up in mixed families, adding my observations of how they can be dealt with. Ultimately, there is a chance that, through dialogue, it provides a meaningful learning environment that prepares young people for the diverse reality of the world today.

Sociological Analysis of Attitudes of Professional Growth and Career in the Context of Digital Economy and Knowledge Society

2020 ◽  
pp. 12-24
Author(s):  
O. Ya. Gelikh ◽  
A. N. Levitskaya ◽  
N. N. Pokrovskaia
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Knowledge Society ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Entrepreneurial Activity ◽  
Sociological Analysis ◽  
Working Age ◽  
The Media

A sociological analysis of the factors of integration of young generations into active economic life is based on a study of the values of young people in relation to employment and professional growth. The information society has two key parameters that influence the construction of the trajectory of educational, professional, labor or entrepreneurial activity — the significant role of knowledge in creating value and the digital space as a source of information and the place for individuals to fulfill themselves in society and the social and professional community. A theoretical analysis of labor socialization allows researchers to move on to the results of empirical studies carried out with the participation of authors in 2017 and 2019-2020. The data obtained are evaluative in nature and allow authors to draw conclusions about the influence of the media space on young people entering working age taking decisions on choosing a profession and a form of economic activity, planning employment and career growth.

Young Muslim America

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muna Ali
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Cultural Citizenship ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Muslim American ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Community Culture ◽  
Identity Studies ◽  
Anthropology Of Islam ◽  
Dominant Narratives

This book explores the identities, perspectives, and roles of the second and subsequent generations of Muslim Americans of both immigrant and convert backgrounds. As these younger Muslims come of age, and as distant as they are from historical processes that shaped their parents’ generations, how do they view themselves and each other? What role do they play in the current chapter of Islam in a post-9/11 America? Will they be able to cross intra-community divides and play a pivotal role in shaping their community? Culture figures prominently in the discussions about and among Muslims and is centered on four dominant narratives: 1) culture is thought to be the underlying cause of an alleged “identity crisis,” 2) it presumably contaminates a “pure/true” Islam, 3) it is the cause for all that divides Muslim American immigrants and converts, which could be remedied by creating an American Muslim community and culture, and 4) some Americans fear an “Islamization of America” through a Muslim cultural takeover. In this ethnographic study, Muna Ali explores these questions through these four dominant narratives, which are both part of the public discourse and themes that emerged from interviews, a survey, social and traditional media, and participant observation. Situating these questions and narratives in identity studies in a pluralistic yet racialized society, as well as in the anthropology of Islam and in the process and meaning of cultural citizenship, Ali examines how younger Muslims see themselves and their community, how they negotiate fault lines of ethnicity, race, class, gender, and religious interpretation within their communities, and how their faith informs their daily lives and how they envision a future for themselves in post-911 America.

Beyond millennials v baby boomers: Using kindness to assess generationalism across four age cohorts in Australia

2021 ◽  
pp. 003802612110162
Author(s):  
Nicholas Hookway ◽  
Dan Woodman
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Longitudinal Methods ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Youth And Young Adults ◽  
Generation Period ◽  
Life Cycle Effects

Today’s young people (youth and young adults) are routinely understood in generational terms, constructed as narcissistic and selfish in comparison with their predecessors. Despite announcements of a weakening commitment to values of kindness and generosity, there is little empirical research that examines these trends. The Australian Survey of Social Attitudes shows that young people are more likely to be kind but are less likely to think most Australians are kind. This article investigates this tension using focus groups with Australians of different ages (corresponding to major generational groupings) and drawing on the sociology of generations. To differentiate between generation, period and age/life-cycle effects requires longitudinal methods. However, these qualitative data suggest that a ‘generationalist’ discourse of young people as narcissistic is powerful in Australia and that young people are both internalising and challenging this framing. They appear to be responding to common experiences of growing up with the social and economic uncertainties of an ‘until-further-notice’ world and express strong support for values of kindness and openness to difference.

A Journey Not Walked Alone: Who are the Influential Adults Identified by Catholic-Raised Young Adults during their Religious Identity Development?

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-24
Author(s):  
Danielle Vaclavik ◽  
Kelly Velazquez ◽  
Jakob Carballo
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
Adult Type ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Catholic College

Interactions with adults may play a crucial role in youths’ religious identity development. However, who these adults are and how they are influential is under explored. Twelve Catholic and twelve former Catholic college students were interviewed about their experiences growing up Catholic focusing on influential adults. Interviews were analyzed using modified grounded theory. Adult type categories were identified. Implications and future studies are discussed.

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