Zwischen Glaube, Zugehörigkeit und Vielfalt: Subjektive Religiosität und gesellschaftliche Differenzerfahrungen muslimischer Kinder und Jugendlicher in der Steiermark

Subjective Religiosity and Experiences of Social Othering among Muslim Children and Adolescents in Styria

Abstract

How do Muslim children and adolescents interpret their faith in a religiously plural society? What significance do societal ascriptions have for their self-understanding, and how do they shape their relationships with people of other religious affiliations? This article addresses these questions through group discussions with Muslim students aged ten to fourteen. The focus lies on the subjective perspectives of the children and adolescents regarding their faith, their sense of belonging, and their experiences of societal diversity.

The study engages with contemporary debates on the individualisation of religiosity, religious diversity, and experiences of difference. Using qualitative content analysis, the participants’ religious self-interpretations are reconstructed and related to their experiences within their social environments. The analysis suggests that religious identity is shaped through the interplay of religious interpretations and social experiences. The narratives of the young Muslims point to processes of religious self-positioning, the negotiation of societal ascriptions, and the formation of social relationships within a religiously plural everyday context.