Religious Identity and Experiences of Displacement: An Examination into the Discursive Representations of Syrian Refugees and Their Effects on Religious Minorities Living in Jordan

Abstract

This article explores how religious identity is related to experiences of and responses to displacement. It does so by examining discursive representations of Syrian refugees, their effects on religious minorities among the Syrian refugee population in Jordan and responses to religion in the Syrian humanitarian crisis by humanitarian actors. It finds that limited engagement with religious identity in displacement is in part due to (mis)interpretations of humanitarian principles of neutrality and universality and widespread assumptions held about religion as either non-essential or divisive. It argues that these limited views overlook the complex ways that resources, power, place and identity interact in practice. The article shows how an exclusion of religion in displacement affects religious minorities in relation to their wellbeing, security and protection, and access to humanitarian services. In particular, Syrian Christian and Syrian Druze refugees living in urban centres in Jordan experience isolation, insecurity and discrimination because of their religious identity, revealing the importance of the religious dimension in displacement despite humanitarian desires to avoid or downplay religion. It argues that understanding these experiences is essential to enhancing more inclusive refugee aid and protection for a range of refugee populations.