Social networks and identity negotiations of religious minority youth in diverse social contexts

Abstract

This study is looking at how youth growing up in families affiliated with a religious minority negotiate their religious values and social identity in the social contexts of minority and majority. Although these youth belong to the ethnic majority in Finland, the religious and lifestyle values of their home and religious community differ from the Lutheran mainstream, which causes discrepancies between the values of their socialization background and those of their peer group. The negotiations of values and identities are here examined through two case examples of the teenagers' interview data. These examples illustrate the varied strategies for negotiation, positive versus negative experiences on the acquired negotiation outcomes, as well as the diversity within a minority community and the different ways of being a member of a religious minority.