‘We are different!’ Similarities between Christian and Muslim women in Jordan

Abstract

This article attempts to explain the similarities and differences between the religious beliefs and practices of young Jordanian and Palestinian women of Muslim and Christian background. It analyses the emerging patterns in the light of Bourdieu's ideas of ‘distinction’ and ‘habitus’, as well as Scott's notion of ‘hidden transcripts’ as aids to explain how differences between the religious communities are maintained despite the obvious similarities, and argues that the similarities found in the religious beliefs and practices of Muslim and Christian women (and men) are the result of a shared socio-cultural space as well as specific historical and political circumstances, their habitus. The past and current political circumstances require a public discourse of ‘unity’ and ‘harmony’. The differences that are regularly emphasized in day-to-day discourse are a specific feature of the minority situation in which Christians in the region find themselves. This is explained with reference to ‘hidden transcripts’ by a dominated group about those in a dominant position.