Religion and Civic Participation among the Children of Immigrants: Insights from the Postcolonial Portuguese Context

Abstract

Religious mobilisation is a central aspect of ethno-cultural diversity in European societies. Focusing on the postcolonial Portuguese context, this article investigates the religious-civic activism of two groups of immigrant offspring living in the Greater Lisbon Area. Guiding research questions are the following: How is the religious mobilisation of immigrant youth associated both with degrees of social and cultural integration and with perceived conflict in inter-ethnic relations? To what extent is religious activism mediated by historical and cultural traditions related to specific gender and inter-generational dynamics? How do experiences of living out religion affect the multi-dimensional identity constructions of immigrant youth, and how do these ongoing identity processes promote strategies for ongoing action? Comparative analysis confirms that religious identities may create varied means and projects for civic activism, not only among children of immigrants who feel positively integrated but also among those who experience inter-ethnic conflict. Situated uses of religion require, however, a tacit knowledge concerning the civic and political context, and a certain capability of networking both within and beyond communities. The findings also reveal that youths’ religious mobilisation is mediated by specific gender and inter-generational dynamics. The paper calls for further work on the impact of the various forms of trans-boundary ‘positional moves’ upon the identity projects of immigrant emergent generations, including those sustained by long-distance emotional and imagined relations.

Keywords:

• Uses of Religion
• Civic Participation
• Immigrant Offspring
• Lisbon
• Postcolonial Immigration

Notes

1. The Portuguese Constitution forbides the counting of ethnically or religiously defined subgroups. Official numbers (2009) point to 11,484 people from São Tomé and Príncipe and 48,845 people from Cape Verde living in Portugal. We can estimate that, in the same context, currently live 9,000 to 11,000 Sunnis and 6,000 to 8,000 Ismailis of Indo-Mozambican origin. Muslims migrants also arrived from Guinea-Bissau and afterwards from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and Senegal. Unofficial figures indicate that the number of Muslim immigrants has quadrupled in the last few decades, now reaching more than 50,000 individuals.