Ethno-faith-burbs: Religious Affiliation and Residential Patterns of the Indian Ethnic Populations of Dundee and Glasgow

Abstract

Linking 1991 and 2001 census data on the residential distributions of ethnic minority populations within urban areas of the UK shows general trends towards dispersal and suburbanisation. This paper takes the case study cities of Dundee and Glasgow (Scotland, UK) in order to examine the religious affiliation of the Indian ethnic suburban and suburbanising populations. It seems the largest faith groups within the Indian ethnic population (Sikh, Muslim and Hindu) in each of these cities form residential clusters based around their religious affiliations. The groups appear to be engaging in newly identified forms of social and spatial mobility that are differentiated by faith. Qualitative evidence from in-depth interviews with Indian residents of each faith is presented in order to reveal the everyday experiences of such ethnic–faith segregation. Overall, by providing an analysis that incorporates religion, and analysing the existence of ethnic–faith geographies, the paper points towards new ways of understanding ethnic geographies.

Keywords:

• Ethnicity
• Indian Population
• Religion
• Scotland UK
• Segregation
• Suburbanisation

Acknowledgements

This research was carried out at the University of Dundee under an ESRC studentship. Many thanks to Professor Allan Findlay and Dr Donald Houston. An early version of the paper was presented at the RGS-IBG Annual Conference 2009. Thanks to other speakers and session attendees for their comments. Thanks are extended to the editor and peer reviewers for their helpful comments.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarah-Anne Muñoz

Sarah-Anne Muñoz is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Rural Health, UHI Millennium Institute, Inverness. She completed a PhD in Human Geography at the University of Dundee that looked at residential segregation of ethnic minority populations in central Scotland. Sarah-Anne joined the CRH in 2009 where she is involved in research relating to the health and well-being impacts of social and community organisations