The crescent and the cross: examining the connections among religious identity, national identity, and patterns of political action

In light of the steady increase in immigration to Scandinavian countries, transnational migration and its impact on European national identity is a growing focus of study. Are ideas of European secularism shifting as a result of diversifying populations, and if so how? In the context of religion, there has been analysis devoted to understanding how religion can be a central tool for immigrants gaining social capital, adapting into a new society, and mobilizing politically to assert rights. Conflicts between religious values and national identity have spurred political action; however, the majority of these studies focus solely on religious and ethnic minorities in the community. In contemporary Europe, many have looked at Muslims and how their participation in Islam affects their understandings of national identity. This literature often treats Muslims as a separate from the mainstream; little attention is paid to how their ideas are similar to or different from those of other faith based groups. In order to understand if participation in a religious community influences experiences with marginalization and political participation, both the perspectives of religious and ethnic minorities as well as the religious ethnic majority must be accounted for. This dissertation uses case material collected from a year-long doctoral research study of both Christians and Muslims in Norway to answer: how is political participation affected by religious participation among those who are in the margins of dominant discourses of national identity? By drawing fruitful comparisons between both Christians and Muslims who struggle to negotiate their religious ideas with Norwegian dominant discourses of religious history, ethnicity, and secularism, this research reveals how cultivating a sense of belonging to a greater national narrative is a pivotal factor in motivating people to become active in social and political movements for change. In conclusion, individuals who successfully navigated between both their religious and secular social circles to develop a privatized idea of faith were more likely to be engaged in political movements beyond their respective houses of worship and ethnic enclaves. In comparison, those who possessed more closed social circles and cultivated less investment in national identity narratives were less active in political movements for change even if they experienced injustice first hand.