PERM UNIVERSITY HERALD. SERIES “PHILOSOPHY. PSYCHOLOGY. SOCIOLOGY”

VESTNIK PERMSKOGO UNIVERSITETA. SERIYA FILOSOFIA PSIKHOLOGIYA SOTSIOLOGIYA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17072/2078-7898/2022-1-167-174

Religious identity of young Muslim males from the Commonwealth of Independent States as a transforming phenomenon (a case study of the city of Kazan)

Tatyana N. Lipatova
Candidate of Sociology, Senior researcherCenter of Islamic Studies of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences,
36а, Levo-Bulachnaya st., Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, 420111, Russia;
e-mail: talipatova@yandex.ru
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5755-486X
ResearcherID: AAU-8260-2021

The article examines the phenomenon of religious identity of young Muslim migrants in the city of Kazan. The study is based on a premise that religious identity is a transforming phenomenon influenced by personal experience, historical factors, and social changes. Among these, migration appears to be a significant factor in the transformation of religious identity of individuals. In the study of Muslim migrants’ identity transformation processes the author rests upon the work of L. Peek distinguishing three forms of religious identity: ascribed, chosen, and declared. Each form of identity replaces the previous when religiosity becomes deeper and the implementation of religious practices becomes more conscious. Based on foreign methodology, the author of the article carried out qualitative research in the city of Kazan using in-depth interviews to identify key stages in the transformation of young Muslim migrants’ religious identity — ascribed, chosen, and declared. The first is formed during primary socialization in an environment with the majority of the population practising Islam and is taken for granted, not causing questions and reflection; the second is formed as the individual grows up, transforming from the ascribed identity under the influence of reflection, the external environment, and personal choice; the third is formed as a result of emigration and can undergo relatively small changes during the person’s life.

Keywords: religious identity, ascribed religious identity, chosen religious identity, declared religious identity, Islam, Muslims, migrants.

References

Adams, G.R. and Marshall, S.K. (1996). A developmental social psychology of identity: Understanding the person-in-context. Journal of Adolescence. Vol. 19, iss. 5, pp. 429–442. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1996.0041

Alwin, D.F., Felson, J.L., Walker, E.T. and Tufis, A. (2006). Measuring religious identities in surveys. International Journal of Public Opinion Quarterly. Vol. 70, iss. 4, pp. 530–564. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfl024

Ammerman, N.T. (2003). Religious identities and religious institutions. M. Dillon (ed.) Handbook of the Sociology of Religion. New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 207–224. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511807961.016

Dillon, M. (1999). Catholic identity: Balancing reason, faith, and power. New York: Cambridge University Press, 300 p. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511752728

Erikson, E. (1963). Childhood and society. 2d ed. New York: W.W. Norton Publ., 445 p.

Gabdrakhmanova, G.F., Sagdieva, E.A. and Korableva, N.I. (2017). [Students from Central Asian in Tatarstan: motivation, adaptation, life plans]. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. No. 3, pp. 58–63.

Garbuzarova, E.G. (2019). Islam in the states of Central Asia nowadays. Islamovedenie [Islamic Studies]. Vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 22–31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21779/2077-8155-2019-10-2-22-31

Mol, H. (1976). Identity and the sacred: A sketch for a new-scientific theory of religion. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publ., 326 p.

Parks, S. (1986). The critical years: Young adults and the search for meaning, faith, and commitment. New York: HarperCollins Publ., 245 p.

Peek, L. (2005). Becoming Muslim: The development of a religious identity. Sociology of Religion. Vol. 66, iss. 3, pp. 215–242. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/4153097

Peek, L. (2011). Behind the backlash: Muslim Americans after 9/11. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 230 p. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvrdf3dw

Hall, S. (1990). Cultural Identity and Diaspora. J. Rutherford (ed.) Identity: Community, Culture, Difference. London, UK: Lawrence & Wishart Publ., pp. 222–237.

Sherkat, D.E. (2001). Tracking the restructuring of American religion: Religious affiliation and patterns of religious mobility, 1973–1998. Social Forces. Vol. 79, iss. 4, pp. 1459–1493. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2001.0052

Swidler, A. (1986). Culture in action: Symbols and strategies. American Sociological Review. Vol. 51, no. 2, pp. 273–286. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2095521

Warner, R.S. (1993). Work in progress toward a new paradigm for the sociological study of religion in the United States. American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 98, no. 5, pp. 1044–1093. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/230139

Received: 24.07.2021. Revised: 26.01.22. Accepted: 05.02.2022

For citation:

Lipatova T.N. [Religious identity of young Muslim males from the Commonwealth of Independent States as a transforming phenomenon (a case study of the city of Kazan)]. Vestnik Permskogo universiteta. Filosofia. Psihologia. Sociologia [Perm University Herald. Philosophy. Psychology. Sociology], 2022, issue 1, pp. 167–174 (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.17072/2078-7898/2022-1-167-174