Belonging and Discomfort: Young Hindu Religiosity in Rural Norway
Abstract
The theme of this article is young lived Tamil Hindu religiosity in small towns and rural districts in Norway. It explores when and why young Hindus choose to expose, or not to expose, religious materiality outside religious settings, such as in encounters with ethnic Norwegian friends and the greater Norwegian society. The article also asks whether it is possible to trace influences on their religiosity stemming from their non-Hindu local and national contexts. The analysis is based on field notes from observations, written responses to a questionnaire with open-ended questions (N=25) and transcripts from photo-elicitation interviews (N=7). The participants are between 16 and 25 years of age who have lived most of their lives in Northwestern Norway. The findings suggest that adjustment to secular cultural scripts take place when these young Tamil Hindus handle religious materiality in their Norwegian context.
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Published online: 15 May 2017
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