Religion, Privilege and the ‘Black Box’ of the Secular: Christian-Nonreligious Couples

Activity: Lecture / PresentationAcademic

Description

In studies on mixed couples, the partners usually embody multiple forms of difference, including migration background, race, ethnicity and religion. In such research, Christian secularity represents the dominant hegemony against which religious/racial Otherness is defined and regulated. However, the contents and impact of (post/Christian) secularity on everyday life is somewhat of a ‘black box’. This paper builds on insights from critical race theory where a call was made to not only focus on minoritized groups, but also on modes of privilege (Lauwers 2022). In addition to the comparative reflection, this paper presents an extended case study of religion, secularity and whiteness in the context of Christian-nonreligious couples. The paper analyses how a distinction between ‘secular’ and ‘religious’ is performed and discussed by these couples, and studies where and how these couples experience and negotiate structures of religious/racial privilege, how they give meaning to the concept of secular/Christian and how their experiences reflect on white secular/Christian.
Period3 Nov 2023
Event titleNGG Conference Religion in Motion: Between Borders and Belonging
Event typeConference
LocationNijmegen, NetherlandsShow on map
Degree of RecognitionNational