Veiling as free choice or coercion : Banal religion, gender equality, and Swedish identity on Instagram
Lövheim, Mia and Jensdotter, Linnea LU
(2024)
In Nordic Journal of Media Studies
6(1).
p.36-56
- Abstract
In this article, we analyse implicit connections between gender equality and particular forms of religion in Sweden, as expressed in political discourse and social media debates. Instagram posts responding to the Christian Democrats [Kristdemokraterna] political party’s proposal to ban the wearing of veils in Swedish primary schools in 2021 were analysed through methods of co-occurrence analysis and feminist critical discourse analysis. By applying the concept of banal religion from mediatisation of religion theory, the results reveal how implicit connections between veiling as opposed to gender equality in the proposal turn into explicit debates on Instagram regarding what kind of religious practice is compatible with Swedish identity... (More)
In this article, we analyse implicit connections between gender equality and particular forms of religion in Sweden, as expressed in political discourse and social media debates. Instagram posts responding to the Christian Democrats [Kristdemokraterna] political party’s proposal to ban the wearing of veils in Swedish primary schools in 2021 were analysed through methods of co-occurrence analysis and feminist critical discourse analysis. By applying the concept of banal religion from mediatisation of religion theory, the results reveal how implicit connections between veiling as opposed to gender equality in the proposal turn into explicit debates on Instagram regarding what kind of religious practice is compatible with Swedish identity and values. This reveals the ambiguous nature of Instagram as a digital platform that may enhance hegemonic ideas of gender, ethnic, and religious identities, but that may also enable Muslim women to challenge understandings of Islam and gender equality in the public debate.
(Less)
- author
- Lövheim, Mia
and Jensdotter, Linnea
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024-08
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- banal religion, Christian Democrats, Instagram, Sweden, veil bans
- in
- Nordic Journal of Media Studies
- volume
- 6
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 21 pages
- publisher
- Sciendo
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85203410585
- ISSN
- 2003-184X
- DOI
- 10.2478/njms-2024-0003
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 1a7ec11e-05b4-4795-8e36-7c97e2f46e26
- date added to LUP
- 2024-11-26 10:31:02
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 14:45:00
@article{1a7ec11e-05b4-4795-8e36-7c97e2f46e26,
abstract = {{<p>In this article, we analyse implicit connections between gender equality and particular forms of religion in Sweden, as expressed in political discourse and social media debates. Instagram posts responding to the Christian Democrats [Kristdemokraterna] political party’s proposal to ban the wearing of veils in Swedish primary schools in 2021 were analysed through methods of co-occurrence analysis and feminist critical discourse analysis. By applying the concept of banal religion from mediatisation of religion theory, the results reveal how implicit connections between veiling as opposed to gender equality in the proposal turn into explicit debates on Instagram regarding what kind of religious practice is compatible with Swedish identity and values. This reveals the ambiguous nature of Instagram as a digital platform that may enhance hegemonic ideas of gender, ethnic, and religious identities, but that may also enable Muslim women to challenge understandings of Islam and gender equality in the public debate.</p>}},
author = {{Lövheim, Mia and Jensdotter, Linnea}},
issn = {{2003-184X}},
keywords = {{banal religion; Christian Democrats; Instagram; Sweden; veil bans}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{36--56}},
publisher = {{Sciendo}},
series = {{Nordic Journal of Media Studies}},
title = {{Veiling as free choice or coercion : Banal religion, gender equality, and Swedish identity on Instagram}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/njms-2024-0003}},
doi = {{10.2478/njms-2024-0003}},
volume = {{6}},
year = {{2024}},
}