Between the Spiritual and Practical: Individual Motives and Collective Experiences Among Catholic Lithuanians in Sweden and Norway
(2023) SANM03 20231Social Anthropology
Department of Sociology
- Abstract
- Coming from a predominantly Catholic country, Lithuanian immigrants in Scandinavia find themselves in a contrasting Protestant context of the host societies. This ethnographic study of diasporic Lithuanian communities and their transnational Catholic practices aims to understand what motivates immigrant Lithuanians to join the church in Sweden or Norway and whether this foreign environment influences their relation to faith. Participant observation of religious events and rituals highlights the unique role of the church in which spiritual and practical aspirations of immigrants converge and provide ground for (religious) socialisation on individual, familial, and communal levels. Besides, in-depth semi-formal interviews provide a more... (More)
- Coming from a predominantly Catholic country, Lithuanian immigrants in Scandinavia find themselves in a contrasting Protestant context of the host societies. This ethnographic study of diasporic Lithuanian communities and their transnational Catholic practices aims to understand what motivates immigrant Lithuanians to join the church in Sweden or Norway and whether this foreign environment influences their relation to faith. Participant observation of religious events and rituals highlights the unique role of the church in which spiritual and practical aspirations of immigrants converge and provide ground for (religious) socialisation on individual, familial, and communal levels. Besides, in-depth semi-formal interviews provide a more nuanced understanding of the individual motives and experiences that define the Catholic affiliations of immigrant Lithuanians. Combined, thematic analysis of qualitative observations and interviews shows how national and religious aspects of identity intersect and continue to shape the everyday lives of Catholic Lithuanians residing abroad. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9135737
- author
- Alekna, Augustas LU
- supervisor
-
- Simon Turner LU
- organization
- course
- SANM03 20231
- year
- 2023
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Social Anthropology, Migration, Religion, Catholicism, Identity
- language
- English
- id
- 9135737
- date added to LUP
- 2023-08-31 17:26:41
- date last changed
- 2023-08-31 17:26:41
@misc{9135737, abstract = {{Coming from a predominantly Catholic country, Lithuanian immigrants in Scandinavia find themselves in a contrasting Protestant context of the host societies. This ethnographic study of diasporic Lithuanian communities and their transnational Catholic practices aims to understand what motivates immigrant Lithuanians to join the church in Sweden or Norway and whether this foreign environment influences their relation to faith. Participant observation of religious events and rituals highlights the unique role of the church in which spiritual and practical aspirations of immigrants converge and provide ground for (religious) socialisation on individual, familial, and communal levels. Besides, in-depth semi-formal interviews provide a more nuanced understanding of the individual motives and experiences that define the Catholic affiliations of immigrant Lithuanians. Combined, thematic analysis of qualitative observations and interviews shows how national and religious aspects of identity intersect and continue to shape the everyday lives of Catholic Lithuanians residing abroad.}}, author = {{Alekna, Augustas}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Between the Spiritual and Practical: Individual Motives and Collective Experiences Among Catholic Lithuanians in Sweden and Norway}}, year = {{2023}}, }