Projects per year
Abstract
The rise of the ‘nones’ has fueled a burgeoning literature on ‘non-religion’, atheism and other forms of so-called ‘unbelief’. Yet we know little about how children are being socialized as non-religious or about the experiences of non-religious children. In this paper, we draw on the findings from a broader research project examining how, when, where, and with whom children learn to be non-religious, based on ethnographic fieldwork with primary schools in three contrasting areas of England and in-depth interviews with children, parents, and teachers. The voices of children are centred as we present how they articulate and reflect on the place – and absence – of religion, God(s) and other supernatural beings in their lifeworlds, and we explore how they perceive and perform their relationships to a range of religious phenomena they encounter in their everyday lives. Challenging wider narratives that equate secularity with disenchantment, we demonstrate how children’s non-belief in God is held alongside a range of other beliefs, including beliefs about life after death and in particular supernatural and magical figures. Through examining what it means to them to be non-religious, we foreground the different forms of cultural authority and values that matter to these children in shaping their identities and beliefs. We argue that their non-religiosity is bound up with their emphasis on respecting difference and an ethics of authenticity and freedom in relation to (non-)religious identities.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Unpublished - 2022 |
Event | European Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Research Network Conference: Religion in an unstable world: Challenges, transformations and future prospects - University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands Duration: 13 Jul 2022 → 15 Jul 2022 https://esareligion.org/esa-rn34-groningen-2022-conference-programme/ |
Conference
Conference | European Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Research Network Conference |
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Country/Territory | Netherlands |
City | Groningen |
Period | 13/07/22 → 15/07/22 |
Internet address |
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Nonreligious Childhood: Growing Up Unbelieving in Contemporary Britain
Strhan, A. H. B. (Principal investigator)
1/04/18 → 1/09/19
Project: Research project (funded) › Research