How significant is faith for young refugees?
Study shows that faith can contribute to integration. Long-term study to follow in fall
Encounters with foreign cultures are frequently overshadowed by stereotypes – especially when it comes to refugees and their religious affiliation. But what role does religiosity actually play in the life of young people with migration background or refugee status? Prof. Dr. Manfred Pirner, Chair of Religious Education and the Teaching of Religious Instruction at FAU, together with Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories in Bamberg, has conducted a study for which he and his team interviewed 45 young Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Yazidis from Nuremberg, Leipzig and Berlin. The study was financially supported by the Staedtler foundation. The project will be expanded on; starting in fall, a long-term study will be funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
“We have noticed,” says Prof. Dr. Manfred Pirner, “that in societal discourse, the significance of religion for refugees is simultaneously over- and underestimated. Overestimated especially when it comes to Islam, which is often associated with Extremism and seen as an obstacle to integration. On the other hand, the importance of religion is also underestimated or rarely considered. Therefore, our goal was to raise awareness that religiosity also has a positive side: it can be a resource for coping with one’s life and for integration. The results of our study prove this.
Study finds: Knowledge about other religions favours tolerance.
The young refugees were between 13 and 24 years old and had been in Germany for 11 to 45 months at the time of the survey. Most of them came from Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan. The study – like previous surveys – confirmed that young migrants are very religious. Only seven participants reported that their faith grew weaker during their time in Germany. Of the other participants, half said that their belief had become stronger, and half reported that it had changed. In the diverse religious landscape in Germany, some said they have become more aware of their faith, others stated that they could practice their faith more freely and without social pressures. However, they wished for more opportunities to visit a mosque or attend an orthodox service in their new home country.
20 participants had very little prior knowledge of other religions before their arrival in Germany. The majority of participants have trouble imagining that some people are not religious. 25 of them have however found non-religious friends after some time spent in Germany, which speaks for a learning process.
Sadly, more than a quarter of the participants experienced discrimination at school, overall however they felt welcome.
Follow-up project with longitudinal study
The pilot study has granted first insights into the significance of religion for young refugees, which show the potential of religiosity for coping with life and for integration. Prof. Dr. Manfred Pirner is aiming to build up on these findings and will be conducting a long-term study in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Ulrich Riegel of Siegen University. The project is titled “Religion as resource and risk. An empirical longitudinal study on the significance of religiosity for the coping with life and the integration of young refugees” (Religion als Ressource und Risiko. Eine empirisch-longitudinale Erhebung der Bedeutsamkeit von Religiosität für die Lebensbewältigung und Integration geflüchteter Jugendlicher (ReReRi-L))
The results of the project will be used to improve conditions for addressing the needs of teenagers with refugee or migration background with targeted educational offers and to better support them in their development.
The project will launch in fall 2021 and will be funded by the DFG until 2024. Two doctoral positions have been approved for three years.
Find out more about the project here: