THE CHOICE OF A DANISH IMMIGRANT IDENTITY: RESULTS FROM A SURVEY AMONG DANISH IMMIGRANTS

Beskrivelse

Roughly half a million Danes live abroad. Some migrate for a lifetime while others only stay abroad for a limited time. Religion among these Danes is practically an unexplored field, particularly in quantitative terms. This paper presents the results from a survey among Danish immigrants with questions focusing on national and religious identity. A Danish immigrant group identity is maintained, often for several generations, and for many Danes centred around the Danish churches abroad, one of the Danish transnational spaces abroad. The churches function as cultural meeting places for local Danes as well as for other Scandinavians, also those who are not particularly religiously interested or have chosen other religious affiliations. Religious affiliation seem to be an important marker of the choice between an identity as a member of the Danish Diaspora or as part of the melting pot, which has fused immigrants into the majority culture of the new host country.