THE CHOICE OF DANISH DIASPORA IDENTITY OR THE MELTING POT RESULTS FROM A SURVEY AMONG DANISH IMMIGRANTS

Activity: Talk or presentation typesLecture and oral contribution

Description

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.
Period8 Jun 2009
Event titleConference on Alternative Spaces, 8 - 10 June 2009
Event typeConference
Conference number1
OrganiserAlternativ Spaces, Københavns Universitet
LocationKøbenhavn, DenmarkShow on map