Hmmm, as I sometimes do, I re-read over some of the blogs that I've written to ensure that there are no spelling mistakes or awkward phrasing. I posted a blog yesterday that discussed lions (how exciting! maybe you should read it for yourself!) and another about the religious spaces that I've found in the neighbourhood.
At one point I write: In general, the majority of literature about the role of religion in the Netherlands concludes that religion is no longer important in this seemingly secular society. But is this in fact the case? Does religion have to be within the doors of the church, and vice versa, that is do things that happen within the church have to be religious?
Upon re-reading this, I was struck by how different this opinion - that is how the role of religion has decreased in Dutch society- sounded in opposition to the other blogs, for example the blog I wrote about Ayaan Hirsi Ali, concerning the role of Islam in Dutch society.
How was this possible?!?
1. I was extremely jetlagged and lacked a considerable amount of sleep in order to perform the function of write properly. I wish blogger had a 'you're-too-tired-to-blog-at-this-moment-so-please-return-after-a-good-night's-sleep' button.
2. Although it was previous thought that Dutch society experienced a considerable decline of Christianity in the Netherlands (the Netherlands is historically a Protestant and Catholic country), more recently, the literature on religion discusses how Christianity in its formal sense might be dwindling (such as church attendance) but that the concept of religion itself is no less important than before. This is exactly what I see myself demonstrating in the previous blog - the presence of not-so-religious-religious spaces in the neighbourhood or as I just thought of - a more 'softcore religion' in daily life. Sounds catchy (hopefully in a good way)!
I guess what was so interesting to me about my own writing was that I could compartmentalise Islam and Christianity into such different categories that when I began to discuss the specific church spaces in my own neighbourhood (of which there is a Mosque and an Islamic University), I was able to forget the presence of Islam in this area.
What does that say about how religion is felt in everyday space in my neighbourhood? And of course the harder question, what does that have to say about how I'm conducting my research?
Most of my days here are spent with wonderful women who also happen to be Muslims. There are some Muslim women who help out with some of the same activities that I help with and there are many Muslim women that attend the same activities that I do. Yet, when looking at the participation of the local institutions for religion, I seem to have a blank space in my research! Hmmm. This is something that I will look into further.
The question of religion as seen through the eyes of the neighbourhoods is a tough one because in order for one's presence to be seen (at least in the way that I'm conducting my research) it typically has to follow standardized avenues. From my experiences, these avenues are generally supported by the municipal government and/or using the knowledge and experiences of established members of this neighbourhood who might better know how to negotiate the Dutch system. Thus, maybe I have not had many experiences that include Islamic institutions in everyday life, in my particular neighbourhoods, because I tend to spend a lot of time within a certain network of people. This is not to say that I have no contact with non-mainstream activities since my participation in daily events leads me off the beaten track through the lives of friends and acquaintances. However, this is an area that I should look into during my final months here in Rotterdam!
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