Panel: EXPLORING MIXEDNESS IN POSTCOLONIAL EUROPE



382.4 - RELIGION, GENDER, RACE: MIXED MUSLIM COUPLES IN BELGIUM

AUTHORS:
Van Den Brandt N. (KU Leuven ~ Leuven ~ Belgium)
Text:
This paper analyses the experiences of interreligious couples by exploring data from an ongoing research project in Belgium. It focuses on couples in which one partner is Muslim, and the other is non-religious, Christian or Jewish. It approaches 'mixedness' as potentially comprising various types of difference and inequality, because religious difference is often racialised and gendered. It explores the narratives of 24 interviewees with the following research question: how is 'mixedness' negotiated in everyday life? By foregrounding the empirical entangled themes of family relations, religious conversion, children's education and racisms, it shows that individual (non-)religious selves and family life are agential spaces of change, negotiations and life aspirations. Based on these empirical insights, the paper demonstrates that 'mixedness' is a promising analytical perspective on religion, gender and race as intersecting discourses and lived phenomena. It argues that 'mixedness' finds expression in the reinforcement, contestation and reimagining of gendered religio-racial formations. As such, the paper contributes to studies of mixedness; discussions about religion, gender and race; and the empirical study of (non-)religion and Muslims in Europe.