Negotiating Religious Identity in “Secular Spaces”: A Comparative Study of Christian and Muslim Students in Danish High Schools

This study explores the differing perceptions of religious students within Danish high schools, focusing on how classmates perceive and interpret religious practices of Christian and Muslim students. Preliminary fieldwork in two schools reveals that students who actively practice their Christian faith face challenges in being understood by their ethnically Danish peers. Despite sharing the same ethnic and cultural background, these Christian students are often viewed as socially awkward, introverted, or mentally unwell due to their abstinence from drinking, romantic relationships, and other behaviors seen as typical in non-religious Danish youth culture. Conversely, Muslim students, whose religious identity is more visible and culturally distinct, are more readily accepted, with their peers explaining their behavior as part of "how they are" due to their Muslim identity. This distinction highlights an underlying dynamic where difference is more readily accepted when framed through an ethnic or cultural lens, while intra-ethnic religious adherence leads to confusion and pathologizing. Moreover, this dynamic fosters the creation of distinct collectivities of cohesion, wherein cultural or ethnic differences serve as a basis for group solidarity, while intra-ethnic religious variance contributes to social fragmentation and marginalization. The study contributes to the understanding of how religion, ethnicity, and social norms intersect in secular educational settings, and the ways in which students construct social distance through cultural and religious difference.