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Families and Culture: Crossing and Maintaining Boundaries
Language: English
There is no universally accepted definition for religious radicalization, however, regardless of the specific religion, when focusing on the individual, radicalization is a personal process in which s/he adopts extreme religious ideals and aspirations. These stands are often associated with a demonization of “others” leading in some cases to a justification of intolerance toward the non-believer or apostate and even to the use of violence. On the other hand, de-radicalization refers to leaving behind extremist positions and behaviors or to leaving religion completely. This may occur as a result of a change of priorities and /or a sense of growing disillusionment with one’s life.
Although family is pivotal in the radicalization and de-radicalization processes, this is scarcely addressed in the literature (Koehler 2013, 2016). For many radicals, religious family values are of great importance (Hardacre 1993), yet their relations with their own family of origin are sometimes troubled. We therefore posit that the family-religion link is seminal for understanding (de)radicalization, and invite scholars to suggest panels and papers referring to this link.
A (non-exhaustive) list of topics could be:
- Family values and religious ( de)radicalization
- Family dynamics and religious (de) radicalization
- Family, education and (de) radicalization
- Family counseling and religious (de) radicalization
- Family, civil society and religious (de) radicalization
- Family, religious (de) radicalization and the media
- Fertility rates and religious (de)radicalization
- Family, gender identities and religious (de)radicalization
- Family policy and religious (de)radicalization