‘Tiptoeing around Religion’ in Adult Migrants’ Education

Culturalized Lutheranism, Whiteness, and the Labour Market Logic of the Finnish Lens on Religion

Authors

• Miitta Järvinen University of Turku https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0886-6293
• Terhi Utriainen University of Helsinki https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4074-2917
• Marja Tiilikainen Migration Institute of Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5613-7637

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.147819

Keywords:

affects, culturalized Lutheranism, Islam, migrant education, whiteness

Abstract

In this article we examine accounts in interviews with Finnish educators of adult migrants in relation to religion. We argue that a historically constructed normative and affective Finnish lens on religion that is closely tied to notions of whiteness and racialization shapes these accounts. Rooted in the intertwined history of Lutheranism and secularism, this lens favours private, personal, and low-key expressions of religion, forms that are seen as more compatible with Finnish societal norms. While culturalized aspects of Lutheranism such as holidays and traditions are accepted as educational content, educators are concerned about whether the practice of Islam and its approach to time are compatible with Finnish working life. This concern reveals that the model for understanding religion is both normative and affective. As divergent forms of religion are subdued in the public sphere, religious minorities therefore negotiate their positions within unequal power dynamics. Our findings suggest that the interviewed educators’ prevailing understanding of religion is aligned with the racializing structures of migrant integration. They privilege forms of religion that benefit the assumed white, Lutheran, and secular majority, and (Muslim) migrants are accordingly viewed primarily as the future workforce.

References

Interviews

All research material is in the first author’s possession. In the future the anonymized transcriptions will be archived in the Archives of the School of History, Culture and Arts Studies at the University of Turku.

Legislation and Authoritative Documents

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EDUFI (Finnish National Agency for Education). 2017a. National Core Curriculum for Basic Education for Adults 2017. https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/national_core_curriculum_for_basic_education_for_adults_2017.pdf.

EDUFI (Finnish National Agency for Education). 2017b. Vapaan sivistystyön lukutaitokoulutuksen opetussuunnitelmasuositus 2017. [Recommended Curriculum for Literacy Training in Liberal Adult Education.] https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/vapaan_sivistystyon_lukutaitokoulutuksen_opetussuopetussuunnitelma_2017.pdf.

EDUFI (Finnish National Agency for Education). 2020a. Opettajat ja rehtorit Suomessa 2019: Esi- ja perusopetus opettajat. https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/opettajat_ja_rehtorit_suomessa_2019_esi-_ja_perusopetuksen_opettajat.pdf.

EDUFI (Finnish National Agency for Education). 2020b. Opettajat ja rehtorit Suomessa 2019 Ammatillinen koulutus. https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/opettajat_ja_rehtorit_suomessa_2019_ammatillinen_koulutus.pdf.

EDUFI (Finnish National Agency for Education). 2020c. Opettajat ja rehtorit Suomessa 2019: Vapaa sivistystyö. https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/opettajat_ja_rehtorit_suomessa_2019_vapaa_sivistystyo.ppd

EDUFI (Finnish National Agency for Education). 2022. National core curriculum for integration training 2022. https://www.oph.fi/sites/default/files/documents/National_core_curriculum_for_integration_training_2022.pdf.

Integration Act 681/2023. Laki kotoutumisen edistämisestä. Finlex. https://www.finlex.fi/fi/laki/alkup/2023/20230681.

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