Ethnic origin and identity in the Jewish population of Israel*

The paper addresses the multifaceted quality of ethnicity in the Jewish population of Israel by probing into the ethnic categories and their subjective meaning. The analyses utilise data collected during 2015–2016 on a representative sample of Israelis age 15 and older, as part of the seventh and eighth rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS). Hypotheses are developed concerning the relationship between demographically based ethnic origin and national identity, as well as the effect of ethnically mixed marriages on ethnic and national identities. The analyses reveal a strong preference among Jews in Israel to portray their ancestry in inclusive national categories – Israeli and Jewish – rather than more particularistic, ethno-cultural, categories (e.g. Mizrahim, Moroccan, Ashkenazim, Polish, etc). Yet, whether Israeli or Jewish receives primacy differs by migration generation, socioeconomic standing, religion, and political dispositions. While the findings clearly add to our understanding of Israeli society, they are also telling with regard to immigrant societies more generally. First, they reveal a multi-layered structure of ethnic identification. Second, they suggest that ethnic identities are quite resistant to change. Third, ethnically mixed marriages appear to erode ethnic identities and are likely to replace them with national identities.     

宗教信仰与族群边界--以保安族为例

“回回”原为一个以宗教来认同的族群集体。建国以后 ,国家承认了“回回”的民族身份 ,定名为回族 ,并依据斯大林民族定义进一步将原一律包含进“回回人”中的别具自身文化特点的一些群体识别为单独的少数民族 ,如保安族、东乡族和撒拉族。这样 ,在甘青宁地区穆斯林社会中又出现了一道新的社会边界———民族。那么 ,在当代社会生活中 ,在这个由宗教提供最主要的社会互动关联体系的社会中 ,人们如何区分群体 ?怎样确定群体之间的互动规则 ?基于宗教信仰差异的社会边界和国家认定的民族边界分别发挥着什么样的作用 ?社会生活中真实的族群边界是什么 ?本文试图以保安族为例回答上述问题。     

Ethnic Origins and Religious Transformations in the Afro-Colombian Muslim Community of Buenaventura

The aim of this article is to analyse the origins and transformations of a Muslim community in western Colombia. The history of this small religious group of Afro-Colombians is presented over a period divided into four phases. This division is based on four dominant interpretations of Islamic doctrines adopted by the majority of the group over a period of time. These changes were not only due to religious motivations but also due to changes in the social milieu and the need for taking advantage of emerging opportunities. The religious conversion of Afro-Colombians to Islam took place within the complex socio-political context of the Colombian conflict which began in mid-1960s and is still ongoing. The adoption of this new religious perspective did not evolve in an isolated manner, rather, it transformed the identity of the community by strengthening the value of ethnic differences in a place of segregation. In this context, this paper analyses the role of religion as an important element in the construction of ethnic identity. It is also important to recognize that this cultural negotiation happens at the margins of the dominant society, which views Afro-Colombian minorities negatively or simply ignores their presence.     

族群认同与族群性研究——兼论对中国民族问题研究的意义

自20世纪80年代以来,在全球范围内爆发的武装冲突,大多是由族群问题或宗教问题所引发.在全球化趋势的影响下,近年来地方民族主义思潮出现一些新的态势,族群认同和族际关系研究也就必然成为国际学术界关注的焦点问题.本文主要针对我国多民族国家的现实,以族群性研究为切入点,分析西方学术界的族群性研究及其本质,反思对中国民族问题研究的现实意义.     

Religion as nationalism: the religious nationalism of American Christian Zionists

The term ‘religious nationalism’ is often theorized, at worst as antithetically conjunctive where religion is defined as the allegiance to God and nationalism is the allegiance to the nation, and at best as instrumental. I argue here that this fusion of religion and nationalism takes place most convincingly if we understand religion as adherent performance rather than solely as a theological container of tenants. I illustrate this through American Christian Zionist performances and discourses regarding their self-imagined identity as being in a national diaspora for Israel. I argue this religious nationalism is possible because Christian Zionist performances of a national allegiance to Israeli Jews are grounded in an apocalyptic narrative of the future.     

试论卓仓藏族婚俗的仪式象征

卓仓藏族文化在有鉴别地吸纳以汉民族为主体的其他民族文化的同时,又顽强地保留了其本身悠久的文化传统,这在婚俗中表现得颇为突出。因此本文就以卓仓藏族婚俗为视角,通过对其仪式象征的表层结构如实物、行为、言语等象征的阐述,继而分析了其象征的深层结构,即人生观、伦理道德观、宗教观和族群认同观。     

Constructing a social space for Alevi political identity: religion,antagonism and collective passion

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses the construction of an Alevi political identity in terms of cultural, social and religious values at a time when the role of religion is increasing in the political life of Turkey. It indicates the emergence of a new form of conflict and hegemonic articulation between Sunnism and Alevism that offers an alternative means of conflict resolution by the Alevi political agents within a radical pluralism and agonistic democracy. It also argues that the social construction of Alevi political identity is both a political project and an ontological question as this identity focuses on religious discourses in establishing a counter-hegemonic culture through mobilizing political ‘collective passion’.     

Ethnic,gender and class identities of Polish migrant mothers: intersecting maternal narratives with transnationalism and integration

ABSTRACT

Based on a doctoral study of Polish migrant mothers living in Germany and the United Kingdom, this paper examines women's narratives pertinent to ethnicity, gender and social class, as well as the mutual entanglements of these dimensions. While the ethnic identity matrix often evokes dimensions of transnationalism and integration, the addition of the femininity component illustrates the diversity among contemporary Polish migrant women in Western Europe with regard to their identity practices. The analyses of transnational, translocal and cosmopolitan orientations highlight their binding to a contextualized understanding of femininity – its various markers and corollary epitome of motherhood, particularly in the Polish context. The main findings comprise an ideal-type based typology of migrant mothering, which sheds light on how mobility and gender intersect. The discussions adopt the social class lens in an attempt to focus on the implications of certain maternal and migrant identities among Polish women. By underscoring the value of both integration and transnationalism perspectives, the paper calls for additional aspects of translocality and hybridization, seeing them as noticeable social markers of the Polish female migrants’ biographies.     

族群认同感建构的社会学分析:以新疆“民考汉”为例

关于族群认同的讨论已成为社会学族际关系研究的一个重要视角.本项研究以新疆地区的一个特殊群体--"民考汉"为例,探讨影响族群性的文化特征与主观认同,并试图对影响"民考汉"族群认同的民族结构和制度安排进行客观的分析.     

关于现阶段处理少数民族宗教问题的分析与思考

我国少数民族大部分信仰宗教。少数民族宗教问题往往与少数民族地区的改革、发展、稳定紧密相联 ,是一个关乎全局的大问题。新中国成立以来 ,少数民族宗教工作经历了 4个发展阶段 ,积累了丰富的经验。新世纪新阶段进一步处理好少数民族宗教问题 ,要做到 :加强党的民族、宗教政策的宣传教育工作 ;依法管理宗教活动场所 ;加快培养爱国爱教的新代表人物 ;正确对待和处理少数民族宗教之间、教派之间、教派内部的一些问题 ;提高对民族分裂主义的认识 ,有效抵御境外敌对势力利用宗教对我国的渗透 ;加强和改善党的领导     

全球化背景：回族国家认同的现代性

全球化是认同问题不可回避的当下背景。当下回族的国家认同表现出宗教、族群、国家交融的情境性与多元化的现代性特点。作为个体的回族,表现出信徒与国家公民双重身份叠合的现代性认同;作为族群的回族,表现出凝聚与疏离的现代性认同。在这种时代背景下,伊斯兰教认同与乌玛家园作为回族的理想图景,与民间社会不断通过伊斯兰文化再生产来调适国...     

当代少数民族大学生宗教信仰状况与思考--西北民族学院大学生宗教信仰调查

本文作者通过发放问卷、抽样调查、统计分析、理论探索等手法，对当代少数民族大学生的宗教信仰状况以及他们对宗教信仰的认识，参加宗教活动的情况，获取宗教知识的途径，对宗教政策和宗教现状的评价，所关心的宗教问题，对宗教与邪教、宗教与迷信的区别以及对待宗教与科学之间的关系等方面进行了较为深入的调查研究，由此总结出少数民族大学生宗教信仰的自身特点，并提出了存在的问题及解决的思路与方法。     

‘I'm not like all these Ecuadorians’. Promises and dilemmas of immigrants’ selective ethnicity appropriation

This article revisits my translocal ethnography of Ecuadorian immigration to Italy, building on the notions of ethnicization and selective ethnicity appropriation. The salience of an ethnic dimension, in the daily lives of the migrants I met, is explored with regard to collective identification, alignment with co-nationals and interactions with natives. By de-constructing migrants’ ethnicity from within, a range of expectations and strategies towards the receiving society emerges. While processes of ethnicization affect them in cognitive, discursive and practical terms, immigrants selectively draw from their ethnicity patterns, as their previous identities and lifestyles interact with the mainstream overseas. Their ethnicity – as a shared repertoire of habits, ways of life and common sense ideas, supported by a communal identity and background – can be purposefully negotiated in several respects, as they strive to negotiate better life conditions overseas. Why this occurs, under what conditions, and producing what effects, are the questions to be approached in this article. As I shall argue, ethnicity-related attitudes and behaviours raise opportunities and dilemmas both for migrants’ incorporation overseas and for their transnational connections.     

A complicated passport: racialized realities and lessons from visible minority women teachers

This article presents key findings derived from the experiences of visible minority woman as teachers in Canada, whose lived realities reveal myriad instances of compromise. The ethnic, cultural and racial diversity among teachers is an area that has garnered attention as it pertains to equitable work environments, teacher–student relations, and multicultural education. The challenges and responsibility of representing one’s racialized identity, ethnicity, culture, and religion while finding oneself marginalized within mainstream populace is critically examined through their narratives and reflexivity. In instances of blatant discrimination, bridging the public and private sphere, to moments of fulfillment, the resilience of these women is a defining factor of their success within adversity. Through their experiences there is opportunity to inform and advance the notions of diversity, representation, and distinctiveness of teachers in educational settings and the impact this has on an intercontinental symbol of society values in education.     

Creating a Rebuttable Presumption of Profiling in Cases of Alleged Profiling of Muslims and Other Minorities in Canada

This paper addresses the subject of profiling in the Canadian context both in the narrower and broader senses. It discusses the close connection between wider discretionary power and profiling; the need and justification of rebuttable presumptions and its constitutional basis and discusses possible ways to end profiling in line with the contextual analysis of equality under s. 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The paper proposes for the shift in the burden of proof away from a victim of profiling to the law enforcement authority—in an alleged case of profiling—in the context of a search, or an arrest, of a Canadian Muslim or member of other minorities by police and other law enforcement authorities, and demonstrating that such search or arrest was not motivated by race, religion, or ethnicity. Thus creating a rebuttable presumption of profiling against the law enforcement authority when they use their discretionary power in search or arrest of a member of a racial, religious, or ethnic minority group. A member of Canadian law enforcement authority against whom profiling is alleged can rebut the presumption by proving that race, religion, or ethnicity was not a factor in using their discretionary power to stop, search, or detain the alleged victim of profiling.     

The reign of Christ over the nation: The Basque question in the Spanish Republic, 1931–1936

The debate on the Basque Statute during the Spanish Republic (1931–39) became an exceptional political myth in contemporary Basque politics. According to current political narratives of Basque identity, the traditional will to self-government of the Basque people was expressed during those years in a broad demand for autonomy and collective identity. This article outlines the social complexity of the autonomy project, more related to religion than to ethnic conflict. This approach suggests that present concerns with Basque identity narratives undermine the historical parameters operative in the past, disabling our understanding of the history of the Basques.     

Forever in Kente: Ghanian Barbie and the Fashioning of Identity

This article analyses the costuming of Mattel's Ghanian Barbie, and other ‘Dolls of the World’ for what they reveal about issues of nostalgia, imperialism and identity in a post Cold War American world. While many scholars have commented on the ideologies that Barbie exemplifies and promotes, few give attention to the ‘Dolls of the World’. Those that do focus on how these dolls promote American-like consumption in other parts of the world. Yet the largest market for these dolls is here in the US. My article addresses this gap through an examination of their American consumption as well as commenting on the complex issues of ethnicity and nationhood that these dolls raise.     

Making ethnic boundaries in the society of religious renaissance: Islam and everyday ethnicity in post-Soviet Tatarstan

ABSTRACT

This article investigates the conflict between closely intertwined specific ethnic and universal religious practices that affect the formation and maintenance of ethnic group boundaries in the society of simultaneous Islamic and ethnic renaissances: contemporary post-Soviet Tatarstan. I argue that the negotiation of this conflict produces both reinforcement and erosion of the titular ethnic group boundaries. I pay special attention on ethnicity performance and ethnicity consumption practices. Thus, I conclude that practices of performing and consuming ethnicity serve as effective mechanism of boundary formation not just between various ethnic groups in the multi-ethnic republic but also inside the group itself.     

To be or not to be an Australian: Focus on Muslim youth

In 2001, 67% of Australians identified themselves as Christians and only 1.5% as Muslims, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Other Australians are Jews, Buddhists and Hindus – to name just a few of the religious minorities. Since 1975 until recently when the Anti-Discrimination Act was legislated, multiculturalism has been the official policy of the Federal Government. Yet in these terror-ridden times, the policy – however interpreted – has well and truly fallen into disfavour. This article discusses both the historical and contemporary dimensions of Muslim Australians’ national identity, focusing particularly on Muslim youth. It examines how one group of Australian-born Muslims exhibited their national identity during the Second World War and how the newly arrived Muslims feel about their identity during the ‘War on Terror’. The article is based on both primary and secondary sources – particularly on oral testimonies.