Identifikation med Europa som svensk och religiös

Abstract

This thesis aims to analyze how religious Swedish citizens relate to Europe and European identity, and how religious affiliation and thoughts about Europe interact in the formulation of their identity. This bachelor´s thesis is based on existing theories as well as respondent interviews with religious Swedish people. It is based on research about identity construction, for example religion where identity is constructed by distinguishing ”us” from ”them” and is also analyzed through a social constructivist perspective where identity focuses on the individuals experiences, thoughts and ideas in linguistic communication. The results from respondent interviews with eight religious Swedish citizens, showed that only two expressed clearly that they identified themselves as Europeans. Some of the other respondents claimed that they identified themselves as Europeans only outside Europe and that they more likely identified themselves with their religion, country and other people in general.