Double stigma: making meaning of religion in understanding Somali Muslim young adults experiences of everyday life in Norway

This article explores how Somali Muslim young adults navigate the role of religion and how they make meaning of their religious belonging in everyday life experiences in Norway. The data is based on twelve interviews with Somali Muslim young adults in Norway. We investigate how they negotiate their religiousness and experiences of stigma and racialization related to their identity as both Muslims and immigrants. Our analysis shows that their day-to-day experiences in Norway are shaped by their phenotypical differences and religious belonging, leading to what we term as ‘double stigma’. Stigma theory and the concept of racialization informed our analysis. The findings highlight three themes. Firstly, religion is experienced as a ‘personal relationship’ as opposed to a group identity. The analysis suggests an emphasis on how they personally regard religion as a private relationship, while they perceive a contradiction in public discourses that tend to view Islam in a more generalized collective identity. Secondly, the findings highlight the double stigma the respondents experience, by looking at religion as a reinforcer of stigma to their existing stigmas related to their phenotypes. Lastly, we analyse the informants’ experiences of Islamophobia that intersect with their phenotypical difference, leading to racialization. We argue for the scrutinization of the interplay between multiple marginalized identities in reinforcing stigma and racialized experiences.