Acculturation of Syrian Refugees in the Netherlands: Religion as Social Identity and Boundary Marker

Abstract

We studied the acculturation processes of Syrian refugees in the Netherlands, based on semi-structured in-depth interviews. The study aims to investigate how Syrian refugees perceive the cultural distance caused by the differences and boundaries between Syrian and Dutch culture; how they cope with the boundaries and prejudice that they perceive; and which acculturation orientations they prefer. The research builds mainly on the framework of Berry’s acculturation model. Religion emerges as a prominent issue in the acculturation process and is found to impact acculturation as it is perceived to be a cause of cultural distance, a salient social identity, a bright boundary and a source of prejudice in the host country. Our findings suggest that refugees’ religious identity strongly influences their coping strategies and preferred acculturation orientations. Refugees with low/no religious affiliation were more in favour of an assimilation orientation whereas refugees with strong religious identity preferred an integration orientation.

Faith-Based Coping Among Arabic-Speaking Refugees Seeking Mental Health Services in Berlin, Germany: An Exploratory Qualitative Study

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Post-traumatic growth and its predictors among Syrian refugees in Istanbul: A mental health population survey

“…Items from ‘Spiritual Change’ and ‘Personal Strength’ overlapped, loading onto the same factor. Speculatively, this may be related to the major role that religion plays in finding strength to overcome difficulties in resettled Syrians; qualitative studies have indicated that Islamic faith has been a source of empowerment and coping ( Hasan et al., 2018 ; Şafak-AyvazoĞlu et al., 2020 ). Previous studies have also found that the PTGI is best represented by fewer than five factors, though methodologically this may be explained by high correlations among factors or the small number of items within certain subscales ( Cobb et al., 2006 ; Taku et al., 2008 ; Kira et al., 2012 ).…”

A longitudinal study of dispositional compassion in Syrian origin young adults resettling in the Netherlands

“…Moreover, Syrian individuals resettling in the Netherlands may have difficulties navigating between the Syrian and Dutch cultural contexts. Specifically, these cultural contexts differ in the domains of social life, religion, gender roles, romantic relationships, and personal characteristics, which may contribute to Syrian people in the Netherlands perceiving a large cultural distance (Safak-Ayvazoglu et al, 2021). Despite seemingly large cultural differences, research indicates that Syrian people resettling in the Netherlands desire to engage with Dutch society, and this may be related to Syrian culture placing importance on collective community bonds (Safak-Ayvazoglu et al, 2021).…”