Meaning-Making Variations in Acculturation and Ritualization : A multi-generational study of Suroyo migrants in Sweden

Abstract: This dissertation focuses on how acculturation affects meaning-making among three generations of Suroye in the city of Södertälje, Sweden. Special focus is on youth. An inter-disciplinary and a mixed-model approach is used, with the purpose to contribute to research knowledge on meta, theoretical, methodological, and empirical levels. There are two different patterns of meaning-making along generation and gender, one with a stronger emphasis on rituals and symbols of religion and kinship, and the other with a stronger emphasis on issues of identification. Religious practices decrease among the adults and youth, while kinship affiliation is very strong among all three generations. Swedish affiliation, though from a low level, increases among the adults and youth. Religious rituals and symbols play a central role in Suroyo culture with a meaning-making function. However, in early youth the participation in religious rituals decreases, mainly due to other interests and to the political schism among the Suroye. Instead they search for an individual form of religiosity. The issue of identification is among the youth a disputed process, linked to issues of power, through domination, injustice, and discrimination. They use several designations to identify themselves; i.e., Aramean, Assyrian, Suroyo, Syrian, and Swedish, either separately or combined. Within the process of acculturation, the youth strategically use different identification patterns with the purpose to differentiate themselves from others and to negotiate their identity.