Numeijer, Meike
(2025)
Mosaics of Home and Self: Exploring the Effects of Forced Displacement on National Identity and Tr.
Master thesis, Master Religion Conflict and Globalisation.
Abstract
This paper investigates the effects of forced displacement on the experience of national
identity and national trauma. Additionally, it explores the crucial role of religion as an identity
marker and tool for social cohesion, and how the feeling of belonging changes through
displacement. I have used existing literature on national identity and trauma, belonging,
migration, religion, and identity. Furthermore, I have formulated hypotheses based on the
concepts of national identity and trauma, and the role of religion in the conceptual framework.
With the literature and conceptual framework as a guide, I have conducted interviews with
forcibly displaced persons. In these interviews, I found that victims of forced displacement do
feel connected to other victims, however not especially based on nationality but rather on
shared experiences. The participants also did not feel that their nationality was an important
part of their identity, and they also often lacked a rigid sense of belonging. Lastly, although
many participants do not actively practice a religion, religion was identified to be a valuable
tool for social cohesion, tradition, and identity.
| Type: |
Thesis
(Master)
|
| Supervisors (RUG): |
|
| Degree programme: |
Master Religion Conflict and Globalisation |
| Academic year: |
2024-2025 |
| Date of delivery: |
03 Feb 2026 10:48 |
| Last modified: |
03 Feb 2026 10:48 |
| URI: |
https://rcs.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/869 |
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