London Youth, Religion, and Politics

This study concerns the role of religion in the civic integration of London's second-generation youth through comparative ethnographic studies of two groups: the predominantly Christian Jamaican population in Brixton and the predominantly Muslim Bangladeshi population of the East End.

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For more than a decade the 'Muslim question' on integration and alleged extremism has vexed Europe, revealing cracks in long-held certainties about the role of religion in public life. Secular assumptions are being tested not only by the growing presence of Muslims but also by other fervent new arrivals such as Pentecostal Christians. London Youth, Religion, and Politics focuses on young adults of immigrant parents in two inner-city London areas: the East End and Brixton. It paints vivid portraits of dozens of young men and women met at local cafes, on park benches, and in council estate stairwells, and provides reason for a measured hope.

In East End streets like Brick Lane, revivalist Islam has been generating more civic integration although this comes at a price that includes generational conflict and cultural amnesia. In Brixton, while the influence of Pentecostal and traditional churches can be limited to family and individual renewal, there are signs that this may be changing. This groundbreaking work offers insight into the lives of urban Muslim, Christian, and non-religious youth. In times when the politics of immigration and diversity are in flux, it offers a candid appraisal of multiculturalism in practice.