ABSTRACT
Adolescent youth who migrate may find their faith is an area of negotiation. How do these young people report changes in their spirituality? The place of religion, in general, or their faith community, in particular, may shift between majority and minority positions as adolescents shift between cultures. Faced with the challenge and opportunity to find new models and new expressions of faith, internationally mobile youth develop their identity in an interstitial culture. We expect that this culture between cultures exposes them to several new faith practices. What strategies do they use to manage an inner inter-religiosity? Based on interviews using a modified grounded theory, we seek to understand the attitudes and ways that students engage with the continuity and discontinuity of their spirituality. Three different instruments were incorporated in the study: A life map, a survey, and a guided interview which asked them to compare their faith experiences in a previous location with experiences in Belgium. The majority of participants arrived in Belgium during the summer of 2017 and so are still experiencing the feeling of living between two worlds. The challenge for organisations which aid newcomer youth and families lies in supporting the faith and faith development of adolescents who want to participate in their faith but who find that participation difficult.
