Conflicting Rights? Dutch-Turkish Muslim Parents Fostering a Religiously Coloured Agency

Abstract

This article is an in-depth exploration of the roles of Dutch-Turkish Muslim parents in facilitating their children’s freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the rights of these parents to provide their children with religious direction. A limited number of four semi-structured, in-depth interviews was conducted, with a total of six Dutch-Turkish Muslim parents. The interview data were analysed by both inductive and deductive analysis, so-called abductive analysis. Instead of fostering child agency by promoting their children’s individual choice, the parents seek to promote a religiously coloured agency. The findings indicate five ways the parents integrate a religious direction while fostering the child’s agency.

Keywords

• informal religious education
• freedom of religion
• children’s rights
• Dutch-Turkish Muslim parents
• individual agency
• religious direction