Iran, Irak och Ikea : En undersökning om unga mandéers religiösa passivism

Sammanfattning

The Mandeans are an ethno-religious minority from the Mesopotamia area in the middle east. The Mandeans are an monotheistic religion with John the baptist as their last and most important prophet. They have their own holy scripture called Ginza rabba, which they choose to hold in high regard. The Mandeans also hold the belief in the importance of baptism in running fresh water sources in high regard. Something that has become increasingly harder in the countries they have immigrated to. The Mandeans are today facing extinction, thanks to a mixture of ethnic genocides, migration and mixing with other societies. A majority of Mandeans have migrated to North America and Western Europe with a concentration in countries such as Australia, Sweden, and USA. For this study, I interviewed 11 young Mandeans who are either born in Sweden, or have spent the majority of their lives here. Their ages differ between the ages of 16 and 23 and the interviewees were a mix of 4 women and 7 men. With the purpose of the study being to get an insight on how these young Swedish Mandeans relate to their religion and how much they know about their own religion and culture. The interviews were designed to answer the questions "How much do the young Mandean people think they know about their religion?" and "How do the young Mandean people relate to or practice their religion?" What the study found was a pattern of religious passivism, where the interviewees showed little to no interest in learning or practicing their own religion and culture. They also showed a lack of knowledge regarding their practices and religion. But I also found a large consensus regarding how Mandaeism is viewed by the young Mandeans. Almost all interviewees, except for one interviewee talked about their religion having grown to become more of an ethno-culture in Sweden while leaving behind the spiritual and religious parts of the religion.