Swedish Maronites: Faith, Traditions and Ethnic Identity

This study aims to investigate ethnic identity in relation to faith and traditions among second-generation Maronite Christians living in Sweden. Qualitative semi-structured interviews have been conducted with seven second-generation Lebanese Maronites living in Sweden. In the interviews, the participants explained their experiences and perceptions of their ethnic identity, faith, and traditions. The findings reveal that the majority of the participants in this study do not practice religion and attend church. However, this tendency does not mean that the Lebanese Maronite’s have abandoned their religion as a whole, merely that they have more freedom to create an individual approach to religious faith and traditions. Furthermore, the study shows that the participants have adapted their faith and traditions and individualized it. Finally, the findings show that the majority of the participants consider themselves a part of both the Swedish ethnicity and the Lebanese Christian ethnicity, however, not based upon Maronite faith and traditions, but on the Catholic faith and its traditions