Identity Dynamics at Play: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of the Concept ‘Religious Identity of a School’ within a Religiously Diverse Context in the Netherlands

Abstract

Religiously affiliated schools in the Netherlands, as well as in other parts of Europe, continue to be popular in contrast to what could be expected in light of the increasing religious diversity and secularisation. Religious, and in particular Christian, schools apparently perform a successful balancing act by surviving in a changing environment that presumably challenges their ideological and religious foundations, missions and purposes. The school as an organisation and the teacher as a professional both have to find their way in meeting the changes and challenges. This study investigates how schools perceive of - and respond to - the challenges posed by the changing role of religion in education as a result of religious diversity in society, by taking into account the ‘religious identity’ of the school. The main research question addressed is how the religious identity of a school is constructed in face of a religiously diverse context. To be able to come to grips with this question, this study comprises a theoretical and empirical analysis of the concept religious identity of a school. The case studies presented here illustrate that a school’s religious identity is a dynamic construction that builds on both intra-organisational processes as well as interaction with the dynamics of the school’s context. The construction of the religious identity of a school is a continuing process, with different social mechanisms at play connecting the institutionalised identity claims to identity understandings in everyday school life. This study gives reason to assume that schools can be adaptive to contextual dynamics and responsive to the challenges that result from (increasing) religious diversity in society.