French and German teenagers in multicultural cities: Religious indifference as a paradox of secular societies

Abstract

This article discusses important issues concerning the place of non-engagement and indifference in the studies done on secularism, and answers the following questions: how is it possible to be indifferent to religion in multicultural cities? Can non-engagement in religious conflicts be a solution to the life in such contexts? This article is based on a study carried out with 200 French and German teenagers that is grounded on a mixed method, i.e. research cross group interviews and quantitative questionnaire. The data analysis was realized within the frame of sociological phenomenology. The author distinguished three types of indifference: cognitive indifference, existential indifference and protective indifference. Those three types of indifference form a paradox in the secularization process because they are spreading out in multicultural societies among which religious plurality and its inherent conflicts are omnipresent.