Question of affiliation

How children address their own religion and religious expressions differs both between the two kindergartens and between the children of the major and the minor 640 Group discussion on the Koran lesson with Ew, Tw, Lw and Bm in the Islamic

kindergar-ten, 38-46.

641 Group discussion on the Koran lesson with Sw and Nw in the Islamic kindergarten, 7.

642 Research diary, Islamic kindergarten, 387–390.

religions. While children of the major religion feel belonging to the religious offers of the respective kindergarten and participate in these, the children of the minor religions are often excluded from these. The desire for belonging becomes apparent in the chil-dren of the minor religions by not disclosing difference, remaining silent about their own religion and religious expressions and adapting their behaviour to the behaviour of the children of the major religion , whereas the children of the major religion do not ask themselves the question of belonging. This becomes clear when they reveal religious differences, address their own religion or religious expressions and confront children who are absent at festivals with their absence.

• Desire to belong

• No disclosure of religious difference

• Silence about one’s own religion or religious expressions

• Adaptation to the behaviour of the major religion

• Natural affiliation

• Disclosure of religious differences

• Thematisation of one’s own religion or religious expressions

• Inquiries to children absent at celebrations

Desire to belong

Children of the minor religion in the Catholic kindergarten do not talk about their own religion or religious expressions. Neither in their behaviour nor in their verbal com-munication does it become clear that they have a different religious affiliation and that certain Christian expressions do not correspond to those of their religion. The desire of the children of the minor religions to belong to this group can be seen in the lack of thematisation of religious forms of expression in kindergarten, which they experience differently at home, in the non-thematisation of their own absence in religious offer-ings, in silence about religious forms of expression and in adaptation to the behaviour of the children of the major religion .

No disclosure of religious difference

Children of the minor religions in the Catholic kindergarten neither address issues when they have been absent from festivals, nor do they ask questions in kindergarten that arise because of unknown religious expressions.

For example, children sometimes deny their absence at festivals or only quietly discuss them at the end of the conversation. Instead of addressing the fact that they have not been present at certain festivals, the children keep up the appearance of hav-ing been there. The Muslim children who were not present at the Feast of St. Martin’s do not want to disclose this afterwards. This is made clear by the fact that they do not

comment on their absence or only mention it quietly and cautiously towards the end of the conversation.

Children who are interested in the unfamiliar religious activities in kindergarten do not address this in kindergarten. For example, a Muslim girl in kindergarten does not talk about the sign of the cross, but tells about it at home.

Silence about one’s own religion or religious expressions

The children of the minor religion in the Catholic kindergarten do not bring up their religious affiliation on their own in the kindergarten. The Muslim children in Catholic kindergarten do not mention any of the areas thematised by the Muslim children in the Islamic kindergarten. The festivals they celebrate or the practices they participate in at home are not even discussed, even if the teacher asks them to. If they know certain religious expressions based on tradition lived at home, this is not told to the others in the kindergarten. A Muslim girl mentions that she has already heard the story told during the Eid Al-Adha, but does not want to say from where.

The children of the minor religions in the Islamic kindergarten do not thematise their own religious affiliation, there is only a distinction that they are not Muslims or not a mosque and therefore do not participate in Koran instruction. They identify their own affiliation with their origin or language. Other religious expressions are not described by the Christian children in kindergarten.

3 I: Who goes to Koran lessons?

4 Jw: All of them, except me and Dw.

5 I: Why do they all go and you don’t?

6 Jw: Because we’re not a mosque. The others are mosques.

7 I: What are you?

8 Jw: Romanian and Dw is Polish.

9 I: What does it mean that all the other children are mosques?

10 Jw: They have to go there (she points in the direction of the Koran room)⁶⁴³

Adaptation to the behaviour of the major religion

In the behaviour of the children of the minor religions it is not recognisable that these belong to another religion. They adapt to the rituals lived in the kindergarten of the respective major religion, so that in the Catholic kindergarten, all children say the offered Christian prayers and adopt the same attitude of prayer by folding their hands.

All children sing the same songs, design gifts for Christian festivals and are involved in the preparation of festivals for which they are assigned specific roles during dances or role plays. The festivals are celebrated equally by all children, provided that the children are not picked up in advance by their parents.

643 Group discussion on the Koran lessons with Jw and Pw in the Islamic kindergarten, 3–10.

Natural affiliation

The children of the major religion naturally take part in the offers prepared in the kin-dergarten. For the children in the Islamic kindergarten, it goes without saying that the majority of the group is Muslim and goes to Koran lessons. In the Catholic ten, it is normal for all children to participate in the activities offered in the kindergar-ten; if a child does not participate, it is noticed by the children and the absence of the child is considered strange and the children have no explanation for it. If children of the major religion are prevented from certain offers, they bring this up for discussion, their affiliation does not seem to be called into question.

Disclosure of religious difference

The absence of the children at festivals of the minor religions or other activities is openly discussed. A child who did not mention her absence at St. Martin’s for an extensive period of time states not having been present at the Eid Al-Adha because she had created her pre-school folder during this time.

61 I: how did you enjoy the festival?

62 Mw: no, because we weren’t there 63 I: why weren’t you there 64 Mw: I was at XXX 65 Pw: I wasn’t there either […]

68 Mw: at the XXX too, we’re making a pre-school folder⁶⁴⁴

The Christian children notice that they only celebrate the Eid Al-Adha in kindergarten and not at home. A child in the Catholic kindergarten notices that the director did not know anything about the festival either, but that it was on her calendar.

Thematisation one’s own religion or religious expressions

Children of the major religion address their own religion or their religious expressions, even if this thematisation differs between the children in the Islamic and the Catholic kindergarten. The Muslim children in the Islamic kindergarten report on the teaching of the Koran, the mosque, the festivals they celebrate, as well as religious command-ments. The Christian children in the Catholic kindergarten when asked about their religion, address the Christian festivals.

Inquiries to children absent at celebrations

In the Catholic kindergarten, the children of the major religion notice the absence of children at festivals and discuss this absence. For explanations, if they cite any, they suspect that a child is on holiday or sick and therefore cannot take part in the festival,

644 Group discussion on the Eid Al-Adha with Mw and Pw in the Catholic kindergarten, 61–65; 68.

once a conflict between a mother and a teacher was assumed as the reason for a child’s absence.

37 Mw: Hm. Her mother and what’s her cousin’s name said not to make the 38 sign of the cross going in and out because (.) and further I don’t know.

39 I: I: Why do you think she said that?

40 Mw: I only heard that, I didn’t hear anything else⁶⁴⁵

As evidence of the absence of children at festivals, the Christian children cite that the absent children did not stand in their designated place for a dance or that the child’s lantern was still in kindergarten and not, as with all other children, already at home.

Absent children are accused of not being present at the celebration in group discus-sions after the celebration. In the Catholic kindergarten, the theme of absence always refers to a single child. Some of the children are listed who generally did not attend kindergarten on that day and therefore did not take part in the celebration. After Easter, the researcher is asked why she was not present at Easter.

Only during a conversation about the Advent wreath do the children generalize and think that the elderly, the black and the poor do not own an Advent wreath because they are poor.

51 I: Which people have no Advent wreath?

52 Fm: The poor 53 Lm: └ The poor 54 Fm: The poor and the black […]

57 Fm: Because they are poor (2) 58 I: Why are they poor

59 Fm: Because they have nothing. (2)

60 I: Who does not yet have an Advent wreath?

61 Lm: The elderly

62 Fm: because they are also poor.⁶⁴⁶