Negotiating Linguistic and Religious Diversity: A Tamil Hindu Temple in Australia

This research explores the challenges of a Tamil Saivite temple in Australia maintaining its linguistic and cultural identity in a context of religious superdiversity. It examines the language ideology considerations in the design of institutional language policy and how such policy manifests in language use in the temple spaces, including the Sunday school where heritage language and religion interplay in the identifications and discourse of second-generation migrant adolescents.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 152 pages
Publication date: 29 January 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Diversity is a hot topic in our modern world, but many people have a false idea about the level of religious diversity in Western societies. This groundbreaking research shines a light on the experiences of one migrant religious institution in a time of religious superdiversity.

The book, based on a sociolinguistic ethnography conducted in a Tamil Saivite temple in Australia, delves into the challenges faced by the institution in preserving its linguistic and cultural identity in a new environment. The temple serves devotees from diverse ethnic backgrounds, languages, and religious interpretations, as well as differing perspectives among different generations of migrants who share ethnicity and language. At the same time, core members of the temple strive to uphold religious and cultural practices according to the traditions of their homeland in Sri Lanka, a country where their identity and language have been under threat.

The study provides a detailed account of evolving language practices within a diasporic religious institution. Perera examines language ideology considerations in the development of institutional language policies and how these policies translate into language usage within the temple spaces. This includes an analysis of the temple's Sunday school, where heritage language and religion intersect in the identities and discourse of second-generation migrant adolescents.

Overall, this research offers a valuable insight into the complexities of religious diversity and the challenges faced by migrant religious institutions in maintaining their identity and practices in a changing world. It sheds light on the importance of language policies and the role of heritage languages in shaping the experiences of second-generation migrants.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032115825