Questioning the Conversion Paradox: Gender, Sexuality, and Belonging amongst Women Becoming Jewish, Christian, and Muslim in the Netherlands

Abstract

What does it mean to join a religion as a woman in the Netherlands? How do female converts negotiate questions of gender and emancipation? This dissertation analyses the experiences of Dutch women who became Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. A persistent stereotype about these women is that by converting, they give up their emancipated status, and that religion mainly limits women’s freedom. This work criticizes and nuances this image based on thorough qualitative research into the experiences of female newcomers themselves. Instead of asking why they joined Judaism, Christianity or Islam, it studies how the process of conversion takes shape in their daily lives. Think of everyday rituals, food, clothing, or the position of women in the new community. In its analyses, the dissertation highlights the intersections between religion, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity/race. This research shows that, whilst conversion has different meanings and expressions in each context, certain characteristics are shared. Conversion is often a long process without a clear beginning or end, in which practices are at least as important as beliefs. In this process, questions of gender and sexuality play a role in various ways, and these are the dissertation’s main focus. In addition, the difference in social position of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim women in the Dutch context turns out to have a deep impact on the experiences of newcomers. With this unique comparative approach, this dissertation sheds light on broader societal debates on religion, emancipation and in- and exclusion in a predominantly secularized society.