Stuck in the Margins?

Youth at the Margins and Faith-Based Organizations Testimonies to an Imperfect but not Insignificant Relationship

This book is the product of a South African - Nordic research collaboration that wanted to gain deeper insight into the role that faith-based organizations (FBOs) play in the lives of young people eking out a living from the margins of society. The book as such distinguishes itself as a first major international scholarly endeavor to explore the contemporary phenomenon of youth marginalization from a concerted interdisciplinary faith-based organizational interest. While the exploration of concepts such as NEET (an acronym for young people not in education, employment or training), social cohesion and FBOs constitutes an important point of departure, the book's essential contribution lies in the empirical work undertaken. In six case studies, conducted respectively in locations in South Africa, Finland and Norway, the authors make a deliberate attempt to give a voice to the young people with whom interviews were conducted. The result is a scholarly work that in its discussions and conclusions is both critical and appreciative of the involvement of FBOs in the lives of marginalized youths but also the research achievement itself. Perspectives that recognize the meaningful presence of FBOs in the lives and lived religion of many young people at the margins are presented, while authors do not shy away either from highlighting the shortcomings of FBOs to work more purposefully with young people in overcoming the conditions conducive to their marginalization. Ultimately, however, this book does not confine itself to a critical perspective on FBOs alone but through the contribution of some of its authors present illuminating insight into what may still be required from the point of view of academic research to participate in larger liberative practices involving young people but also FBOs at the margins of society.

Préface
This volume represents a first major international scholarly endeavor to explore the contemporary phenomenon of youth marginalization from a concerted interdisciplinary faith-based organizational interest.

Auteur
Dr. Auli Vähäkangas is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Helsinki, Finland.Dr. Marlize Rabe is Professor of Sociology at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa.Dr. Annette Leis-Peters is Professor of Sociology of Religion and Diaconal Studies at VID Specialized University in Norway.Dr. Auli Vähäkangas is Professor of Practical Theology at the University of Helsinki, Finland.Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati ist Professorin für Religionswissenschaft und Religionsgeschichte an der Evangelisch-Theologischen Fakultät der Universität München.Dr. päd. Hans-Günter Heimbrock ist Professor für Praktische Theologie am Fachbereich Evangelische Theologie der J. W. Goethe Universität Frankfurt a. M.Dr. theol. Trygve Wyller ist Professor für Praktische Theologie/Religionspädagogik an der Universität Oslo.Dr. Hans-Joachim Sander ist Professor für Dogmatik an der Universität Salzburg.Dr. Stefanie Knauss ist zur Zeit Associate Professor für Theologie an der Villanova University (USA).Dr. Carla Danani ist Professorin für Politische Philosophie und Philosophie des Wohnens an der Universität von Macerata, Italien.Dr. Judith Gruber ist Dozentin für Systematische Theologie an der Katholischen Universität Leuven, Belgien.Else Marie Wiberg Pedersen is Associate Professor for Theology at the Department for Culture and Society, Arts at the University of Aarhus, Denmark.