Abstract
In the Netherlands, as in Europe generally, debates on migration often problematize the role of religion and "tradition", particularly in relation to gender and sexuality. Religion and tradition are seen as sources of taboos and unsafe practices. In recent years, concerns have emerged about the role of religious leaders in the African Diaspora, for example vis-a-vis promoting anti-gay views and the belief that homosexuality and HIV/AIDS can be miraculously healed. In addressing these concerns, Dutch public health organizations often depart from the assumption that religion and tradition will be privatized or dwindle in the process of integration. In contrast, recent research shows that in the African Diaspora, religion often plays a major role in the (self) fashioning of individuals. Remarkably, the ways in which religion contributes to the ways African migrants conceptualize and address sexual well-being has only been studied minimally. Through the expertise of the applicants, the project brings together the latest conceptual developments and theoretical debates within the study of religion and the anthropology of sexuality and gender. This has resulted in a multilevel intersectional research design uniquely suited to the pluralistic context of the research. The interactions between Dutch and African understandings of sexual well-being are brought into view at different levels and from different perspectives. The following perspectives, corresponding to the sub-projects are distinguished: I) Dutch organizations with a public health approach to sexuality, II) African religious actors and III) African migrants themselves. Each of the sub-projects and the synthesizing study will develop a fresh contribution to academic debates on sexual nationalisms and the ways religion and secularity are (re)shaped through cultural encounters in a post-colonial Europe. Finally, knowledge valorisation activities will ensure that the project will contribute to the work of public health professionals and religious leaders in a pluralistic setting.