How does one interpret a case in which an Irish Muslim woman claims that the values imparted by her traditional Catholic upbringing were an ideal preparation for life as a Muslim, and that hence converting from one religious tradition to another, Christianity to Islam, was very easy indeed? The author aims to give some tentative answers to this question by looking at the Muslim way of life and the resemblance it has to Catholicism in the Republic of Ireland. From the theoretical point of view, this continuum between two different religious traditions will be conceptualized within the theoretical approach developed by the French sociologist of religion Danièle Hervieu-Léger. The key to her approach lies in the concept of “memory”: an awareness of a shared memory is an essential feature of both individual and social identity. Thus, the main emphasis here will be on theoretical discussion concerning a change of religious tradition with reference to Irish Muslim women as an illustrative example.
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