Religion, Health, and Life Satisfaction Among Somali and Gambian Women in Norway

This article describes and analyses the religious justifications for the life satisfaction reported by two groups of Muslim  women. Approximately, twenty Somali women and twenty Gambian women, living in Norway, who had experienced trauma and pain due to female genital mutilation/cutting as well as other traumas and hardships, were interviewed. While the Somali women adhere to conservative Islam and try to cope with the ir life through endurance and patience, the Gambians belong to a Sufi tradition and verbalise their dissatisfaction in order to receive help from Sufi saints. Therefore, there are two religious codes, here called emotionologies, within the Muslim tradition that have different impacts on the expressi on of life satisfaction and women’s ways of coping with pain and suffering.
Source: Journal of Religion and Health - Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research