The previous articles sought to understand the changing face of religion in Europe by focusing on some of the reasons why women from vastly different social and cultural backgrounds have become increasingly attracted to Salafism. Analysing the study respondents’ personal biographies showed that religious conversion or ‘switching’ usually reflected a lifelong process of religious socialisation that often manifested during a “sudden crisis event” or “turning points” in respondents’ lives, wherein a more ‘spiritual’ outlook played a significant role in the search for greater meaning and fulfilment in an alternative religious lifestyle (Roberts and Yamane 2016:133,134).
The articles to follow continue the analysis by examining some of the major factors behind the development of Salafism as an emerging consciousness for women across different cultures, and focuses on a particular theme central to this research: the relentless pursuit within Salafi discourse (and respondents’ lives) of sourcing ‘authentic’ knowledge to achieve the ‘absolute truth’ and, thereby, happiness in this life and salvation in the Hereafter. This analysis also reveals how the complex reality of modern spirituality is deeply entangled with the development of global cultural influences that expose individuals who are living within a post-secular society to a plethora of new ideas and a plurality of religions to choose from.
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