Religious Studies students combat loneliness: ‘Simply acknowledging the complexity helps’
Last semester, bachelor’s students in Religious Studies spent a lot of time in community centres in Leiden. The reason: field research into loneliness in the city.
'We have been working with Learning in the City (Leren in de Stad) for a few years now,’ says university lecturer Elpine de Boer. 'This initiative connects issues faced by a municipality or neighbourhood to educational institutions.’ Last year, De Boer's students explored how cultural and religious elements play a role in asking for help, while this year the focus was on loneliness.
'You might not immediately expect that topic in a Religious Studies programme,’ says De Boer, 'but in our programme, we don't just study different religions and their history. Religion is also about how people relate to the world, which for some can be supernatural, and their place in it. A theme such as loneliness and meaningful connection can tie in with that.’
What is loneliness, anyway?
The students were divided between two community centres in Leiden, where they were allowed to work on the theme in their own way. ‘Loneliness is a qualitative and very broad concept,’ says student Felix Nieuwenburg. 'That meant we had to operationalise it properly before we could get started. With social loneliness, for example, you have few people around you, while with existential loneliness you may see people all day long, but still feel that you are not making real contact. That is an important difference in your approach.'
Shawintala Banwarie's group also first had to figure out which elements of the broad concept of loneliness were important in practice. ‘We focused on young people because relatively little is known about loneliness among this target group, even though more attention has been paid to it recently,’ she explains. 'Through a survey and other methods, we discovered that they mainly suffer from the form of loneliness where they feel invisible to those around them.'
Rituals and systems
Felix recognises this finding. ‘In our group, everyone had chosen a different target group, from single mothers with a migrant background to elderly people who feel lost in a digital world,’ he says. 'I myself focused on young people, mostly with a migrant background. You notice that they often suffer from not being taken seriously, while at the same time finding it difficult to integrate into the social system. We ultimately linked these kinds of themes to the rite of passage theory, in which a ritual marks a transition to a new phase.' A community centre could help with this. There are often key figures from the community in these centres , as well as activities that can be seen as ritualised social acts. This combination could help people find their place in society and feel meaningful within the community again.
However, according to Shawintala, another barrier first has to be removed before such recommendations can be put into practice. ‘My sub-question revealed that for many young people there is a considerable barrier to going to a community centre. They often do not feel that it appeals to them.’
Confirming difficulties
De Boer has now started sharing the students' recommendations with the neighbourhood coaches. ‘They were very happy with this external perspective,’ she says. 'You can't solve a problem like loneliness just like that, but it helps to have confirmation of where the difficulties lie. Several students wrote that they had gained an appreciation for the people they got to know. They have come out of their academic bubble and learned a different way of communicating. Sometimes that alone is more effective than a detailed plan drawn up by someone sitting at a desk.’
26 June
Want to hear from the students themselves how they are making the difference in the city? Come along on 26 June at Presenteren met de Stad!