Navigating superdiversity in Catholic and Muslim religious education in Norway

This article explores how superdiversity is navigated in non-formal religious education in minority religious settings in Norway, focusing on Catholic and Muslim contexts, both shaped by immigration. First, drawing on survey data on Muslims and existing data on Catholics in Norway, we delineate and explore what superdiversity among Catholics and Muslims in this context entails. We then turn to our qualitative data based on fieldwork in eight Catholic and Muslim religious education settings. We find that linguistic, cultural, national and generational superdiversity is navigated in often pragmatic ways, while teaching methods and languages used are mobilised to address participants’ needs, within limited available resources. Thus, everyday pragmatism – anchored in shared faith and collective purpose – can enable participants to navigate difference without erasing it and may foster cohesion through practice rather than prescription. The insights from Catholic and Muslim experiences discussed in this article, we suggest, can contribute to contemporary debates in religious education research, highlighting how cooperation, flexibility, and shared meaning can sustain community and learning in superdiverse societies.