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Introduction
Australia is the most culturally diverse nation in the world, with the 2006 census revealing that 22% of the total population was born overseas. The high percentage of ethnic diversity may suggest the presence of divisions along racial, cultural, political, economic, gender and religious lines, as migrants experience themselves as foreigners on Australian soil. Furthermore, questions of identity and belonging, acceptance and values, faith and spirituality, become significant not only for migrants but also for their children. This paper offers findings on these questions in regards to thirty-three young Maronite adults who attended Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Church located in Western Sydney.
Constructions of identity through nationality
Of the thirty-three young Maronite adults who participated in the study, four identities emerged which included: Australian-Lebanese, Lebanese, LebaneseAustralian and Australian. Fluidity of identity was also evident. Most participants shared a hyphenated identity that refused to be assimilated. There existed a link between being Australian and something else, in this case Lebanese and Maronite. This hyphenated identity is a sign of cultural adaptation to the different experienced realities and contexts of the participants.
Crawford and Rossiter proposed that people develop a sense of personal identity through a complex interplay between five centres of influence. These include the popular culture; a distinctive ethnic and/or religious heritage; national identification; personal need, interests and ambitions; and family or friendship groups.1 In support of this, the young Maronite adults' negotiation of identity was influenced to a significant degree by ethnicity and religious heritage, personal needs and by family groups. Simultaneously the young Maronite adults dealt with issues surrounding religion, culture, ethnicity and values.
The experience of others and the experience as other was also an essential drive in the search for self-identity. Most participants claimed their given racial, cultural-ethnic heritage, claiming their past and the past of their parents. Participants revealed vigilance in maintaining their ethnic Lebanese identity and Maronite religious identity, while using them as separateness markers against Lebanese Muslim identification. Ethnicity is not only a form of self expression, but also has a supportive and defensive function, particularly if the group is oppressed or marginalized, as may be the case of people from a Middle Eastern background, residing in Australia.
Characteristics contributing to the participants' Australian hyphenated...