House of the Guru? Young British Sikhs' engagement with gurdwaras

As a young Sikh growing up in the UK I often heard statements from gurdwara [Sikh place of worship, literally 'the Guru's house'] stages lamenting the fact that young Sikhs were not interested in Sikhism. Speakers would complain that young people were not attending gurdwaras, were not interested in learning Punjabi and were failing to keep the Sikh identity. To date, few scholars have examined how young Sikhs engage with their tradition and with religious institutions even though parts of the Sikh Diaspora are becoming increasingly skewed towards youth. According to the 2011 census, of the 423,158 Sikhs currently living in England and Wales 146,891 (35%) are between the ages of 15-34. What is more, unlike the other South Asian communities in the UK, the majority of the Sikh community is UK born. Although much has been written about Sikh migrants and Sikh migration, there has been very little research examining how British born young Sikhs engage with their religious tradition. Indeed, for Singh and Tatla (2006: 207), "the culture of young British Sikhs today remains an area of darkness for the community and a testing ground for its uncertain futures".