Religion, Migration, and Identity: Methodological and Theological Explorations. Theology Mission and World Christianity

The collection of essays assembled in this book began as contributions to the “Migration, Religion and Identity” Study Group during the meeting of the International Association of Mission Studies in Toronto in August 2012. Reworked, they were originally published in thematic issues of two journals: Exchange 43 (2014) and Mission Studies 32 (2014). They are gathered together again as a Brill “open-access title,” which allows use for noncommercial purposes. The editors, Martha Frederiks and Dorottya Nagy, provide a very useful introduction (1–8) to the volume, discussing the essays and placing the work in its intellectual, social, and political contexts.The two theoretical essays by the editors are multum in parvo. Martha Frederiks’s “Religion, Migration, and Identity: A Conceptual and Theoretical Exploration” (9–29) provides a discussion of research on the intersection of religion, migration, and identity. Frederiks raises important questions about the locus of most research (the United States and some in Western Europe) and the assumptions in the scholarly literature and popular media about migrants, migrants’ churches, and social adaptation. Dorottya Nagy’s “Minding Methodology: Theology-Missiology and Migration Studies” (30–59) reminds scholars that methodological rigor is crucial if work is not to “lead to repetitions of the dominant pattern of research design in the study of migration and to the use of ‘the classical recipe’ of one-sidedly perceived action research aimed at finding immediate solutions to immediate problems” (31). Both of these essays call into question how research on migration is normally undertaken.These essays are followed by four case studies. Hiromi Chiba’s “The Role of the Protestant Church in the US Refugee Resettlement Program During the Early Cold War Era: The Methodist Case” (60–78) focuses on the role of the agencies created by the Methodist Church during that period and their values and patterns of engagement. Pavol Bulgár’s “Nigerian-Initiated Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches in the Czech Republic: Active Missionary Force or Cultural Ghetto?” (79–96) demonstrates that the realities “on the ground” are quite complicated, that neither truism adequately presents the diversity of immigrant situations. Stanley John’s “Conceptualizing Temporary Economic Migration to Kuwait: An Analysis of Migrant Churches Based on Migrant Social Location” (97–111) argues “that in order to understand the migrant churches we must consider the particular geographical context, the migratory phenomenon at work, and the unique social location of the migrants” (109). Deanna Ferree Womack’s “Transnational Christianity and Converging Identities: Arabic Protestant Churches in New Jersey” (112–31) examines intergenerational relations and problems of ethnicity in situations where because of their ethnicity, Arabs are suspected as “terrorists” in the dominant culture.The last three chapters are theological in focus, based on the life experiences of the authors: Steve Pavey and Marco Sanchez, “‘Make Holy the Bare Life’: Theological Reflections on Migration Grounded in Collaborative Praxis with Youth Made Illegal by the United States” (132–51); Johnson Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, “Faith, an Alien and Narrow Path of Christian Ethics in Migration” (152–70); and Ross Langmead, “Refugees as Guests and Hosts: Towards a Theology of Mission Among Refugees and Asylum Seekers” (171–88).There is a very limited subject index (no names or places). The list of contributors with short biographical introductions (vii–ix) is very helpful in giving texture to the chapters. The essays reunited in this volume constitute a powerful statement of the state of research on migration and religion, and the case studies and methodological essay provide helpful models and suggestions for consideration. It is to be hoped that this volume is seriously and carefully read by scholars in the fields; it is a rewarding read.

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