The religious migrant
: Martikainen, Tuomas
: Sciortino, Giuseppe; Cvajner, Martina; Kivisto, Peter J.
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
: 2024
: Research Handbook on the Sociology of Migration
: 387
: 399
: 9781839105456
: 9781839105463
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839105463.00041(external)
: http://dx.doi.org/10.4337/9781839105463.00041(external)
The chapter looks at religion in international migration with special emphasis on the role of religious institutions. It begins with an overview of changes in the world’s religious demography that have underpinned global migratory movements over the past decades, also setting the tone for the future. It then examines premigration issues in the country of origin and shows how religion is one factor among others influencing the migrant selectivity visible in global migration streams. The remainder of the chapter looks at the migrant settlement process and how religious institutions are a part of that process, as well as how these religious institutions become embedded in the host country. It argues for a generational perspective to illuminate the long-term adaptability of religion to new contexts. Throughout the chapter, age and gender are highlighted, as international migrants tend to be young adults, and different migration streams have remarkably varied gender patterns.