Since the beginning of the new millennium, violent conflicts around the world have contributed to a significant increase in the number of international migrants, reaching nearly 260 million in 2017, including almost 26 million refugees. Many of these migrants have arrived in Europe leading to some countries struggling to handle the substantial need for humanitarian assistance and longterm integration. Civil society actors and organisations, some of which have religious affiliations, have stepped in and provided vital help. The existing academic literature recognises the important contribution of religion and religious actors in integration processes. However, one increasingly pertinent area that has been largely neglected is the issue of multi-religious cooperation. Hence this study examines the potential positive advantages of a 'multireligious approach to integration' from an organisational perspective.Data collected during a pilot project identifies a range of different possible advantages for a multi-religious approach, and is used to critically reflect on existing literature concerning religion's role in integration processes. The study concludes that a multi-religious approach to integration has some distinctive benefits and therefore should be encouraged and supported. The project also identifies a range of important areas for further study which have the potential to make a significant positive impact for migrants, host communities and broader community cohesion and security.

Violent conflicts continue to force many migrants to seek protection outside their own country. Some of these migrants have come to Europe, leading to states relying on assistance from civil society organisations, some of which are Faith-based Organisations (FBOs), to meet the migrants’ complex needs. Whereas the important roles religious actors can play in integration processes have been increasingly addressed and acknowledged in the literature, multireligious cooperation on integration has yet to attract the same attention and recognition. Hence, in the first phase of the research project, Name of Project, a range of possible advantages of multireligious cooperation, from an organisational point of view, were identified. These included four benefits for the integration of migrants: 1) Understand and meet the religious/cultural needs of migrants; 2) Help migrants understand the roles of religion in their host community; 3) Counter the narrative that it is more important to help migrants from a particular religion and 4) Opportunity to meet the “other” and build relationships. Acknowledging that further research was needed, phase two has focused on migrants’ opinions on, and experiences of, multireligious cooperation on integration. Data was collected via a survey and semi-structured interviews with migrants that have participated in multireligious projects in Germany, Sweden and the UK. In this article, the data is used to interrogate the organisational perspectives. The article concludes that in certain contexts multireligious cooperation has some distinctive benefits for the integration of migrants and calls for the further development of a multireligious approach to integration.

In recent years, as the number of migrants arriving in Europe has grown, faith-based organizations have become intimately involved in assisting migrants’ short- and long-term integration. This article describes an innovative cooperative project between minority (mosque) and majority (church) religious institutions designed to enhance integration between Muslim migrants and their predominantly Christian host community. Using survey and interview data, this study finds that participants reported enhanced feelings of welcoming, larger networks of friends and acquaintances, and more engagement in activities after participating in the project.

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