A Multireligious Approach to the Integration of Migrants in Europe: An Examination of Migrants’ Views on and Experiences of Taking Part in Multireligious Integration Projects

Abstract

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.

Multireligious Cooperation and the Integration of Muslim Migrants in Sweden

“…Using group activities, such as sports, and festivals, Goda Grannar linked migrants to other people and networks that migrants could tap into in the future. These findings bode well for other Christian and Muslim integration projects in other cities in Sweden, as well as similar projects in Germany and the UK since research has already shown that taking part in multireligious projects in these countries has helped migrants to integrate (Lyck-Bowen 2019). Future research should evaluate how multireligious cooperation in other settings and countries influences migrant and refugee integration.…”

“…In many countries, faith-based organizations (FBOs) are now actively involved in helping to welcome and integrate migrants (CCME 2015; Hough 2016; Lyck-Bowen and Owen 2018; Lyck-Bowen 2019). This is not new; many Christian FBOs have a long-standing tradition of aiding migrants in need, working alone or with secular partners to welcome and integrate migrants (Lyck-Bowen and Owen 2018).…”

“…However, in response to the recent increase in migration to Europe, some FBOs have begun to cooperate with FBOs from different religions on integration projects (Weißt du wer ich bin? 2018; Lyck-Bowen and Owen 2018; Lyck-Bowen 2019). One example is in Stockholm, where a mosque and church have set up the Goda Grannar (Good Neighbors) project that aims to welcome and integrate migrants through a wide range of activities (Goda Grannar 2018).…”

What's in a Handshake? Multi-Faith Practice as a Starting Point for Christian Migration Ethics

“…143 Drawing on her pilot study, Lyck-Bowen suggests that multi-faith cooperation might allow scholars to tackle it. 144 There is evidence that multi-faith initiatives allow people on the move to better understand the role that religion plays in their new country. 145 Dichotomies between insiders and outsiders that are rooted in religion-as in the clash of civilisations-are destabilised.…”

Immigrant Integration and COVID-19

“…Migration is a meaningful and sometimes traumatic experience. Religious faith and participation provide cultural continuity and bridges between the old world and the new by offering metaphysical guidance in the spatial journey and enhancing immigrants' consciousness of their religious roots (Kagan, Fong and Reitz, 2020;Lyak-Bowen, 2019;Rebhun, 2014;Vilaca et al, 2014). An immigrant's religious community replaces her or his extended family as a source of social comfort, a framework for ethnic celebration, and a place to seek assistance in realizing economic opportunities (Cadge and Ecklund, 2007).…”