The Refugee Crisis and Religion

Secularism, Security and Hospitality in Question

Luca Mavelli, Erin Wilson, Luca Mavelli, Erin Wilson

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN:
  9781783488940
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781783488964
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Religion, Politics & State
• Index: Social Sciences

The current refugee crisis sweeping Europe, and much of the world, closely intersects with largely neglected questions of religion. Moving beyond discussions of religious differences, what can we learn about the interaction between religion and migration? Do faith-based organisations play a role within the refugee regime? How do religious traditions and perspectives challenge and inform current practices and policies towards refugees? This volume gathers together expertise from academics and practitioners, as well as migrant voices, in order to investigate these interconnections. It shows that reconsidering our understanding and approaches to both could generate creative alternative responses to the growing global migration crisis. Beginning with a discussion of the secular/religious divide - and how it shapes dominant policy practices and counter approaches to displacement and migration - the book then goes on to explore and deconstruct the dominant discourse of the Muslim refugee as a threat to the secular/Christian West. The discussion continues with an exploration of Christian and Islamic traditions of hospitality, showing how they challenge current practices of securitization of migration, and concludes with an investigation of the largely unexplored relation between gender, religion and migration. Bringing together leading and emerging voices from across academia and practice, in the fields of International Relations, migration studies, philosophy, religious studies and gender studies, this volume offers a unique take on one of the most pressing global problems of our time.

Table of contents

• Cover-Page
• Additional Praise For The Refugee Crisis and Religion
• 1 The Refugee Crisis and Religion: Beyond Conceptual and Physical Boundaries
• 2 Refugees, Migrants and World Order
• Part I: Questioning the secular/religious divide
• Part II: Constructing and deconstructing the Muslim refugee
• Part III: Religious traditions of hospitality in theory and practice
• Part IV: At the intersection of faith, gender, sexuality and asylum
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Contributors