Migrating Faith

Daniel Ramirez's history of twentieth-century Pentecostalism in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands begins in Los Angeles in 1906 with the eruption of the Azusa Street Revival. The Pentecostal phenomenon--characterized by ecstatic spiritual practices that included speaking in tongues, perceptions of miracles, interracial mingling, and new popular musical worship traditions from both sides of the border--was criticized by Christian theologians, secular media, and even governmental authorities for behaviors considered to be unorthodox and outrageous. Today, many scholars view the revival as having catalyzed the spread of Pentecostalism and consider the U.S.-Mexico borderlands as one of the most important fountainheads of a religious movement that has thrived not only in North America but worldwide. Ramirez argues that, because of the distance separating the transnational migratory circuits from domineering arbiters of religious and aesthetic orthodoxy in both the United States and Mexico, the region was fertile ground for the religious innovation by which working-class Pentecostals expanded and changed traditional options for practicing the faith. Giving special attention to individuals' and families' firsthand accounts and tracing how a vibrant religious music culture tied transnational communities together, Ramirez illuminates the interplay of migration, mobility, and musicality in Pentecostalism's global boom.

This volume explores religious discourses and practices of hospitality in the context of migration. It articulates the implied ambivalences and even contradictions as well as the potential to contribute to a more just world through social interconnection with others. The book features contributors from diverse national, denominational, cultural, and racial backgrounds. Their essays reveal a dichotomy of hospitality between guest and host, while tackling the meaning of home or the loss of it, interrogating both the peril and promise of the relationship between religion, chiefly Christianity, and hospitality, and focusing on the role of migrants' vulnerability and agency, by drawing from empirical, theological, sociological and anthropological insights emerged from postcolonial migration contexts. With contributions by Andrea Bieler, Jione Havea, Claudia Hoffmann, HyeRan Kim-Cragg, Claudia Jahnel, Isolde Karle, Buhle Mpofu, Armin Nassehi, Ilona Nord, Henrietta Nyamnjoh, Regina Polak, Ludger Pries, Thomas Reynolds, Harsha Walia, Jula Well, and Birgit Weyel. [Religion und Migration] Dieser Band beschäftigt sich mit religiösen Diskursen und religiöser Praxis, die Gastfreundschaft im Kontext von Migration thematisieren. Dabei werden sowohl Potenziale identifiziert, die in Richtung größerer Gerechtigkeit und sozialer Verbundenheit weisen, als auch Ambivalenzen und Widersprüche. Das Buch präsentiert Beiträge, die verschiedene nationale, konfessionelle, kulturelle und ethnische Kontexte reflektieren. Dabei kommen die problematischen sowie die verheißungsvollen Dimensionen der Dichotomie von Gast- und Gastgebersein in den Blick, die der Fokus auf Gastfreundschaft insbesondere im Christentum impliziert. Die Frage nach dem Zusammenhang von Verletzbarkeit und Handlungsmacht von Migrantinnen und Migranten wird aus empirischer, theologischer, soziologischer sowie anthropologischer Perspektive beleuchtet.

Immigrant Faith examines trends and patterns relating to religion in the lives of immigrants. The volume moves beyond specific studies of particular faiths in particular immigrant destinations to present the religious lives of immigrants in the United States, Canada, and Europe on a broad scale. Religion is not merely one aspect among many in immigrant lives. Immigrant faith affects daily interactions, shapes the future of immigrants in their destination society, and influences society beyond the immigrants themselves. In other words, to understand immigrants, one must understand their faith. Drawing on census data and other surveys, including data sources from several countries and statistical data from thousands of immigrant interviews, the volume provides a concise overview of immigrant religion. It sheds light on whether religion shapes the choice of destination for migrants, if immigrants are more or less religious after migrating, if religious immigrants have an easier adjustment, or if religious migrants tend to fare better or worse economically than non-religious migrants. Immigrant Faith covers demographic trends from initial migration to settlement to the transmission of faith to the second generation. It offers the perfect introduction to big picture patterns of immigrant religion for scholars and students, as well as religious leaders and policy makers.

This innovative volume introduces readers to a variety of disciplinary and methodological approaches used to examine the intersections of religion and migration. A range of leading figures in this field consider the roles of religion throughout various types of migration, including forced, voluntary, and economic. They discuss examples of migrations at all levels, from local to global, and critically examine case studies from various regional contexts across the globe. The book grapples with the linkages and feedback between religion and migration, exploring immigrant congregations, activism among and between religious groups, and innovations in religious thought in light of migration experiences, among other themes. The contributors demonstrate that religion is an important factor in migration studies and that attention to the intersection between religion and migration augments and enriches our understandings of religion. Ultimately, this volume provides a crucial survey of a burgeoning cross-disciplinary, interreligious, and global area of study.

This enlightening edited collection shows how migration shapes the lives of faith communities - and vice versa - through diverse prisms including diaspora, generational change, cultural conflict, conceptions of 'ministry' and artistic response. The contributors comprise writers, poets and artists from the three largest Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, Islam) and beyond. They show how issues of migration are addressed through a variety of different media such as theological debate and shared community action, poetry and art. As issues of migration are an important factor in so many political and social debates, faith communities are looking for guidance on how to deepen their theological understanding of migration. This book helps them to reflect on their own practices and experiences, learn from their own traditions and engage in dialogue with diverse communities. *All royalties from book sales will be donated to The Helen Bamber Foundation - a UK-based charity that supports people who have survived extreme physical, sexual and psychological violence.*

How will you climb to the spiritual heights God has envisioned for YOU? Mountain climbing is not for the faint of heart. It is a grueling process. You often feel like quitting, but if you persevere until you reach the summit, you earn the satisfaction of standing thousands of feet above the world. Faith is not for the faint of heart either. It requires you to make difficult choices that will dictate your actions as you strive to reach the ultimate summit. Fortunately for us, we have something climbers don't have. We have Jesus - the Rope reaching down from heaven to guide us, strengthen us and give focus to our lives. Matthew Morine uses his experience on the "fourteeners" of Colorado (mountains over 14,000 feet) to teach about faith. Geared specifically toward late high school and college-age students, A Mountain Moving Faith is sure to take your personal relationship with God to new heights.

Human history is the history of migration. Never before, however, have the numbers of people on the move been so large nor the movement as global as it is today. How should Christians respond biblically, theologically, and missiologically to the myriad of daunting challenges triggered by this new worldwide reality? This volume brings together significant scholars from a variety of fields to offer fresh insights into how to engage migration. What makes this book especially unique is that the authors come from across Christian traditions, and from different backgrounds and experiences--each of whom makes an important contribution to current debates. How has the Christian church responded to migration in the past? How might the Bible orient our thinking? What new insights about God and faith surface with migration, and what new demands are placed now upon God's people in a world in so much need? Global Migration and Christian Faith points in the right direction to grapple with those questions and move forward in constructive ways.