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Religion, Migration, and Resistance to Oppression

Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)

This session explores contexts and practices regarding resistance and the oppression of people on the move across diverse countries. The cases examine a spectrum of circumstances including resistance against deportation, countering hate crimes, and the decolonialization of refugee relief. Throughout these contexts, the theological agency of people on the move is presented, including their choice to change religions through conversion. The papers in this session highlight theological agency as a core concern for ethics, politics, and the study of religion.

 

Papers

  • Empirical approach to religious conversion as a process: Follow-up study revisiting the experiences of Iraqi refugees in Finland who have converted from Islam to Christianity

    Abstract

    Although the current academic discussion on religious conversion predominantly considers conversion as a process, the number of empirical studies that explore the same converts in different points in time remains limited. Also, there is still little research on the asylum seekers’ conversions from Islam to Christianity following the so-called 2015 refugee crisis. This article provides a longitudinal perspective through revisiting the experiences of Iraqi forced migrants in Finland, first interviewed in 2017–2018 and then six years later in 2023–2024. While religious conversion has been defined in various ways in different academic fields, faith traditions and societal contexts, this study takes a data-driven approach and analyzes what conversion means in these data. The results show that conversion can signify different things to different individuals, as well as the same individuals at different times, providing perspectives useful to academia and societal actors dealing with religion and forced migration.

  • Facing the Hate: A Comprehensive Overview of Religious and Racially Motivated Hate Crimes in the United States

    Abstract

    This paper investigates the intersection of immigration and hate crimes within the United States, focusing on the analysis of hate crime incidents motivated by race and religion across 32 gateway cities from 2015 to 2019. It aims to illuminate the patterns of hate crimes in areas with high immigrant populations using data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime Reporting Program. By examining these incidents in metropolitan areas known for their significant immigrant populations, the research provides insights into the prevalence of hate crimes targeting immigrants, offering a crucial contribution to the discourse on hate crimes and immigration in the U.S. This exploration, underpinned by a quantitative methodology, not only highlights the significance of scrutinizing hate crimes in the context of rising diversity and immigration but also serves as a crucial resource for policymakers and community organizations striving to create a more equitable society.

  • Over and Against: Violence, Honor, and Satisfaction in Immigration Discourse

    Abstract

    Deportation today can be deadly. Since 2016 there have been dozens of cases where migrants have been killed shortly after being deported from the United States, and for some citizens this is an appropriate punishment and payment for the sin and “dishonor” of violating borders. However, I argue we have the mandate to change what we cannot accept by standing in for the migrant; we are called to interrupt immigration violence existentially as the new focus of punishment; politically as voices for those unable to speak; and viscerally by interjecting via loving protest and spiritual care. In this paper, I use Anselm’s theory of satisfaction to offer a necessary alternative to the theory of penal substitution that predominates our immigration discourse today, and I call on K. Anthony Appiah’s discussion of honor to explain how this need of society is very present yet often unacknowledged in immigration discourse.

  • popular movements on the move: Latin American immigrant-led struggles and decolonial peacebuilding

    Abstract

    Popular movements in the United States that center undocumented migrants from Latin America invite us to challenge wisdom received from some Christian religious traditions, retrieve knowledge that is confined to the margins of elsewhen and elsewhere, and reason in ways that contribute to struggles that disrupt and transform. This presentation outlines several key insights emergent from engaged research with a nonviolent movement fighting for dignity and respect for immigrants in the United States, Movimiento Cosecha. It is a part of a broader project focusing on people in popular processes in the United States as agents under duress. In keeping with 2021 collaborative research agreement, the project aims to articulate an alternative to approaches to immigrants oriented by the helper/helped logic, an alternative that is rooted in immigrant lives and movements for justice.

Audiovisual Requirements

Resources

LCD Projector and Screen
Play Audio from Laptop Computer
Podium microphone

Other

I intend to utilize a PowerPoint for my presentation.
Accessibility Requirements

Resources

Wheelchair accessible

Comments

Thank you for your consideration!

Full Papers Available

No
Program Unit Options

Session Length

90 Minutes

Schedule Preference

Monday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Schedule Preference Other

Monday, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Schedule Info

Monday, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Tags

#migration #oppresion #resistance #deportation #refugee relief #hate crime #theological agency
#diversity #FBI #gateway cities #hate crimes #hate crime trends #immigration #migrants #race #religion #United States
#political theology

Session Identifier

A25-320