Dying Young

This chapter examines the role that religion played—and how that role changed—as immigrants assimilated into American culture. Although the question has been examined many times and from many different angles, relatively little attention has focused on the tensions that often developed between the supportive roles congregations performed for their members and the conflicts that emerged within and among congregations as ethnic traditions evolved. How congregations dealt with these tensions and how they maintained solidarity were integral to how they functioned as moral communities. And that in turn provides an important perspective from which to understand the role that respectability played in the nineteenth century. Immigrant congregations supported their members' sense of being respectable, God-fearing Americans while adhering to distinctive beliefs and practices that also put them at risk of being perceived as outsiders.

De danske udlandskirker. En religionsdemografisk model for migrantmenigheder

From the perspective of sociology of religion, the Danish churches abroad are similar to other migrant congregations, primarily by caring for broader social and cultural needs among the members of the congregation than what is usually the case in the home country. Abroad, the Danish churches are ethnic minority churches, and I analyse their demographic development on the basis of a new, general model for migrant congregations. On the basis of this model I argue that like other immigrant congregations the Danish churches abroad have to consider the issue of assimilation and the issue of proselytising. These issues are decisive for the long-term survival of the congregations and their position in the Danish model of religion.Fra et religionssociologisk perspektiv ligner de danske udlandskirker først og fremmest andre migrantmenigheder ved, at de dækker bredere sociale og kulturelle behov blandt menighedens medlemmer, end hvad der normalt er tilfældet i hjemlandet. I udlandet er de danske kirker etniske minoritetskirker, og deres demografiske udvikling bliver analyseret med udgangspunkt i en ny, generel demografisk model for migrantmenigheder. Ud fra modellen kan man argumentere for, at de danske udlandskirker er tvunget til at forholde sig til nogle helt centrale spørgsmål, som gælder alle migrantmenigheder, nemlig spørgsmålet om assimilation og spørgsmålet om mission. Svarene på disse spørgsmål er afgørende for menighedernes overlevelse på længere sigt og deres placering i den danske religionsmodel

Faith, An Alien and Narrow Path of Christian Ethics in Migration

The rise of African immigrant communities in the diaspora, especially in Europe and North America, have contributed significantly to the renewal of Christian presence in those contexts. There are significant numbers of the membership of African immigrant congregations who are economic migrants and whose immigration statuses have not been regularized. The average undocumented migrant lives a very difficult life due to the inability to provide authentic papers for work. This affects the lives of immigrants in several ways, including access to healthcare and education for children. In those circumstances the temptation to survive by assuming false identities is very strong. The mission of immigrant churches includes the provision of ‘protection’ for their vulnerable members who need to survive a physically precarious diaspora. That African immigrants often reinterpret their problems in terms of attacks from supernatural forces and envious witches at ‘home’ in Africa informs the approach of the leadership to care and counselling. This paper proposes to identify the pastoral problems of African immigrant Christians within the context of situation ethics and how the inability to regularize their stay in Europe and North America affects Christian morality and mission in ‘alien lands’.