Believe, Migrate, Circulate: A Methodological Proposal for Analyzing Migratory Experience and Religious Change from Localities of Origin

Abstract

Using mixed methods, in this paper we hold that the relationship between international migration and religious change can be analyzed from localities of origin as strategic sites of observation. Thus, examining the relationship between migration and religious change means simultaneously considering the two-way impact, of migration on religious change, and of the role of religious identifications on the formation of migrant networks. From the case studies in this research, we conclude that international migration is an important resource, which acquires two modalities: on the one hand, it reinforces the traditional religious practices of believers and on the other, it promotes religious change, specifically religious conversion. It is, in short, the perception of diversity and the sense of religious otherness that are transformed by the migration experience.