Religious and social commitment of the Bulgarian Roma migrants in Spain

Abstract

This paper is configured as an ethnographic discussion on the religious and social ties of different Roma/Gypsy communities from Bulgaria within their post-socialist labour migrations to Spain. It aims to add new fieldwork results and interpretations to the lacuna of studies on the interrelations between faith and migration. Most publications show the specificity of Roma economic activities in the context of their migratory movements, but the role of religious network and its social commitment is a less analysed issue. Roma migrants have different religious profile and are Orthodox Christians, Muslims, or Evangelical Christians. Bearing in mind the religious landscapes in Bulgaria and Spain, which are predominantly Orthodox or Catholic, respectively, all migrant workers have left from an Orthodox home country and settled in a Catholic destination country. The text examines Roma mobility from the early 1990s until today. While settling in Spain, Roma/Gypsies present themselves to Spanish people as ‘Bulgarians’ and they are often recognised by them in this way. In the period prior to Bulgaria’s accession to the European Union in 2007 most Roma migrants had no residence or work permits or neither. In some cases, they benefited from the services of the ‘Caritas’ Catholic organisation. However, they are not influenced by Catholicism as a faith and have only pragmatic aims in using its services. In this dynamic context, the social ties created on the basis of joining a particular religious community acquire importance for Evangelical believers, unlike the Orthodox Christians and the Muslims who rely on their family contacts mostly. Evangelical networks have a double accumulation effect and the believers employ both bridging and bonding social ties in producing their religious and social commitment. However, the social potential of the Evangelical networks is not fully used by Roma migrants in Spain.