Somewhere Between Love and Justice: a Roman Catholic Church in Paris Responds to the European Migration Crisis

Alexis Artaud De La Ferrière

doi:10.1007/s10767-018-9289-7

Abstract

The European migration crisis has had a transformative impact on many transit and destination localities in Europe, and in doing so it has mobilised many faith-based communities. This paper analyses the social action of Saint Bernard de La Chapelle, a Roman Catholic parish in northern Paris, which hosts a semi-formal association called Solidarités Saint Bernard (SSB) involved in support and relief activities for indigent migrants in the local area. Based on ethnographic research conducted within the parish and the association, I analyse how the topic of migration has become a point of exchange between the parish community and local civil society, how religious and secular discourses and motivations co-exist within SSB, and how these influences shape SSB’s social action. Through this micro-scale approach, and drawing on Luc Boltanski’s theoretical framework of regimes of action, my aim is to identify conceptual elements to better understand the broad convergence between religion, social action, and migration, and to better understand the relation between charity and justice within faith-based social action in the domain of migration advocacy more specifically.

Highlights

Migration is an increasingly global phenomenon that connects societies and individuals on an intercontinental level and these macroscopic questions are of vital importance
Based on ethnographic research conducted within the parish and the association between 2014 and 2016, I analyse how the topic of migration has become a point of exchange between the parish community and local civil society, how religious and secular discourses and motivations co-exist within Solidarités Saint Bernard (SSB), and how these influences shape SSB’s social action
This study focuses on just such a site where ‘micro versus macro’ dichotomies are less useful for analysis; instead what is observed is the co-construction of micro and macro trends in migration through the coordination of actors and the articulation between collective and individual forms of action, and between local and national/international actions (Boltanski and Thévenot 1991)

Summary

Introduction

Migration is an increasingly global phenomenon that connects societies and individuals on an intercontinental level and these macroscopic questions are of vital importance. It is a localised phenomenon that requires attention on the micro-level. Religious faith displays a similar duality in that it addresses universal concerns whilst rooting worshipers in a local community. The aim of this article is to examine how a local place of worship can serve as a hub for social action in favour of newly arrived migrants, whilst fostering better cohesion within a hyper-diverse urban locality. This article highlights the tensions and limitations that can arise from social action that is faith-based and seeks to draw on the commitment of a wide spectrum of actors from both within and beyond a particular faith community

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