Spiritual participation and its relation to housing conditions for refugees in Germany

Abstract

Abstract Background Many studies claim a positive relation between religious / spiritual participation and individual wellbeing. Thus, religious communities play a supportive and socializing role, and supply group assistance, security and solidarity also for refugees. Some dimensions of religion, such as the opportunity of practicing congregational rituals, transmitting religious traditions to the next generations, and building a religious/spiritual community may be linked to the housing conditions. Objectives: The contribution aims to answer the following questions by showing the effects of housing conditions on the well-being of refugees: Is the spirituality of refugees affected after settlement in collective accommodation sites, and if so how?Does the distance or proximity to collective worship places affect the spiritual participation of refugees and their activities in religious organizations? Methods The data is derived from an ongoing research project at Bielefeld University, Germany. The research uses a multimethod approach. Semi-structured qualitative interviews (28) are supported by participatory observations and questionnaire application (N = 120). Results Both in the Interviews and quantitative survey, many Christian, Yezidi and Muslim respondents explicitly argued about their religious participation / nonparticipation due to their housing conditions either in collective accommodation or private housing. Conclusions Christians and Yezidis have fewer opportunities of collective practises of religion due to remote accommodations. The Muslim participants on the contrary have more options of practising with their coreligionists. The availability of religious institutions near to housing places affects this directly.