The Catholic Church in the Lives of Irregular Migrant Filipinas in France: Identity Formation, Empowerment and Social Control

Abstract

Religious belongings help migrants, especially irregular ones, to confront the precariousness of their lives. France represents a peculiar case because it is a secular country where undocumented migrants have access to free medical care and their children to compulsory education. The present paper explores Filipino migrants’ religious space in France by examining irregular migrant Filipinas’ church involvement and shows the contrasting attitudes of these women towards religion: some find in the Church a social institution supporting their social and economic incorporation in France, whereas others stay away from religious gatherings to avoid prejudice and gossip. These attitudes point to the key roles of religion in the structuring of migrant populations, as well as of the Church as a centre of collective identity, a source of empowerment and an instrument of social control.