Astrid Mattes

Migration Und Religion Astrid Mattes

How are migration and religion related? In the Austrian context, this question is mostly reduced to debates on whether Islam belongs to Austria and whether Muslims are integrated into society. The book Migration and Religion asks more fundamental questions. How are migration movements and changing religious landscapes connected? Which societal and institutional adaption processes are provoked by migration regarding the handling of religion? Why is religion such a dominant subject in migration discourses? Which party-political considerations concern the intersection of religion and migration? How is religion related to debates about shared values? And what are the roles of international actors when it comes to religion and migration? The author presents state-of-the-art results from the fields of research migration and religious studies in an easily understandable format. In each chapter the author discusses the issues at hand from different theoretical perspectives, to allow for a variety of angles. Readers are introduced to the perspectives of liberal theory, social constructivism, and multiculturalism, practically discussed through examples from Austria, such as the reform of the Islam Law, Christian Orthodoxy as a migrant religious community below the radar, and the ban of headscarves in schools. The book concludes by sketching future prospects for society, research, religious communities, and politics at the intersection of religion and migration.