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Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration
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Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 April 2025) | Viewed by 4632

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alexiana Fry

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Section of Biblical Exegesis, University of Copenhagen, 1172 København, Denmark
Interests: Old Testament; Hebrew Bible; migration; mobility; esther; interdisciplinary studies; diaspora; feminism
Dr. Ida Hartmann

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Section of Biblical Exegesis, University of Copenhagen, 1172 København, Denmark
Interests: critical migration studies; anthropology of Islam; virtue ethics; Turkey; muslims in Europe
Dr. Frederik Poulsen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Section of Biblical Exegesis, University of Copenhagen, 1172 København, Denmark
Interests: Old Testament; Hebrew Bible; migration; diaspora; biblical theology; reception history

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to highlight and feature the work presented, and thereafter polished, at a workshop hosted at the University of Copenhagen on 12–13 September 2024 with the same title.

The transgression of boundaries is essential to the study of migration. People on the move cross geographical, cultural, and linguistic boundaries, and migration scholars have long traversed interdisciplinary terrains. The workshop’s aim was to facilitate a conversation between biblical scholars and social science scholars, looking not only at the role played by the Bible in contemporary migration but also at how ancient migration is depicted in the Bible. The published papers fall under three categories but easily demonstrate the porous nature of borders, as most of them naturally discuss the others: (1) the Bible in Migration, (2) Migration in the Bible, and (3) Transgressing Disciplinary Boundaries. We aim to answer questions such as the following:

How do contemporary migrants relate to the Bible? How do biblical narratives and religious practises and rituals affect migratory experiences and/or processes? How does the migratory experience strengthen, alter, or weaken the role of and/or relations to the Bible in migrants’ lives? How do we discuss and point out migration(s) as depicted in the Bible? What do the narratives surrounding these movements tell us about shifts not only in location but also in identity? How do we understand “home” and “away”, alongside political and religious ideologies and polemics of such notions? What might scholars of contemporary migration learn from studies of ancient migration in the Bible and vice versa? How might we establish an interdisciplinary conversation that fosters methodological and theoretical experimentation at the crossroads between social sciences and biblical studies and between contemporary and ancient forms of migration? What has been achieved so far, and how might we improve in this dialogue?

This Special Issue is part of the “Divergent Views of Diaspora in Ancient Judaism” research project of the Department of Biblical Exegesis, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen (https://teol.ku.dk/english/dept/diaspora/). Our project investigates the earliest stage of the Jewish diaspora (597-331 BCE). Applying newly developed theory from Diaspora Studies, a key goal of this project is to identify and map all textual depictions in the Hebrew Bible and in archival sources from Egypt (the Elephantine Papyri) and Babylonia (e.g., the Al-Yahudu documents). The workshop was generously funded by the Nils Klim Prize 2020, while the project was funded by The Independent Research Fund Denmark and its Sapere Aude programme.

Dr. Alexiana Fry
Dr. Ida Hartmann
Dr. Frederik Poulsen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Bible
  • anthropology
  • interdisciplinary
  • migration
  • religion
  • mobility
  • social science

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 218 KiB  
Article
The Bible as a Successful Migrant? Translation, Domestication, and Nordic National Identity
by Karin Neutel
Religions 2025, 16(5), 647; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16050647 - 20 May 2025
Viewed by 148
Abstract
Despite its ancient and foreign origin, the Bible has managed to integrate so seamlessly into the contemporary Nordic countries that it is seen to form the basis of specifically Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish identity and values. This paper will employ the work of [...] Read more.
Despite its ancient and foreign origin, the Bible has managed to integrate so seamlessly into the contemporary Nordic countries that it is seen to form the basis of specifically Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish identity and values. This paper will employ the work of translation scholar Lawrence Venuti on the politics and ethics of translation, and especially his concepts of foreignization and domestication, to explore this understanding of the Bible. Venuti’s thought informs critical reflection on how translation contributes to the cultural position of the Bible in the Nordic context, through examining translation principles, the function of retranslation, and the role of fluency. This contributes to our understanding of how the Bible has become a successful migrant to the Nordic region who is now used to keep others out. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration)
11 pages, 183 KiB  
Article
Interdisciplinary Mutuality: Migration, the Bible, and Scholarly Reciprocity
by Eric M. Trinka
Religions 2025, 16(5), 608; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16050608 - 12 May 2025
Viewed by 222
Abstract
For almost forty years, scholars of the Bible have drawn on the conglomerate field of migration studies to illuminate historical contexts and to exegete biblical texts. This paper recognizes the rich contributions supplied across the decades by such interdisciplinary scholarship. It offers a [...] Read more.
For almost forty years, scholars of the Bible have drawn on the conglomerate field of migration studies to illuminate historical contexts and to exegete biblical texts. This paper recognizes the rich contributions supplied across the decades by such interdisciplinary scholarship. It offers a rejoinder to this work by exploring how biblical scholars might balance the interdisciplinary scales through reciprocal contributions to migration studies. The response is structured in three movements. First, I present the biblical corpus as a migration-informed and migration-informing artifact that has influenced perceptions of and engagements with migration for more than two millennia. The second part of the paper presents three avenues biblical scholars might pursue in their approaches to migration scholars as interlocutors. Finally, my conclusion offers closing reflections on ways biblical scholars might more appropriately prepare themselves for further interdisciplinary mutuality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration)
12 pages, 193 KiB  
Article
Mission and Migration: Epistemological Tension in Two Research Fields
by Astrid Krabbe Trolle
Religions 2025, 16(5), 587; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16050587 - 2 May 2025
Viewed by 248
Abstract
In this article, I argue that the research fields of migration and mission navigate similar tensions between normative interests and descriptive categories. With its biblical legacy, mission is actualized in a variety of ways within the contemporary paradigm of mission everywhere and for [...] Read more.
In this article, I argue that the research fields of migration and mission navigate similar tensions between normative interests and descriptive categories. With its biblical legacy, mission is actualized in a variety of ways within the contemporary paradigm of mission everywhere and for every Christian. In the field of mission, a history of colonialization and de-colonialization has resulted in disciplinary struggles over the content and inclusiveness of mission as a scientific category. In the field of migration, political interests related to nation-state regimes often influence research, resulting in several migration scholars pushing back and placing their analytical object—the migrant—as a suffering subject in need of protection. However, tensions between the notions of prescriptive/descriptive and political/ethical produce interesting concepts, and one of them is reverse mission. Applying reverse mission to the case study of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and Denmark, I conclude that different forms of mission (missionary discipleship and domestic mission) are a powerful leit motif for global church work. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration)
14 pages, 225 KiB  
Article
Biblical Authority and Moral Tensions in a Polish Catholic Migrant Community in Denmark
by Michael Brixtofte Petersen
Religions 2025, 16(5), 583; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16050583 - 1 May 2025
Viewed by 274
Abstract
The Catholic Church in Denmark hosts several migrant communities, with the Polish-speaking group among the largest and most visible. Institutionally, Catholic priests from Poland serve as chaplains for migrant congregations, accompanying these mobilities and providing educational practices (e.g., family guidance, biblical teaching). This [...] Read more.
The Catholic Church in Denmark hosts several migrant communities, with the Polish-speaking group among the largest and most visible. Institutionally, Catholic priests from Poland serve as chaplains for migrant congregations, accompanying these mobilities and providing educational practices (e.g., family guidance, biblical teaching). This paper examines how perspectives on Catholic scriptural authority differ between the Church’s institutional representatives and its members, revealing tensions between biblical authority, social accommodation, and family values in a migratory setting. Based on 20 months of fieldwork in a Polish Catholic community in Copenhagen, this paper highlights the dynamic interplay of how Church members assess scriptural authority as evaluative engagement in their transnational lives in the Danish public sphere, illustrated through interconnected ethnographic excerpts. This article illustrates how scriptural engagement offers a productive lens to explore divergent notions of Polish Catholic diasporic life and the tensions between transnational religion, national belonging, and moral navigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration)
14 pages, 210 KiB  
Article
Migratory Thought: Dialogues Between Biblical Scholarship and Anthropology on Human Mobility
by Ida Hartmann
Religions 2025, 16(5), 540; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16050540 - 23 Apr 2025
Viewed by 271
Abstract
In recent decades, biblical scholars have begun to read the narratives about ancient persons and peoples on the move in dialogue with modern migration studies. As part of this broader trend, I became involved in a research project focused on descriptions of the [...] Read more.
In recent decades, biblical scholars have begun to read the narratives about ancient persons and peoples on the move in dialogue with modern migration studies. As part of this broader trend, I became involved in a research project focused on descriptions of the earliest Jewish diaspora in the Hebrew Bible and historical documents due to my background as an anthropologist specializing in contemporary migration. This article aims to strengthen and systemize this emerging interdisciplinary conversation about human mobility. It provides a methodological catalog outlining four different ways biblical scholars and students may draw comparatively from the study of modern mobilities to shed new light on ancient and biblical worlds of motion. These four methods are tentatively labeled (1) applying new categories, (2) asking new questions, (3) thinking through concepts, and (4) exposing implicit biases. The article defines these as different comparative heuristics and uses the book of Ruth to reflect upon their respective strengths, limits, and unintended consequences. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration)
14 pages, 2424 KiB  
Article
Jeremiah 44 and the Complexities of Ancient Migrations
by Terje Stordalen
Religions 2025, 16(4), 469; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040469 - 6 Apr 2025
Viewed by 346
Abstract
The transnational turn in migrant studies emphasizes complexities in migration, partly related to the agency that migrants may exercise. Chapter 44 in the biblical Book of Jeremiah holds a story of migration that is peculiarly insensitive to such aspects: religious practices performed by [...] Read more.
The transnational turn in migrant studies emphasizes complexities in migration, partly related to the agency that migrants may exercise. Chapter 44 in the biblical Book of Jeremiah holds a story of migration that is peculiarly insensitive to such aspects: religious practices performed by a local community are condemned, and so are they. Through a series of analytical steps—reflection on historical conditions of migration at the time, on the historical value of the biblical sources, on a cognitive theory of mimesis in narrative, and on praxeological analysis—this study tries to regain a view of migratory complexity and migrants’ agency in that story. The reading uncovers how migrants were “doing community” through their religious practices and through their dispute with the prophet. The story reflects an enduring pattern of struggle between local communities and trans-local forces. It also reflects change in traditional communal patterns due to social changes brought about by migration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration)
14 pages, 236 KiB  
Article
Hospitality: A Migrant Reading of the Parable of the Returning Son
by Anna Rebecca Solevåg and Leonardo Marcondes Alves
Religions 2025, 16(2), 125; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020125 - 24 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1039
Abstract
This article investigates the concept of hospitality (xenia) in the ancient Mediterranean world and its relevance to contemporary migrant communities. To bridge the gap between ancient texts and modern experiences, we utilize a combined lens of contextual biblical hermeneutics and migration theory to [...] Read more.
This article investigates the concept of hospitality (xenia) in the ancient Mediterranean world and its relevance to contemporary migrant communities. To bridge the gap between ancient texts and modern experiences, we utilize a combined lens of contextual biblical hermeneutics and migration theory to analyze the Parable of the Returning Son (Luke 15:11–32), highlighting the inherent tensions and complexities of welcoming the stranger. Ethnographic research among Latin Pentecostal migrant congregations in the Nordic countries reveals how these communities embody xenia through tangible acts of welcome, risk-taking, and prodigal hospitality. This analysis demonstrates the vital role of hospitality in fostering community building within contexts of mobility. Furthermore, the concept of xenia helps address the limitations of applying modern migration theories directly to ancient contexts by providing a framework for understanding the continuity and evolution of hospitality practices across time and cultures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration)
13 pages, 278 KiB  
Article
Return Migration and the Meaning of Home and Belonging in the Hebrew Bible
by Katherine E. Southwood
Religions 2024, 15(12), 1513; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15121513 - 11 Dec 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1431
Abstract
In this article, I look back over a decade of my own contributions to the field of Hebrew Bible and migration, to assess where these have been helpful, and where revisions are needed. I argue that boundaries are still an extremely important topic [...] Read more.
In this article, I look back over a decade of my own contributions to the field of Hebrew Bible and migration, to assess where these have been helpful, and where revisions are needed. I argue that boundaries are still an extremely important topic of dialogue, but that a focus on identity has not always been so helpful. Instead, I gravitate towards a more conceptually flexible framework concerning belonging, in terms of theoretical dialogue, to help sensitise us to the complexity of boundary negotiation. I also highlight the importance of meta-critical questions concerning how we talk about the Bible and about textual interpretation itself creates and sustains power structures of its own as well as negotiations around belonging. In addition, I suggest that interpreters must be conscious of the invitation that texts extend when representing identity and difference. Through awareness of the constructed nature of identities within Biblical texts, we are able simultaneously to understand these constructions, while also having space to recognise how complexity is flattened through construction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Transgressing Boundaries: Biblical and Social Scientific Studies of Migration)
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