Building Religious Solidarity in the Wake of the Increased Global Migration

Dear Colleagues,

The current and future social instability associated with the possible consequences of climate catastrophe and environmental disasters require an urgent reconsideration of our mechanisms of social solidarity. Data on global migration, including projected climate migration, i.e., migration caused by global climate change, delineate shifting demographic changes. Famine, drought, earthquakes, armed conflicts, as well as the decline in democratic standards of basic human rights, will inevitably lead to ever-increasing numbers of global migrants. This will inescapably cause social confrontations—including those on the basis of religious preferences—which could lead to the rise of radicalism, racism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, right-wing extremism, etc.

Sheer numerical scale aside, one of the main qualitative consequences of these demographic shifts is an increased plurality of local and global religious fields. This plurality underscores the need for academic (as well as public) discussion on how to enable and manage religious solidarity in these increasingly precarious conditions of religious pluralism.

Once renowned as a firm supporter of the secularisation thesis, sociologist Peter Berger later formulated a theory of religious pluralism. According to Berger, the latter—not religious decline—is the most important consequence of modernity vis-à-vis religions. Following Berger, we can broadly point out the double pluralism of contemporary societies: the coexistence of religions and the coexistence of religious and secular discourses and practices. We believe academic discussions of religious solidarity should take this double pluralism as a starting point. On the one hand, the goal is to flesh out specific religious conceptualizations of interreligious solidarity; on the other, it is vital to recognize the state as the fundamental guarantor of peaceful and creative religious coexistence. There are two main questions to be answered: firstly, how do specific religious actors—institutions—understand and practice religious solidarity?; and secondly, how does the state take on an active role in assuring interreligious solidarity while acting in accordance with basic stipulations of secularity and/or laicism?

Religions are not ahistorical social entities. For example, Christians migrating to the Global North are not simply “Christian”. The Christianity of the Global South, predominantly of the Charismatic variety, may in some aspects be fundamentally different from the Christianity of the Global North. Thus, the question is not simply about building interreligious solidarity, between Muslim and Christians for example, but intrareligious solidarity as well. How do religious actors reconcile basic doctrinal and practical differences within their own ranks? Furthermore, how does the state ensure that the public and the state itself are sufficiently informed on such differences? In other words, the social management of religious solidarity entails both intra- and interreligious solidarity, as well as well the solidarity between secular and religious actors.

These are just some of the challenges humanity faces in building present and future religious solidarity. Plentiful challenges call for plentiful discussions, which is why we welcome diverse and original scientific contributions to this Special Issue.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the guest editors (anja.zalta@ff.uni-lj.si ) or to the Religions editorial office (religions@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the guest editors for the purposes of ensuring a proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-review.

Dr. Anja Zalta
Mr. Igor Jurekovič
Guest Editors

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• religious solidarity
• secularism
• laicism
• post-secularism
• religious plurality
• state
• religions
• migration
• climate change
• Christian solidarity
• Muslim solidarity
• Buddhist solidarity
• Hindu solidarity
• Global North
• Global South
• new religious movement solidarity
• interreligious and intrareligious solidarity