Religious Changes and Challenges in the Wake of Increasing Global Migration

Dear Colleagues,

The title of this Special Issue, which concerns religious changes and challenges in times of global migration, indicates the need for a wide range of different approaches and analyses concerning religious, sociological, theological, political, and historical domains, among others.

Data on global migration clearly illustrate the changing demographics of the present day. Famines, droughts, earthquakes, armed conflicts, and the decline in democratic standards for basic human rights have led to an increasing number of migrants on a global scale. Consequently, this has led to religion-based challenges and confrontations, because one of the most important qualitative consequences of these demographic changes is the increasing plurality of local and global religious spheres. This plurality emphasizes the need for an academic (as well as public) discussion on how religious changes and challenges can be supported and managed in the increasingly precarious situation that results from religious pluralism.

The sociologist Peter Berger, once known as a staunch advocate of the secularization thesis, formulated a theory of religious pluralism. According to Berger, it is religious pluralism—and not religious decline—that is the most important consequence of modernity as concerns religion. In line with Berger’s theory, we can largely identify the double pluralism of today's societies—the coexistence of religions and both religious and secular discourses and practices.

We believe that academic discussion on religious changes and challenges should stem from this double pluralism theory. There are two main questions to be answered: First, how do specific religious actors—institutions—understand religious changes and challenges? Second, how does the state take an active role in accordance with basic provisions of secularism and/or laicism?

Religions are not ahistorical social entities. For example, Christians migrating to the Global North are not solely “Christian”. The Christianity of the Global South, especially of the charismatic variety, fundamentally differs in some aspects from the Christianity of the Global North. Therefore, how do religious actors reconcile fundamental doctrinal and practical differences within their own ranks? Additionally, how does the state ensure that both the public and itself are sufficiently informed about these differences? In other words, society's approach to religious education requires both intra- and inter-religious awareness between secular and religious actors.

Many challenges require many discussions, and therefore we hope to receive a variety of original academic contributions to this Special Issue.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200–300 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors (anja.zalta@ff.uni-lj.si and primoz.krasovec@ff.uni-lj.si) or to the Assistant Editor of Religions (zena.zeng@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purpose of ensuring their proper fit within the scope of this Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Anja Zalta
Dr. Primož Krašovec
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• religious changes
• religious challenges
• religious conflicts
• secularism
• post-secularism
• religious policies
• state policies
• religious plurality
• migration
• religious literacy
• new religious movements
• intrareligious and interreligious differences