Migration and Interreligious Relations in the Global Spectrum
Sr No:
3
Page No:
16-21
Language:
English
Licence:
CC BY-NC 4.0
Authors:
OKHIFOH Kenneth Otuonkpaiwo, Ph.D*, ADEKOYA Julius Sunday, Ph.D, and ENABUDOSO Anthony Ebehireimen, PhD.
Published Date:
2026-09-08
Abstract:
Man, himself is both a mobile and religious element. From time immemorial, man has always moved from place to place in search of food, security, shelter or better life. Often times, man carries his religion wherever he goes. Sometimes he finds himself in an environment where his religion is not welcomed. The new environment tries to make him give up his faith or compel him to practice it in seclusion against the reality that man is intrinsically religious and is determined to exercise his faith in the best way possible, including calling others to his faith. This struggle often leads to tension and loss of peaceful coexistence. Scholarship on migration has focused largely on migrants’ challenges and factors encouraging migration with scant attention on the impact of migration on interreligious relations. To this end, this work looks at migration and interreligious relations, with a view to determining how migration affects interreligious relations in different parts of the world. Drawing on historical and textual approach, the study makes use of both primary materials such as oral interviews and observations to achieve its aim. It also relies on secondary sources like religious texts and other documented evidences to drive home its point. The study notes that unlike historical evidences from the Bible and early Islam, most migrants today, face crass religious restrictions especially in Muslim dominated areas. It reveals that when migrants are not given the freedom to practice their religion in their foreign land, it leads to dissatisfaction, anger and distortion in interreligious relations, which ultimately affects the economy of the area. The paper cautions against unnecessary religious restrictions, especially when such does not infringe on the rights of others.
Keywords:
Migration, Interreligious relations, religious restrictions, migrants.