Theologies on the Move: Religion, Migration, and Pilgrimage in the World of Neoliberal Capital

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Theologies on the Move: Religion, Migration, and Pilgrimage in the World of Neoliberal Capital speaks to the reality that many religions have developed in motion, with people exploring new boundaries, migrating, and being displaced. Consequently, major religious traditions form as they come into contact with other religions and cultures, typically in situations of struggle and pressure. Due to neoliberal capitalism, more people are on the move today than ever before. Most are driven by necessity (migration due to violence, poverty, and perceived poverty); others, by religious quests that are often fueled by experiences of tension (pilgrimage). The chapters in this volume explore the complexity of these situations, examining in detail how theology and religion shape up in various contexts on the move and investigating specific problems and tensions in order to suggest solutions, alternatives, and new possibilities.

Reviews

In the fast-growing literature on the theology of migration Theologies on the Move stands out as the most cutting-edge. It unmasks the nefarious impact of neoliberal globalization on faceless migrant laborers, forced migrants, victims of human trafficking, and Latino migrants in the U.S. It studies the moves migrants have to make in their identities, cultures, and religions. It also makes surprising connections between migration and pilgrimage, a common religious practice but rarely examined in the context of neoliberal capitalism. Truly a cornucopia of challenging insights that must be read by those working against the forces that create migrations for profit.

--Peter C. Phan, Georgetown University

Theologies on the Move is a crucial addition to theological conversations on religion, migration, and pilgrimage in the World of Neoliberal Capital. It has come at the right time when migration is top on the list of the signs of our times. The combination of migration and pilgrimage gives new insight to understanding ancient and modern movement of people from a theological perspective and highlights the World Council of Churches methodology of pilgrimage of Justice and Peace. Its methodological claim of doing theological reflection based on everyday experiences gives authenticity as a contribution to liberation theology. It is a must read for academics, students, religious leaders and policy makers who want to make a difference in understanding and acting for people on the move.

--Isabel Apawo Phiri

This collection of critical essays by scholars from across the Majority World challenges readers to rethink how they understand the human quest for survival, identity, belonging, and religious meaning within the massive contemporary waves of humanity on the move, driven by the overwhelming forces of neoliberal globalization, transnational capitalism, as well as unbridled economic greed and exploitation of humans. The authors are to be commended for their thought provoking essays offering much needed analysis, critique, and constructive theological responses on the complexities of border crossings, identity constructions, uprootedness and exile, religious longing and belonging within the intersectionality of migration and pilgrimage as two sides of the contemporary movements of people across the globe.

--Jonathan Y. Tan

Timely and necessary, this book places the experiences of migrants, pilgrims, refugees, and victims of sex-trafficking at the center of theological inquiry. Destabilizing static notions of God, nation, and people, it challenges us to move outside our comfort zone to join a pilgrimage for life in the midst of grinding oppression of capitalism and empire. A must-read for anyone interested in religion and migration.

--Kwok Pui-lan, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

Author Bio

Joerg Rieger is distinguished professor of theology, the Cal Turner Chancellors Chair of Wesleyan Studies, and the founding director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt University.