This book explores the duality of openness and restriction in approaches to migrants in the Nordic countries. As borders have become less permeable to non-Europeans, it presents research on civil society practices that oppose the existing border regimes and examine the values that they express. The volume offers case studies from across the region that demonstrate opposition to increasingly restricted borders and which seek to offer hospitality to migrant. One topic is whether these practices impact and transform the Nordic Protestant trajectory. The book considers whether such actions are indicative of new sensibilities and values in which traditional categories and binaries are becoming less relevant. It also discusses what these practices of hospitality indicate about the changing relationship between voluntary organizations and the Nordic welfare states in the time of migration. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology, and religious studies with interests in migration, civil society resistance and social values.

Borderland Religion narrates, presents and interprets the fascinating and significant practices when borders, migrants and religion intersect. This collection of original essays combines theology, philosophy and sociology to examine diverse religious issues surrounding external national borders and internal domestic borders as these are challenged by the unstoppable flow of documented and undocumented migrants. While many studies of migration have examined how religion plays a major role in the assimilation and integration of waves of migration, this volume looks at a number of empirical studies of how emergent religious practices arise around border crossings. The volume begins with a detailed analysis of the borderland religion context and research. The aim is to bring an eschatological interpretation of the borderland religion, its impact and significance for migrants. Themes include a critical analysis of how religion has formatted Europe; empirical studies from the US/Mexican border and Southern Africa; an overview of the European refugee crisis in 2015; editors' account of borderland religion from the perspective of citizenship studies. Contributions of scholars from a broad range of disciplines ensure a careful analysis of this highly topical situation. The volume's interdisciplinary profile will appeal to scholars and students in religious studies, migration studies, theology and citizenship studies.

This book explores the duality of openness and restriction in approaches to migrants in the Nordic countries. As borders have become less permeable to non-Europeans, it presents research on civil society practices that oppose the existing border regimes and examine the values that they express. The volume offers case studies from across the region that demonstrate opposition to increasingly restricted borders and which seek to offer hospitality to migrant. One topic is whether these practices impact and transform the Nordic Protestant trajectory. The book considers whether such actions are indicative of new sensibilities and values in which traditional categories and binaries are becoming less relevant. It also discusses what these practices of hospitality indicate about the changing relationship between voluntary organizations and the Nordic welfare states in the time of migration. As such, it will appeal to scholars of sociology, anthropology, and religious studies with interests in migration, civil society resistance and social values.

Borderland Religion narrates, presents and interprets the fascinating and significant practices when borders, migrants and religion intersect. This collection of original essays combines theology, philosophy and sociology to examine diverse religious issues surrounding external national borders and internal domestic borders as these are challenged by the unstoppable flow of documented and undocumented migrants. While many studies of migration have examined how religion plays a major role in the assimilation and integration of waves of migration, this volume looks at a number of empirical studies of how emergent religious practices arise around border crossings. The volume begins with a detailed analysis of the borderland religion context and research. The aim is to bring an eschatological interpretation of the borderland religion, its impact and significance for migrants. Themes include a critical analysis of how religion has formatted Europe; empirical studies from the US/Mexican border and Southern Africa; an overview of the European refugee crisis in 2015; editors' account of borderland religion from the perspective of citizenship studies. Contributions of scholars from a broad range of disciplines ensure a careful analysis of this highly topical situation. The volume's interdisciplinary profile will appeal to scholars and students in religious studies, migration studies, theology and citizenship studies.

Perceiving the Other is a Norwegian/German collaboration lead by Trygve Wyller and Hans-Genter Heimbrock. Case examples introduce a new way of approaching ethics. It points out that it is possible to show phenomenological ethics in practise. The lived experience (praxis) is as important as the professional experience. The research on the field is the dynamics between these two experiences, where the professional experience is taken from the general life experience.Perceiving the Other has three sections:1. Introduction emphasizing the ethical paradigm shift, and presenting the terms relationality, connectedness etc. The introduction clarifies past and ongoing research, and discusses how to develop research with the "new" perspectives - connectedness, phenomenology etc.2. Section two consists of five cases from Norwegian and German doctoral dissertations and thesis within professional ethics and theology. It gives five thematic sections presenting phenomenona as language, space, gender and body.3. Section three is the conclusion, introducing phronetic ethics that is driven from the relational (as source of ethics) and connectedness. The conclusion also discusses the consequences and implications of introducing these perspectives within the fields of theology, professional ethics and work among the marginalized.

In democracies of advanced plurality, religion is a contested and powerful part of public discussions and practices. Today, religious difference is articulated and negotiated controversially in interaction with other spheres of society. While there are clear tendencies of increasing polarization, we also encounter moments of acknowledgement and appreciation of plurality. Facing these complexities and challenges of our time, this volume scrutinizes contested practices where religious difference matters.Committed to an interdisciplinary exchange between theology, the study of religion and political philosophy, this volume is grounded in the attention for concrete practices and phenomena as well as the conviction that difference is both a productive concept and an enriching experience. Exploring practices of shared places, sexuality, justice and the commitment to the human being in education, migration and violent conflicts, the volume as a whole contributes to the analysis of contested social and political practices in order to investigate the significance and role of religion in contemporary societies, and thus it further develops theoretical reflection about religion in contemporary research.

This book analyses religious work for the marginalized from the perspective of citizenship and otherness. The articles try to answer the question of whether religion makes a contribution to a growing recognition of human rights in society or if current philantropic and religious work for the marginalized re-introduces disciplinary practices which threaten the more substantial and universal citizenship. The theoretical starting point are Michel Foucault's studies about heterotopic places.

Children are denied basic human rights worldwide. The cultural and social disadvantage is an ethical and political scandal! A closer look reveals that the struggle for general human rights and the intensive examination of religion are often interlinked. Trygve Wyller (Oslo), Usha S. Nayar (Mumbai) and their internationally renowned team of authors ask how this situation can be improved globally. They expect that religion in particular can make a decisive contribution to the children's rights action plan and discuss positive approaches based on case studies around the world. With contributions by Marcia J. Bunge, Udi Mandel Butler, Yolanda Corona, Annemie Dillen, Marta Maria Espeseth, John M. Hull, Usha S. Nayar, Irene Rizzini, Jone Salomonsen, Alfons H. Teipen, John Wall, Trygve Wyller and Carlos Perez Zavala.