Migrant Churches as Integration Vectors in Danish Society

Abstract

ABSTRACT: In highly secular, largely ethnically homogeneous modern Denmark, migrant churches—defined as independent Christian religious congregations with services conducted in a language other than Danish—facilitate social engagement, networking, and cultural fusion for newcomers to Denmark through the affirmation of multiculturalism and religious diversity, thereby challenging the equation of integration with sameness that is common in Scandinavia. Based on oral histories collected between 2015 and 2017 from a dozen African Christian women in Copenhagen and Aarhus who are active members of three different migrant churches, this article analyzes first-hand immigrant experiences with migrant churches as vectors of integration and identity formation for newcomers to Denmark.