Perspectief 2017-36

Perspectief 2 Werk van jonge theologen black Protestants and Hispanic Catholics were two of the subgroups most in favour of the proposal 4 . The aforementioned variation in opinions on refugees amongst Christians is not only an issue in the United States. In a European context, too, the influx of refugees is the subject of widespread debate. Precisely this context of the present-day ‘refugee crisis’ lies at the origins of my research. The fact that a manifold of approaches and reactions to the crisis is possible makes it virtually impossible to tackle the problem in its full complexity in this study. Therefore we have opted for a very precise and particular angle, focusing on religious – i.c. Christian – belonging and the way in which this may affect the response given to the refugee issue. Hence, this study aims at investigating the following research question: ‘How do the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran churches in Europe and North America verbally respond to the current refugee crisis and how do they theologically justify their standpoints?’ The choice to study these two particular churches is not an arbitrary one, as Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism are two of the most widespread Christian churches in the refugees’ countries of transit and destination. The Roman Catholic Church accounted for 1.272 billion members worldwide in 2014 5 , of whom 31% resided in Europe and North America. It is the largest religious group on both continents 67 . The Lutheran World Federation represented 72.3 million members in 2013, of whom 55% in Europe and North 4 Lee, M. (2015) Here’s where America’s 338,000 Christian refugees come from accessed June 1, 2016 at http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/november/heres-where-americas-338000-christian- refugees-have-come.html. 5 Holy See Press Office (2016) Pontifical Yearbook 2016 and the Annuarium Statisticum Ecclesiae 2014; dynamics of a Church in transformation, 05.03.2016 accessed September 12, 2016 at https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2016/03/05/160305b.html. 6 National Council of Churches USA (2012) Church giving drops $1.2 billion reports 2012 Yearbook of Churches accessed September 12, 2016 a t http://www.ncccusa.org/news/120209yearbook2012.html. 7 Statistics Canada (2013) 2011 National Household Survey: Immigration, place of birth, citizenship, ethnic origin, visible minorities, language and religion accessed September 12, 2016 at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130508/dq130508b-eng.htm?HPA.