Religion can, has, and does play a key role in motivating and framing diverse forms of support for refugees and asylum-seekers around the world. This report draws on over 300 in-depth interviews conducted with refugees, members of local host communities and locally-based organisations in towns, cities and camps in Cameroon, Greece, Malaysia, Mexico, Lebanon and Jordan to examine the roles that members of local faith communities, faith leaders and faith-based organisations can play in promoting social justice for refugees. This includes a particular focus on the roles played by individuals and communities who have themselves experienced displacement. As the research findings attest, the promotion of social justice for refugees can range from offering humanitarian assistance, to diverse acts of advocacy, activism, and solidarity, all within political and social contexts that are often compromised and precarious. The findings also evidence a disconnect between what policy makers and practitioners assume that ‘refugees need’ and what different groups of refugees themselves consider to be essential requirements, as prerequisites to dignity and justice. The report presents and analyses these findings, tracing the implications of this project for future research in this field, and laying the foundations for a Policy Brief that will be published in 2020.

Learn more about the Religion and Social Justice for Refugees project and find out more about a workshop with the Refugee Hosts’ team here.