Religious Conversion to Christianity in Muslim Refugees in Europe

Transcription

1 Religious Conversion to Christianity in Muslim Refugees in Europe Szabolcs Kéri & Christina Sleiman Edited version is in press in Archive for the Psychology of Religion / Archiv für Religionspsychologie Summary An increasing number of Muslim asylum seekers and refugees convert to Christianity in Europe. The conversion motifs in these individuals are unknown. In this study, we applied biographical interviews in 124 converts. There were two dominant patterns: intellectual (42.7%) intellectual plus experimental motifs (10.5%), and mystical (16.1%) mystical plus affectional motifs (21.0%). Pure experimental and affectional motifs were rare, and there were no revivalist and coercive motifs. Demographic parameters (age, gender, education, family status, country of origin, traumatic life events, and refugee status) did not predict conversion motifs. We found no evidence for social pressure. These results indicate that finding meaning and consolation in Christian religious teachings and mystical experiences with a high emotional content are the two leading religious conversion motifs. Key words: religious conversion, Muslim, Christianity, refugee, Europe

2 Introduction The forced displacement of millions of people worldwide requires a better understanding of cultural adaptation in migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Coping with acculturation experiences during the interaction with the social, political, and cultural milieu of host countries are especially critical when migration has increasingly been politicized, multiculturalism is being debated, fear of terror has penetrated into the community, and the necessity of assimilation has been brought to the fore (Kinnvall & Lindén, 2010; Phillimore, 2010). According to the acculturation strategies framework, cultural transition has a profound impact on everyday behavior, language, attitudes, and personal identity, which may result in assimilation, separation, marginalization, or integration depending on the context (Berry, 1997; Saroglou & Mathijsen, 2007). More recent models focus on resilience, stress appraisal, development, and positive cross-cultural adaptation (Castro & Murray, 2010), taking into account multiple domains of acculturation and cultural adaptation (reasons and expectations related to migration, sources and types of stress, constructive and detrimental coping strategies, individual and community context, available resources, and the consequences of the adaptation process) (Kuo, 2014; Yakushko, 2010). Perhaps the most fundamental change during cultural adaptation is the transformation of the core meaning-making system related to the sacred (Paloutzian, 2005; Rambo, 1995). In recent years, Germany received more than one million asylum seekers, dominantly from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan: the number of first-time applicants increased from 442 thousand in 2015 to 722 thousand in 2016 (Eurostat, 2017). Although interreligious relationship is viewed as a norm (El-Menouar, 2017), anecdotal evidence suggests that thousands of Muslim asylum seekers and refugees convert to Christianity in Europe (Dearden, 2016). The exact number of converts is not known. According to newspaper reports, at Trinity church in Berlin (Steglitz), the size of the congregation has increased from 150 to almost 700 individuals during the past two years (personal communication by Pastor Gottfried Martens). The Austrian Catholic church registered more than 400 Muslim refugees for baptism in the first three months of 2016 (Sherwood and Oltermann, 2016). It is indicative that the Evangelical Church of Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutchland, EKD) published a handbook 2

3 on baptizing asylum seekers. The introduction of the handbook describes the situation as follows: Asylum seekers - either alone or as a family - have increasingly turned to the Christian faith and asked church communities whether they could be baptized. This is a special challenge, not only for asylum seekers, but also for parish priests, parishioners and parishes, who guide those being baptized for many hours, sensitively and responsibly. (Dearden, 2016). Transformation in the core belief system related to the sacred might represent a complex reaction to past traumatic life events and to the burden of social adaptation in the host country (Awad, 2010). According to Matthew Kaemingk, the author of Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear, Muslim people are spiritually open to the message of Christianity, and they bring new life to the struggling churches of secularized Western European countries (Kaemingk, 2017). Religious conversion is one of the most widely studied fields in psychology, yet, there is no consensus on its causes, mechanisms, and typology (Hood, Hill, & Spilka, 2009; Paloutzian, 2005; Rambo, 1995). In the classic paradigm, conversion is sudden, emotional, and suggestive reflecting a stern theology of sin and guilt. In contrast, the contemporary paradigm suggests that conversion is often gradual, intellectual, and rational based on a compassionate theology of consolation and hope (Hood et al., 2009). There is no doubt, however, that in many cases a simple dichotomy is not sufficient to describe individual experiences. Despite public reports and declarations from Christian churches, Muslim converts to Christianity have not been systematically assessed, and their conversion motifs are not known. It is an important question because there might be substantial differences in the temporal duration and dynamics of transformation, the degree of social influence and pressure, the level of affective arousal and emotional content, and the belief-practice sequence during transformation. By taking these dimensions into consideration, at least six motifs can be distinguished: intellectual, mystical, experimental, affectional, revivalist, and coercive (Hood et al., 2009; Lofland & Skonovd, 1981). In the intellectual conversion motif, transformation is dominated by insight and illumination driven by religious teachings, sacred texts, doctrines, and traditions. Social pressure is low or absent, and the conversion process is gradual, characterized by a medium arousal level. Cognitive concerns and beliefs precede religious 3

4 participation. In contrast, the mystical motif is brief, emotionally intensive (awe or love) with a high arousal level. There is no social pressure, and internal changes (beliefs, religious attributions, feelings, and attitudes) precede regular external religious practices. The experimental motif is primarily driven by curiosity and exploration with low arousal and low social pressure. The converter first participates in religious activities, often for an extended period, and internal changes in beliefs and attributions occur after participation. In the case of the affectional motif, interpersonal connections, attachment, and a definitive attraction and liking are the key factors. Interpersonal connections and attractions are associated with a medium-level of social pressure and arousal. Participation precedes belief, and the conversion process is regularly long. In the revivalist motif, converters experience a short, ecstatic transformation in a dedicated religious group. This motif is characterized by a high arousal and an intensive experience of love, but negative emotions may also occur (e.g., fear and dread). Finally, in the coercive motif, there is a very high level of social pressure: the converter is forced to confess guilt, accept the doctrinal system, and intensively participate in rituals. The process may be long and is primarily associated with negative emotions followed by submission and love (Hood et al., 2009; Lofland & Skonovd, 1981). Köse and Loewenthal (2000) applied the above described six-motif system of Lofland and Skonovd (1981) in 70 British-born converts to Islam (Köse & Loewenthal, 2000). They found intellectual, experimental, and affectional motifs in 67% of the converts, mystical motif in 14% of converts, whereas the other motifs were nearly absent. Although the six-motif typology is phenomenologically and theoretically constructed, the biographical method of Köse and Loewenthal (2000) appeared reliable and valid to describe personal conversion careers. The aim of the present study was to characterize Muslim refugees converting to Christianity by using the six-motif typology to gain more insight into the conversion dynamics of this population and to provide comparable data to previous studies conducted in different populations. We also explored the potential demographic predictors of conversion motifs. We hypothesized that religious conversion is primarily driven by the need for cultural adaptation, and, therefore, social transformation motives (e.g., affectional and revivalist) dominate. 4

5 Methods Participants 124 individuals (88 men and 36 women) volunteered in the study who were recent converters from Islam (91 [73%] Sunni, 29 [24%] Shia, and 4 [3%] Sufi) to Christianity. Conversion to Christianity (Evangelical or Roman Catholic) was indicated by the selfreport of the participants who were baptized. Participants were contacted by local church representatives and health care professionals (nurses and case managers of general practitioners who were included in a health care program for refugees). Recruitment areas included Berlin-Brandenburg, Lower Saxony-Hamburg, and North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. From the contacted population, only three individuals refused to participate in the study. The demographic characteristics are shown in Table 1. The study was done in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. All participants gave written informed consent, and the protocol was approved by the institutional ethics boards. The participants, whose narratives were presented as examples from the interviews, agreed to uncover these personal details, read the final text, and approved publication. Interview Interviews were conducted by psychologists (A.B., R.E.) who were native speakers of Arabic and were blind to the purpose of the study. We applied forward backward translation (Arabic-English) maintaining semantic, textual, and content equivalence (Esposito, 2001). We followed the protocol of Köse and Loewenthal (2000). The openended, semi-structured interviews covered the following main themes: demographic details, significant relationships and life events in the past, early religious beliefs and practices, the pre-conversion period, the decision to convert to Christianity, the postconversion period, and current religious beliefs, practices, and relationships. Interviews were conducted in the home of the participants between June 2015 and May 2017 (duration: 2 to 3 hours). All materials were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated into English. Two independent experts and the first author of this paper read and rated the interviews for the presence or absence of each of the six motifs as 5

6 defined by Lofland and Skonovd (1981) (Fleiss kappa > 0.85). Raters could use more than one category. A complete agreement across the raters was a prerequisite of conversion motif classification. Table 1. Demographic characteristics of the participants Gender (male/female) 88/36 Age (years) 31.6 (SD = 10.3) Education (years) 10.3 (SD = 4.7) Number of major traumatic life events 3.7 (SD = 4.1) Marital status (single/married) 70/54 Refugee status (refugee status 98/26 granted/asylum seeker status) Country of origin Syria 75 Iraq 24 Afghanistan 21 Other 4 6

7 Data analysis STATISTICA 13.0 (Dell Inc.) was used for data analysis. We applied v-square tests and Kruskal-Wallis analysis of variance (ANOVA) to evaluate possible differences in demographic parameters (gender, age, education, family status, country of origin, the number of traumatic life events, and refugee status) in individuals with different conversion motifs. We also conducted regression analyses to explore the potential predictors of religious conversion motifs. Because of the small sample size, experimental and affectional motifs were not separately analyzed. The level of statistical significance was set at a < The False Discovery Rate (FDR) method was used to control type 1 errors. Results Table 2 summarizes the numbers and percentages of participants with different conversion motifs. 53.2% of the total population were characterized by intellectual and mixed intellectual-experimental conversion motifs. The second largest group of converters displayed mystic and mixed mystical-affectional motifs (37.1%). Revivalist and coercive motifs were not detected in this sample. The agreement across the independent raters was high: only 4% of the participants could not be unambiguously classified. In these cases, the quality of the interview material was not good enough to draw a conclusion on motifs (i.e., substantial details were missing). The statistical analysis indicated that none of the demographic parameters (age, gender, education, family status, country of origin, traumatic life events, and refugee status) predicted the type of religious conversion motifs (p > 0.1). Below we present examples from the interviews for the most frequently observed conversion motifs. Intellectual (42.7%): I never understood how God could help me in my life because he is so distant, powerful, and cruel. When I started to listen to the Gospel and read the Bible, I discovered that God gave His son to suffer for me, to feel my pain, and to stand by me. It made me cry; then I felt consolation and hope, feelings I never experienced before. 7

8 Intellectual plus experimental (10.5%): I always believed in God, but my faith was different from that of other people. I cannot accept a single truth. When I learned about Christian teachings in Syria, I became interested and excited. When we arrived in Europe, I read more and more and started to attend religious services. I was amazed how these teachings opened newer and newer doors in my mind. Mystical (16.1%): I saw what people did in the name of God. It made me very sad, disappointed, and frightened. When we arrived in Germany, my anxiety and fear became more and more terrible. One night somebody touched my hands and told me: Do not be afraid. I am here for you. Jesus was talking to me in the next few days, and now I know that consolation is in the Lord s words. When I pray and listen to the Gospel, I still feel His presence: Son of God who gave his life for us, and yet He is always with me. Mystical plus affectional (21.0%): When I first saw people singing and praying, I felt peace and love. All the rituals and people in the community were so warm and attractive that I could not resist. Their songs and words were continuously in my consciousness, in my dreams, and in my soul. All my senses changed, the colors of the world were sharp and lively. I lost myself in Jesus and woke up as a new person, a new creature of God s grace. 8

9 Table 2. Number (%) of individuals characterized by different conversion motifs Male (n = 88) Female (n = 36) Overall sample (n = 124) Köse & Loewenthal (2000) results (n = 70 Bristish-born converts to Islam) Intellectual 40 (45.5%) 13 (36.1%) 53 (42.7%) 71% Intellectual + 11 (12.5%) 2 (5.6%) 13 (10.5%) - experimental Mystical 10 (11.4%) 10 (27.8%) 20 (16.1%) 14% Experimental 2 (2.3%) 1 (2.8%) 3 (2.4%) 60% Affectional 4 (4.5%) 0 (0%) 4 (3.2%) 66% Mystic + 17 (19.3%) 9 (25.0%) 26 (21.0%) - affectional Revivalist 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0% Coercive 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 4% No agreement between raters 4 (4.5%) 1 (2.8%) 5 (4.0%) - Discussion The results from the present study indicate that more than half of the Muslim individuals converting to Christianity displayed intellectual and experimental motifs. In these cases, the transformation is gradually driven by cognitive concerns, curiosity, religious teachings, and participation in group rituals. The other dominant motif of conversion was characterized by mystical experiences, intensive emotional reactions, and social affection. The high occurrence of hybrid motifs (intellectual-experiential and mystical-affectional) is an interesting finding. It seems that cognitive openness and 9

10 curiosity for Christian teachings often accompany the exploration of religious practices with a direct behavioral involvement in rituals. Meanwhile, mystic experiences are not mere solipsistic phenomena, but are closely related to interpersonal attraction and sentiments. We did not find evidence that demographic parameters (gender, marital status, or traumatic experiences) were significantly associated with certain conversion motifs. It cannot be excluded, however, that a more extensive quantification in a larger sample (e.g., personality traits, types of trauma, pre-conversion influences) would have revealed significant predictors for different conversion motifs. The most important common feature of conversion was the lack of strong social pressure and desirability, which did not correspond with our initial hypothesis. Intellectual and mystic conversion motifs are both characterized by intraindividual psychological processes, and even affectional motifs were amalgamated with mystic experiences. A strong public criticism of Christian religious transformation in Muslim people is based on the assumption that these are not genuine conversions, but reflect personal needs and interests (e.g., gaining refugee status and financial compensation) (Dearden, 2016). The assumption of need- and interest-driven conversion is not supported by our results. It is also important to keep in mind that Muslim people who convert to Christianity can be rejected by the majority of other Muslims and must face serious discrimination. The multifaceted Christian-Muslim relations are further complicated by the ambivalence of the current political and social milieu (Thomas, 2017). In Germany, the major part of the society displayed an open and solidary attitude towards the refugees, meanwhile right-radicals exploited protests against them. The controversy and the change of asylum policy, the need for regulation of chaotic migrant flows, and the struggle for an integrated European solution produce uncertainty and anxiety (Engler, 2016; Mayer, 2016). At present, it is unclear how new religious converts will adapt to the changing social and political climate, and how religious transformation will affect their long-term integration and quality of life. The post-conversion period was too short in the present study to provide conclusive data on the outcome of conversion. Beyond the wider social and political influences, personal and family context also play a critical role in religious conversion. Regarding mystical and affectional 10

11 motifs, Sufi Muslim religion, female gender, participation in new religious movements before conversion, and conversion associated with marriage can be especially relevant (Köse & Loewenthal, 2000). However, we did not find convincing statistical evidence. Although female participants tended to display mystical and affectional motifs more often than male participants, it did not reach the level of statistical significance after FDR correction. Converting from Sufism to Christianity was not linked to specific conversion motifs, and pre-conversion new religious movements were not dominantly present in our sample. Finally, there were only six asylum seekers who married with European-born individuals. The European spouses were secular, and their religion did not play a role in conversion. The most apparent difference between our results and the report of Köse and Loewenthal (2000) from British-born people converting to Islam is that, in our participants, the percentage of simple experimental and affectional conversion motifs were much lower. In contrast, the occurrence of mystical and mystical-affectional motifs was higher in our case. Table 2 presents data from the Köse and Loewenthal (2000) study for a detailed comparison. However, this comparison must be interpreted with caution because of the differences between the populations investigated and the opposite direction of conversion. The comparison is therefore complementary and not supportive regarding the occurrence of conversion motifs. The six-motif model is suitable to characterize world-affirming and worldrejecting religious styles (Rambo, 1995). The world-affirming religious style is open to the wider world, between-group boundaries and social restrictions are not strict, and conversion is characterized by intellectual, experimental, and sometimes mystical motifs. In contrast, the world-rejecting style is more rigid, socially restrictive, and encapsulated from the world: affectional, revivalist, and coercive motifs are frequent (Köse & Loewenthal, 2000). Our data revealed the predominance of conversion motifs characteristic for the word-affirming religious style. Only the mystical-affectional group is questionable because the affectional motif is characterized by a medium-level social pressure (Lofland & Skonovd, 1981). However, in this case, converts displayed positive social attitudes and were open not only to the religious community but also to the wider world. 11

12 A common criticism of the six-motif approach is that it is based on a hypothesisdriven phenomenological description without empirical validation. However, since the original study of Lofland and Skonovd (1981), evidence has been accumulated regarding the empirical validity of at least some of the six motifs. In 191 French converts to Islam, Lakhard et al. (2007) administered a 63-item questionnaire and conducted a factor analysis to reveal different conversion motifs. Five factors were related to the motifs of Lofland and Skonovd (1981): intellectual (telic), experimental (autic mastery), affectional (autic sympathy), coercive (conformist), and revivalist (paratelic) (Lakhdar, Vinsonneau, Apter, & Mullet, 2007). Lakhard et al. (2007) also described three new motifs: negativist (family opposition), alloic mastery (fighting on the poor s side), and alloic sympathy (sharing possessions). More recently, Halama (2014) conducted cluster analyses on the 50 items of the Religious Conversion Process Questionnaire in 179 converts who were members of Christian churches. Four specific motifs were identified: compensatory conversion driven by insecure attachment and stress, socialization-based conversion, sudden personal faith intensification, and extended struggle to be religious (Halama, 2014). The different categories obtained by Lakhard et al. (2007) and Halama (2014) can be explained by the inclusion of different populations, rating scales, and statistical analyses. Another important issue is that qualitative and quantitative assessments may provide contradictory results about psychological processes related to religious phenomena, which are extremely sensitive to interpersonal factors in the interview situation. For example, in African torture survivors, quantitative analyses indicated that religious coping was not an important factor, whereas qualitative analysis showed that religious coping was a critical component of emotional healing (Leaman, 2009). In our study, interviewers were not only trained psychologists, but their social and cultural background was similar to the converts, which facilitated the deepening of rapport and trust. In conclusion, in accordance with the observations of Köse and Loewenthal (2000), biographical analysis was a reliable and valid method to identify individual conversion motifs in Muslim converts to Christianity. Our results suggest that the new conversion wave from Islam to Christianity in Europe is characterized by intraindividual processes dominated either by intellectual-experimental orientation or emotion-driven mystical experiences. Future studies are warranted to better 12

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