St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (Feb 2024)
Migration and Christian Theology
Abstract
This article provides a comprehensive and in-depth Christian theological account of human migration by drawing on various biblical and theological resources. In so doing, it focuses on five key theological themes that lie at the foundation of migration theologies: the Bible, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the church. Despite the apparent variations and differences among various kinds of migration theology, these five theological themes are frequently adopted, discussed, and addressed by many theologians. Although theologians tend to regard migration theology as a subcategory within the larger category of theological studies, it should be noted that before theology as an academic discipline was established, humanity had already experienced different forms of migration; migration preceded theology. Since humanity’s experience of migration became the nesting ground for reflecting on and questioning God, it is not too much to say that theology was born out of human migration. As an academic discipline in theological studies, migration theology has exponentially grown in recent years with the increase of many different theological voices and perspectives (Groody 2022; Carroll R. and Bacote 2021; Cruz 2021; Phan 2020; Rieger 2020; Ahn 2019). The explosive growth of theological work on migration in recent years is not accidental. According to the World Migration Report 2022 (International Organization for Migration 2022), there were around 281 million international migrants in the world in 2020, 128 million more than there were in 1990 and over three times the estimated number in 1970. It is no wonder that social scientists Stephen Castles, Hein de Haas, and Mark J. Miller call the present time ‘The Age of Migration’ (2014). The recent expansion of migration theology is therefore a reflection of our world today. Given that migration touches so many aspects of life and society on a global scale (Groody 2009: 664), this article adopts an interdisciplinary approach in exploring various ideas and perspectives of migration theology.
