Religion und die Integration von Neuzuwanderern in Europa

After years of neglect, religion is receiving ever more attention among scholars studying processes of migration and integration. Existing research in the US tends to highlight that religious communities contain embedded social resources and thus operate as "bridges" into mainstream society. By contrast, European scholarship has repeatedly emphasized that religious minority affiliation constitutes "barriers" to integration, as evinced most notably by educational and labor market penalties experienced by second generation Muslims. Integrating both strands of research this paper theorizes various context-dependent mechanisms through which religious affiliation, practices and beliefs potentially impinge upon immigrants' socio-economic integration. Arguments are tested by drawing on recently collected survey data among Catholic and Muslim newcomers in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.