Surprising New Data Reveals the Religious Shift among U.S. Migrants
- Dr. James Emery White Serioustimes.org
- Updated Aug 30, 2024
Earlier this year, I wrote a blog titled “Foundational Thinking about Immigration.” You can read it here. The blog began with an obvious statement:
“According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans cited immigration as the most important problem facing our country. I don’t know anyone, no matter where they stand on how to solve the immigration issue, who doesn’t think that what we are facing right now is a mess for everyone concerned. The key concern has to do with illegal immigration. Losing control of our borders. And no one wants to lose control.”
In that earlier blog, I attempted to lay out a concise biblical theology that should guide how Christians engage this pivotal issue, even when may disagree on the policies of implementation. Specifically, how Christians can be concerned about illegal immigration while also having a heart for refugees fleeing suffering or persecution, how the enforcement of border control is handled, preventing the suffering of children and the separation of families, and more. Whether it’s processing someone for citizenship or deporting them, there should be compassion.
One of the great concerns beyond the number of migrants allowed into our country is the types of migrants being allowed. For example, no one wants someone entering our country who is fleeing law enforcement in their own country. We don’t want to be a place where people come to escape justice. Often the specter of hordes or rapists and murderers crossing our borders brings fear and anxiety.
Rightly or wrongly, there is also great concern about the faith of the people entering our country. Are we allowing those who have been radicalized by, say, the Islamic faith to cross our borders and wreak havoc on our society? Is that what typifies the majority or migrants? Should we be afraid of what typifies the person wanting to enter our country?
According to new findings from Pew Research, the answer is “No.” In fact, they found that nearly half of the world’s migrants are Christian. Want another eye-opening finding? U.S. migrants are much more likely to have a religious identity than the current American-born population.
Specifically, while Christians make up about 30% of the world’s population, the world’s migrants are 47% Christian. And though Jews constitute only 0.2% of the world’s population, and only 1% of migrants, as a whole they are the most likely religious group to have migrated.
Another interesting revelation is that while people immigrate for many reasons, including economic opportunity, to reunite with family, or to flee violence or persecution, Pew also found that religion and migration are often closely connected. Christians want to migrate to majority-Christian nations, Muslims to majority-Muslim nations, and so on.
One more eye-opener?
Stephanie Kramer, the study’s lead researcher, noted that the influx of religious migrants can have a significant impact on the religious composition of their destination countries. In the case of the U.S., she said, “… immigrants are kind of putting the brakes on secularization.” While about 30% of the population in the U.S. identify as atheist, agnostic, or religious unaffiliated (the “nones”), only 10% of migrants to the U.S. identify with those categories. Most, as mentioned, would consider themselves Christ followers.
So perhaps a new warning needs to be issued about the border: “The Christians are coming.” Which, if done legally, ...might not be such a bad thing.
James Emery White
Sources
Chlöe-Arizona Fodor, “Nearly half of world’s migrants are Christian, Pew Research shows,” Religion News Service, August 19, 2024, read online.
Photo Courtesy: ©Getty Images/Jasmin Merdan
Published Date: August 29, 2024
James Emery White is the founding and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, NC, and a former professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as their fourth president. His latest book, Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, is now available on Amazon or from your favorite bookseller. To enjoy a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit churchandculture.org where you can view past blogs in our archive, read the latest church and culture news from around the world, and listen to the Church & Culture Podcast. Follow Dr. White on X, Facebook, and Instagram at @JamesEmeryWhite.
