Menu
Search
Refugees' religious affiliation, religious practice and social integration ,
The BAMF's Brief Analysis 2|2020 examines to which religions the interviewed refugees feel that they belong, what significance religion and faith have in their lives, and how socially integrated the members of the different faiths are.
The author uses the data from the 2nd wave of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees from 2017 to explore the question of the faiths to which the refugees who came to Germany in the years from 2013 up to and including 2016 feel that they belong. Furthermore, he shows the importance that religion and faith take on in the lives of the refugees and to what extent they take part in religious life in Germany. Finally, he examines whether attendance at religious ceremonies – as an indicator of participation in religious life – is related to social integration.
The most important results at a glance
Refugees increase religious diversity in Germany
The proportion of Muslim believers in particular is significantly higher among the respondent refugees who came to Germany in the years from 2013 up to and including 2016 than is the case in the rest of the population in Germany. The proportion of members of the Christian faith, and those who do not profess any faith, is considerably lower in contrast to this.
The majority of Muslim refugees come from the Near and Middle East, whilst the Muslim population in Germany as a whole is predominantly of Turkish origin. It can therefore be assumed that Muslim life in Germany will also continue to become more diverse due to the different local traditions.
The proportion of those who feel that they belong to an Orthodox Church is significantly larger among Christian refugees, whilst the proportion of those who feel that they belong to the Protestant and especially the Catholic Church is much smaller than is the case within the rest of the Christian population in Germany.
Faith and religion appear to be especially important for Christian refugees in particular
Faith and religion appear to be important for the respondent Christian refugees in particular, whereas the Muslim refugees interviewed are more in line with people of the Christian faith living in Germany in this respect. Faith and religion seem to be somewhat less important to Muslim refugees than to other Muslim believers in Germany.
Participation in religious life and social inclusion are positively linked
Refugees who take part in religious life are more socially integrated than those who do not. At the same time, frequent attendance at religious ceremonies also has a slightly positive correlation with the time spent specifically with Germans. This means that there is no evidence whatsoever that participation in religious life is associated with isolation from the host society.
The Brief Analysis was prepared by: Dr. Manuel Siegert