The role of religion in the resettlement of African refugees in the Hutt Valley

Abstract

Despite the growing number of religious traditions appearing in New Zealand, there has been very little research on minority religions, and none on the role of religion in the integration of the refugee population. This thesis is the result of field research conducted with two small groups of refugees in New Zealand. The aim of this thesis was to examine whether the maintenance of religious practice served to alienate the refugees from the host society or was a means for integration within it. In order to examine this issue, members from two refugee communities from different religious backgrounds were chosen, Sudanese Christians and Somali Muslims. As Christianity is the dominant religion of New Zealand, it was theorised that Christian refugees have the potential to integrate into New Zealand society more readily than Muslim refugees. The results of this research supported the theory that religion does affect the integration process of refugees. The Somali participants showed higher levels of alienation than the Sudanese across five alienation dimensions: powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, social estrangement and work estrangement. While maintaining religious practice is an important aspect of retaining cultural identity, in a predominantly Christian country, practising a minority religion such as Islam does seem to socially isolate its members from the wider community. Unlike the Sudanese refugees who have the opportunity to participate in a large, multicultural church with substantial resources, the Somali refugees are confined to a small religious sub-community with limited resources, as well as limited participation with the local community. This study further suggests that the lack of social interaction between the Somali community and other local residents is in part, due to a lack of understanding of and sensitivity to Islam and the Muslim lifestyle on the part of the local community.