Religion and Identity De/Construction among Forced Migrants: The Case of the Congolese Refugees in Durban, South Africa

Abstract

Abstract The current study unravels religious practices, politics and perceptions as forms of multiple identities within and amongst different types of migrant groups in South Africa. Using purpose sampling from members of the Christ Assembly Church of Africa, we explore how the appeal to religion is a form of identity construction that differentiates Congolese from other groups of migrants. We utilized social identity theory in showing how Congolese use religious practices at the mentioned church to assert and reaffirm their identity and use it as a form of resilience to any external threat to the existence of their ‘culture’. Our findings reveal that there exists a complex relationship between religion and Congolese refugees in Durban that is an identity maker that acts as a form of mobilization and resilience to any form of external threats to the identity of the Congolese community in Durban. Furthermore, our findings reveal that the negotiation and construction of Congolese identity through religious practices at Christ Assemblies Church of Africa can play an important role in determining how prejudices and behaviour that reject, exclude and often vilify persons based on the perception that they are outsiders or foreigners to the community are constructed.