A Cross To Bear: The Role of Religion In Shaping Attitudes Towards Refugee Immigration In Europe

Abstract

How does religion shape the perception of immigration in Europe? What does it mean for the rise of the far-right? Since 2015, European countries have experienced a series of waves of immigration, particularly from countries experiencing civil conflict and violence. In response, a steadily growing anti-immigrant sentiment has taken root across the continent, seemingly spearheaded by a growing faction of the European far-right. The anti-immigration agenda led by far-right parties emphasises the preservation of the Christian European tradition in their respective countries, but existing academic research fails to identify a religious voter base for the parties. In this thesis, I separate the ideas of religious identity and religiosity to investigate this paradox. Using data from all ten waves of the European Social Survey (ESS) (2002-2020 inclusive), I run three linear regression models to test the effect of religion on attitudes towards immigration among individuals in 41 European countries. I find and argue that the effect of religious identity and religiosity on one’s perception of immigration is exactly opposite. Religiosity affects perceptions through the tenets of religion itself, inducing relatively more positive attitudes towards immigration, while religious identity is associated with the cultural and ethnonational identities of individuals in these countries, inducing relatively more negative attitudes towards immigration. My findings have further implications for the rise of the far-right movement in Europe and its role in reorienting what it means to ‘be religious’ in these countries, which in turn affects how religion shapes the perception of immigration in Europe.