The Impact of International Migration on Home Churches: The Mar Thoma Syrian Christian Church in India

Abstract

Based on qualitative, multisited research, this article examines the impacts of short‐ and long‐term international migration to the Middle East and the West on the Mar Thoma Syrian Christian demonination of Kerala. Migrants and their foreign‐born children have new demands and expectations, and significant financial contributions have led to adjustments in the orientation and functioning of the denomination and its clergy. Large‐scale emigration has also had indirect effects. International networks and the economic affluence of the population, along with a rise in social problems caused by migration and consumerism, have led to the rise of evangelical and charismatic transdenominational churches in Kerala that challenge the functioning of established Christian denominations such as the Mar Thoma. Church leaders have been trying to bring about changes to address these developments, but are constrained by the tradition, structure, and the mission of the churches. I draw on theories of organizational religious change and theories of transnationalism to explain the process of social change in Kerala, also addressing some limitations of these theories.

Mobilising Kinship as a Modern Network: Syrian Christian Family Associations

“…Grand events of family associations, such as annual meetings, funerals, family history launch and so on, become discursive grounds for male migrants to reconcile their places with their memories, and to connect their economic success with family values. They try to guard the moral economy of reciprocity within extended kin networks to school the social life of the second generation of migrants (Osella & Osella, 2009), while Kurien (2014) demonstrates how Christian migrants, and their foreign-born children, place new demands and expectations on home denominations. International migrants have become key figures in the transformation story of religious organisations.…”

Studying Religiosity and Spirituality: A Review of Macro, Micro, and Meso-Level Approaches

“…The remaining 28 publications are journal articles in: Religions (8), Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (7), Journal of Business Research (1), Social Indicatory Research (1), Socius (1), Transnational Social Review (1), Asian Journal of Social Science (1), Asia Pacific Viewpoint (1), Asian Journal of Tourism Research (1), Education about Asia (1), Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs (1), Journeys (1), Modern Asian Studies (1), Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe (1), and South East Asia Research (1). Combined, the meso-level studies in Asia included these countries: India (11), Thailand (5), Turkey (3), South Korea (3), China (3), Taiwan (2), Hong Kong (2), Indonesia (2), Russia (2), Syria (2), Cambodia (1), Israel (1), Kazakhstan (1), North Korea (1), Kyrgyzstan (1), Macedonia (1), Philippines (1), Singapore (1), and Ukraine (1): (Bornstein 2012;Bruntz and Schnedeck 2020;Ecklund et al 2019;Hann and Goltz 2010;Lewis 2014;Schedneck 2015Schedneck , 2017aSchedneck , 2017bSchedneck , 2018Schedneck , 2019Hamid 2013;Bromley 2011;Clarke 2013;Wong and Tien 2014;Cadge et al 2011;Huang 2016;Kurien 2014;Lawson and Cragun 2012;Lussier 2019;Schnabel et al 2018;Schnable 2016;Iyer et al 2014;Shahzad and Lee 2016;Yoder 2020;Aarfreedi 2019;Chadwin 2020;Dutta 2019;Hong 2018;Kim and Bang 2019;Reinke 2018;Robinson 2019;Yang 2018;Stroope 2012;Ecklund et al 2016;Noor 2010;…”