Mission and Migration: Epistemological Tension in Two Research Fields
In this article, I argue that the research fields of migration and mission navigate similar tensions between normative interests and descriptive categories. With its biblical legacy, mission is actualized in a variety of ways within the contemporary paradigm of mission everywhere and for every Chris...
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/5/587 |
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| author | Astrid Krabbe Trolle |
| author_facet | Astrid Krabbe Trolle |
| author_sort | Astrid Krabbe Trolle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this article, I argue that the research fields of migration and mission navigate similar tensions between normative interests and descriptive categories. With its biblical legacy, mission is actualized in a variety of ways within the contemporary paradigm of mission everywhere and for every Christian. In the field of mission, a history of colonialization and de-colonialization has resulted in disciplinary struggles over the content and inclusiveness of mission as a scientific category. In the field of migration, political interests related to nation-state regimes often influence research, resulting in several migration scholars pushing back and placing their analytical object—the migrant—as a suffering subject in need of protection. However, tensions between the notions of prescriptive/descriptive and political/ethical produce interesting concepts, and one of them is reverse mission. Applying reverse mission to the case study of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and Denmark, I conclude that different forms of mission (missionary discipleship and domestic mission) are a powerful <i>leit motif</i> for global church work. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-653d2bc48c414a479c749e853b1be3eb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj-art-653d2bc48c414a479c749e853b1be3eb2025-08-20T03:47:57ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442025-05-0116558710.3390/rel16050587Mission and Migration: Epistemological Tension in Two Research FieldsAstrid Krabbe Trolle0Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen, 2300 Copenhagen, DenmarkIn this article, I argue that the research fields of migration and mission navigate similar tensions between normative interests and descriptive categories. With its biblical legacy, mission is actualized in a variety of ways within the contemporary paradigm of mission everywhere and for every Christian. In the field of mission, a history of colonialization and de-colonialization has resulted in disciplinary struggles over the content and inclusiveness of mission as a scientific category. In the field of migration, political interests related to nation-state regimes often influence research, resulting in several migration scholars pushing back and placing their analytical object—the migrant—as a suffering subject in need of protection. However, tensions between the notions of prescriptive/descriptive and political/ethical produce interesting concepts, and one of them is reverse mission. Applying reverse mission to the case study of the Catholic Church in the Philippines and Denmark, I conclude that different forms of mission (missionary discipleship and domestic mission) are a powerful <i>leit motif</i> for global church work.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/5/587reverse missiondomestic missionmigrationCatholic ChurchPhilippines |
| spellingShingle | Astrid Krabbe Trolle Mission and Migration: Epistemological Tension in Two Research Fields Religions reverse mission domestic mission migration Catholic Church Philippines |
| title | Mission and Migration: Epistemological Tension in Two Research Fields |
| title_full | Mission and Migration: Epistemological Tension in Two Research Fields |
| title_fullStr | Mission and Migration: Epistemological Tension in Two Research Fields |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mission and Migration: Epistemological Tension in Two Research Fields |
| title_short | Mission and Migration: Epistemological Tension in Two Research Fields |
| title_sort | mission and migration epistemological tension in two research fields |
| topic | reverse mission domestic mission migration Catholic Church Philippines |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/16/5/587 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT astridkrabbetrolle missionandmigrationepistemologicaltensionintworesearchfields |