School of Social Sciences & Psychology Symposium “Pentecostal Charismatic Christianitiesand Migration”

“Pentecostal Charismatic Christianities and Migration” Symposium

2 August 2019

Keynote speaker: Associate Professor Richard Vokes (University of Western Australia)

Over the past few decades, Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity (PCC) has exploded in the Global South and grown considerably in the Global North. Much of this growth is fuelled by networks of megachurches, the mobility of community leaders across diasporic networks, migration, and (mass and digital) media. While (traditionally) missionaries would travel in a North-to-South direction, more recently megachurches from the Global South have moved horizontally, across to other developing countries, and also made inroads into the Global North in efforts of reverse missionisation. Such attempts to missionise to locals in the Global North have been largely (though not wholly) unsuccessful and churches have turned their focus to migrants from the Global South. Many studies have shown that migrants, who were not attached to PCCs before migration, join churches in the diaspora as they offer them a home away from home. Meanwhile, diasporic churches also face difficulties keeping these (as well as second generation) migrants, since they may prefer local churches in an effort to integrate. This symposium will probe these themes, discussing the many connections between PCCs and migration.

Date: Friday, 2 August 2019
Time: 8.30 am - 5.30 pm
Where: Level 9, Parramatta City Campus, WSU 169 Macquarie St, Parramatta

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/pentecostal-and-charismatic-christianity-and-migration-symposium-tickets-64954862743