Introduction: General Description of the Study, Key Issues, and Provisional Conclusions

This introductory chapters illustrates aims and contents of the multidisciplinary study "Migrants and Religious Belongings", and provides some provisional conclusions. Despite the worldwide dramatic spread of religious-based discriminations, persecutions, and conflicts, both official data and academic literature have underestimated their role as a root cause of contemporary migrations. This multidisciplinary study aims to overcome this gap. Through an unprecedented collection of theoretical analysis and original empirical evidence, it provides unique data and insights on the role of religion in the trajectories of asylum seekers and migrants – from the analysis of the religious geography of sending countries to the role of spirituality as a factor of resilience and adaptation. By enhancing both academic and political debate on these issues, this study offers the possibility of regaining awareness of the close link between religious freedom and the quality of democracy.