a practical theological exploration of church engagement with people seeking asylum in the UK
The University of Birmingham
2009
Ph.D.
The University of Birmingham
2009
Asylum seeking provokes strong responses in political and social discourse. Churchesin the UK are supporting those seeking asylum in a variety of ways. There has beenlittle critical theological reflection on these practices to date and this thesis presentsfragments to fill this gap. Situated methodologically within the field of PracticalTheology, it explores the encounters between churches and people seeking asylum bycreating a new interdisciplinary conversation between Forced Migration Studies,Biblical Studies and Theology. Asylum seeking in the UK is set within the context ofthe global migration-asylum nexus and a pervasive 'ecology of fear' is recognised as asignificant underlying reason for the difficulties experienced by asylum seekers. Twodistinct strands of biblical response to strangers are then identified. The first,exemplified in Ezra-Nehemiah, represents responses made from within an ecology offear. The second, exemplified in Ruth and the pericope of the Syro-Phoenician Woman,represents responses made from within an alternative 'ecology of faith'. This thesisargues that understanding the ecology of fear and performing an ecology of faithchallenges churches to continue, deepen and alter a range of their current practices.