An Anthropological Approach To Diaspora Missiology

Abstract:

The discipline of anthropology has, throughout much of its short history, been interested in the migration, adaptation, and identity of peoples. Throughout much of the 1970s and 1980s anthropologists produced a plethora of ethnographic works dealing with ethnicity, inter-ethnic relations, and ethnic identity. However, beginning in the 1990s the focus began to turn towards the study of diaspora communities and the transnational connections these communities often maintained with “home.” In this paper, I examine ways in which anthropology can contribute to our understanding of diaspora missiology, and I argue that the study of the religious dimensions of diaspora communities can create a common interest, and even a partnership, between anthropologists and missiologists.

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Keywords:

missiology, diaspora, displaced, ethnography, anthropology