Religion and post-migration aspirations: Ethiopian migrants in Canada

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper explores the ways in which, as part of their settlement process, Ethiopian immigrants in Canada (1) draw on religious beliefs, practices, and communities; (2) how they employ the teachings of their faith to advance their well-being; and (3) how these practices pattern their resilience and frame how they articulate – and the methods by which they ultimately achieve – their post-migration aspirations. Findings underscore how religion fashions transnational belonging that allows them to maintain multi-stranded social relations, and how this in turn shapes, maintains, and informs their post-migratory lives. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for social work practice.