Melissa Borja is assistant professor of American culture at the University of Michigan. She is a senior advisor for the Religion and Resettlement Project and is currently writing a book (under contract, Harvard University Press) about the impact of refugee policies on Hmong religious life.
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What Faith-Based Groups Often Miss in Refugee Resettlement
Religion can be a source of resilience and strength for individual refugees as well as the refugee community as a whole. Mosques, temples, and other sites of worship and ritual practice foster rich social networks, generous mutual aid, and meaningful forms of spiritual and cultural connection. Religious institutions, long recognized as pillars of ethnic community life, are especially vital for refugees who have experienced the traumas of war, forced migration, and resettlement.