Asylum and Nonreligion

This open access Palgrave Pivot explores the experiences of nonreligious asylum seekers in Northern Europe. While religious persecution is often cited as a reason for seeking asylum, nonbelievers also face significant persecution in their home countries due to their lack of religious affiliation. Despite this, their experiences are frequently overlooked in academic discussions, and asylum assessment centers have been slow to develop frameworks that address their unique challenges. Drawing on in-depth qualitative research from Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands, this book provides a comprehensive examination of the challenges nonbelievers face, as well as the opportunities they create as agents within the system. Emotions offer an analytical window into the world of nonbelievers, highlighting their desperation and innovative practices of evidence creation. Throughout the book, the logics of credibility assessment are critically explored, revealing the cultural chasm between assessors and nonreligious claimants.

This book is open access, which means that you have free and unlimited access Offers an innovative perspective on the pathways of nonreligious asylum seekers Explains the unique emotional challenge of the nonreligious Presents a timely and urgent topic in the context of current global refugee crisis

Autorentext

Ben Laws is Research Associate in Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, UK. He is the author of Caged Emotions (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022).

Inhalt

1. An Introduction to Nonreligious Asylum Seekers.- 2. Portraits.- 3. The Atheist 'Converts'.- 4. Evidence-hearing and Evidence-making.- 5. Emotions.- 6. Reasons for Hope, Reasons to Doubt.