Negotiating the Sacred: the lived religion of Eritrean newcomers and their process of integration in the Netherlands

This research analysed the data gathered from ten interviews with Eritrean newcomers living in Amsterdam on the relation between their experiences of lived religion and the experience of their process of integration in the Netherlands. The narratives reflect the participants’ attempts to combine their religious worlds, which are one of the few things they brought from Eritrea, with their new lives in their newly found place of residence. The narratives provide rich examples of their willingness to negotiate the ‘rules of religion’ with ‘the rules of the host culture’. Finally, suggestions for the helping professions and care providers of newcomers’ service will be offered.