5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

The migration of numerous species has existed on the planet since before the appearance of humans. However, only humans have transformed their natural environments to create obstacles that impede the migratory flows of other humans, or force them to cross increasingly inhospitable places in order to reduce their movements. This has turned deserts (such as Arizona), seas (such as the Mediterranean) and jungles (such as the Darien) into immense graveyards.

As a result, people migrating today must face more dangerous itineraries, traveling longer distances and staying for longer periods of time in highly vulnerable conditions. In many parts of the world, bottlenecks have been created where people must remain for indefinite periods of time, unable to reach their destination or return to the context from which they are fleeing, surviving in conditions of entrapment. This migratory entrapment reinforces the precariousness, vulnerability and uncertainty of those on the move.

In this session, we are interested in discussing how religious beliefs, rituals, communities and institutions are mobilized in the journeys and sites of entrapment to cope with uncertainty and adversity. Among other aspects, we consider the construction of migratory networks based on religious affinities, religious practices to seek comfort and protection, religious beliefs to confer meaning to the suffering experienced, and healing practices to recover or preserve health during displacement.