Globalization, Migration

and Identity

Kierston Kreider

MD500/Winter 2020

Fuller Theological Seminary

 Table of Contents:

1. Introduction…………………………………………………………3

2. Body…………………………………………………………………4

2.1. Biblical Reflections …………………………..……………4

2.2. Contemporary Reflections…………………………………7

2.3. Applications for the Church……………..…………………9

3. Conclusion…………………………………………………………..11

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Introduction

In this paper I will examine the interaction between migration, identity and globalization. Migration
has always existed and has shaped every culture and identity. Migration brings exposure to new things
which challenge our current worldview. Globalization has both amplified and accelerated these encounters
and interactions on the world’s identity. Across the globe, people are going through identity crises as the
world rapidly changes around them. Throughout history, the church has played key roles in migration and
globalization, for both good and ill. The church has the responsibility to engage with globalization and
God’s work around the world.

I will begin with the Biblical perspective by looking at how migration played a fundamental role in the
development of Israel’s identity, Jesus’ life, and the Early church’s development. I will then examine the
contemporary environment of globalization and how it has been rapidly changing peoples’ and nations’
identities.

To begin, we will define our terms. First of all, migration. Migration refers to the movement of a
person or group of people from one location to another. This includes voluntary migration and migration
by force and involuntary. Migration, as we’ll see, has been a part of the human experience from the very
beginning. It has played an important role in the formation and transformation of individual, communal,
national, and even global identities.

Which leads to our second term, identity. Identity, according to the Cambridge dictionary, refers to
how an individual, community or nation distinguishes itself from others. Identity is an imaginative and
creative process of becoming, that is always temporarily placed within a context (Lewellen 2002, 90). An
inseparable part of identity is purpose. Human identity isn’t limited to being consumers as Economics
suggests, or to being players in society, nor is it bound to income levels, health conditions or education
level. Humanity has a God-given purpose for existence that goes beyond simply surviving to glorifying God
as His representatives on the Earth (Myers 2017, 71). Lewellen adds that Anthropology used to assume
that people’s identities were locked within that of their group or tribe. Today, this no longer holds true
as the barriers between people weaken and dissolve in globalization (Lewellen 2002, 35). This leads us to
our third term, globalization.

There have been countless attempts in every discipline to explain and define the phenomenon of
globalization. The oft used Buddhist parable of the blind scholars encountering an elephant portrays the
complexity and diversity in perspectives and understandings of globalization (Steger 2017, 14). Each scholar
attempts to define the part of the elephant that they touch thinking that they are describing the whole.

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But globalization is, “a complex and uneven dynamic linking the local (and the national and regional) to the
global – as well as the West to the East, and the North to the South.” (2017, 2). One buzzword that can
help define it is “hyper-connectivity”. In today’s world, everything is becoming increasingly connected,
including our identities. For example, Brazilian youth are saturated with North American culture through
YouTube and social media, which has been changing the local culture by shaping their aspirations.

Body

Biblical Reflections

Migration is a central element of the Bible as the medium through which God shaped and
preserved Israel’s and the church’s identity. Throughout the Bible, God uses migration to shape and mold
humanity’s identity and their understanding of His own identity. The commandment to populate the Earth
is found in the very first chapter of Genesis immediately after God created Adam and Eve (Genesis: 1:27-
28). To fulfill this command people had to migrate. Voluntary migration, like Abraham’s, was understood
as obeying God’s will and guidance (Genesis 12). Whereas forced migration, or exile, was also often
understood as God’s punishment for humanity’s unfaithfulness and sin as well as a call to return to their
unique identity (Jeremiah 2).

Regardless, as people move, their identity is transformed by their exposure to new ways of
thinking and understanding the world, and the more they move, the more complex their identities become
(Lewellen 2002, 35). God has used and still uses migration to transform identities, both through voluntary
and forced movement. This reveals God’s nature as the God of movement and motion, He’s not bound
to any place or people.

In chapter 11 of Genesis, humanity united, stopped migrating for fear of being spread across the
globe. Their goal was to build a name for themselves and to protect themselves, both acts of direct
rebellion against God (Genesis 11:4). Therefore, God forcefully caused them to migrate across the globe.
The very next chapter tells the story of Abram, a man that obeys God’s call to voluntarily migrate to an
unknown land (Yates 2005, 9). This migration was not only a physical movement to a new country, but a
transformation of Abram’s identity, shown in his new name, Abraham, and that of his descendants as
God’s chosen people. The rest of the book of Genesis tells the stories of the migrations of Abraham’s
offspring that shaped their identity as His covenantal people.

Genesis closes with the Israelites migrating to Egypt seeking asylum from the harsh drought. The
book of Exodus opens with their slavery and God’s fight for their freedom, resulting in another migration
back to Canaan. This migration again had a huge impact on their identity as a nation, from being slaves to

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be a holy nation elected by God to be His own covenantal people (2005, 9). Throughout the book of
Exodus, God shapes them into the strong nation that was able to ultimately conquer and rule the land
prepared for them. Through this process, God also established His identity as their Provider, Protector,
Guide, and King. This migration brought them into contact with many nations and cultures, each of which
impacted the Israelites in various ways. Often these foreign cultures were viewed as a threat and
connection with them was to be avoided, sometimes even punished by death. Nevertheless, these contacts
shaped Israel’s identity as God’s uniquely chosen nation (Deuteronomy 7:1).

Migration also played a huge part in the lives of many of the prophets, especially the ones before,
during and after the exiles to Assyria and Babylon. Their primary role was to remind Israel of its identity,
to repent and be faithful to God. When the people repeatedly ignored the prophets sent by God, He used
forceful migration to discipline them. As in every other migration, the identity, faith, and culture of Israel
changed. The pagan pressures surrounding them forced them to deeper and more intentional devotion,
Daniel is a perfect example of this. God used this time in enemy nations to begin revealing His missionary
nature and the universal implications of Israel’s faith (Hanciles 2008, 117). God chose to use this season
of Israel’s desolation, humiliation and suffering to reveal His global plan for salvation.

Isaiah played a major part in ministering God’s transitioning the Jewish people’s identity of being
the exclusive people of God to being inclusive of all nations. For example, Isaiah 43:10 adds “witnesses”
to the identity of Israel, implying that Gentiles could be brought into God’s people. But even more
unsettling was the changing revelation of God’s identity. Where Israel had always known and worshipped
God as All-Powerful, Isaiah proclaims Him as the Suffering Servant that would ultimately suffer and die for
all of humanity, not just for Israel (Isaiah 53) (Hanciles 2008, 118). As migrants in foreign nations, they
developed a deeper awareness of world events which caused their faith, understanding of God, and their
religious identity as the elect people to change.

The importance of migration in the formation of identity and faith is seen in God’s election of the
returning exiles as the “true remnant” (Jeremiah 24:4-7) rather than the population that had stayed behind
(Hanciles 2008, 118). This caused much conflict between the exiles and those that had remained, as seen
in the book of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 5). It is from the “true remnant” that returned from exile that revival
came to the people that remained in Jerusalem (Ezra 1:5). Nehemiah rebuilt the walls; Ezra rebuilt the
Temple and reestablished the Law and true worship. God revived the exiles, who revived the people that
stayed behind.

During this period of exile the center of the Jewish faith shifted away from the Temple that was
destroyed in Jerusalem to synagogues across the Babylonian empire. One of the consequences of this

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was the growth of missionary efforts to reach the Gentiles of the foreign cities in which they found
themselves. Jeremiah exhorted the people going into exile to truly pursue the well-being of the cities in
which they would live (Jeremiah 24). Even after the exiles returned and rebuilt and reestablished the
Temple cult, the missionary heart of God was taking root in theirs. This can be seen in the appearance of
groups like the Pharisees and other groups that committed their lives to converting Gentiles. It is out of
this group that the Apostle Paul came (Hanciles 2008, 119). It is in this context of tension between the
centrality of the Temple in Jerusalem and the synagogue, that Jesus built His ministry and it also served as
the foundation upon which the Early Church developed its understanding of missions.

Jesus was no stranger to migration. The incarnation of Jesus in and of itself was an act of migration.
He experienced the pain of humbling Himself (Philippians 2:7), of being a stranger and foreigner. As an
infant, his family fled to Egypt because the King was trying to kill Him. Upon their return to Israel, His
family lived in Nazareth, a town of such little significance that many scholars debate upon its actual
existence. The region of Galilee in which Nazareth is located was a diverse region of constant migrant
movement and had been for centuries, so much so that Isaiah described it as “Galilee of the Nations”
(Isaiah 9:1) (Hanciles 2008, 119). Many of Jesus’ parables and teachings reflect this atmosphere of constant
mobility “people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God”
(Luke 13:29). This context of Jesus and his disciples had great impact on their identities and the credibility
of their ministry. They were nobodies from nowhere.

The Early church rapidly gained the reputation of being troublemakers “all over the world” (Acts
17:6). Most of the trouble they were causing had to do with them shifting away from Judaism and began
forming a new identity as “Christians”. At the same time, there was considerable reluctance of the Jewish
believers to move beyond Jerusalem or its culture. The rapid and far-reaching impact of the church
indicates the unusual mobility and social influence of the Christian community. Migration and mission were
central to the life and development of its faith (Hanciles 2008, 121). Early in the book of Acts we see that
confinement to a fixed culture and immobilization in cultural tradition challenged rather than promoted
God’s mission. Ephesians 2 reveals the goal and purpose for Christ, to reconcile all cultural divisions into
“one new humanity.” Again, we see God use forced and voluntary migration through persecution to shape
His people’s identity and to fulfill His plans on the Earth.

Paul’s multicultural and multinational identity resembles the complexity of modern identities. His
deep connection to both his Hebrew and Roman identities (Acts 13:32) gave him the unique ability to
translate the gospel message into both cultures and contexts (Hanciles 2008, 123). He modeled the
flexibility and fluency of a “hybrid” identity by taking full advantage of the good in both cultures, the

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education and privilege. At the same time, he considered both cultures and identities as rubbish when
compared to his identity in Christ that is over and transforms all others (Philippians 3:8-10). The hybridity
of Paul’s identity shares many similarities with modern, globalized people.

Contemporary Reflections

There are many parallels that can be drawn between the Biblical story and contemporary
situations. The basic motives for migrating are very similar, economic scarcity and opportunities, political
oppression, religious mission and persecution, etc. In the same way that migration has always transformed
cultures, faiths, and identities in the past, it continues to do so today. One of the phenomena of
globalization is that these transformations and changes are happening without migration. Through the
hyper-connectivity brought about by modern technologies, cross-cultural interactions take place
effortlessly. The global ease of travel and trade have transformed the global market by labor and wealth
becoming increasingly mobile. For example, India’s largest economic sector is its service sector, which
mostly serves the US.

Around the 16th century, Europe, and later the US, began to build empires that controlled most
of the world economically, politically, militarily, culturally and even spiritually. Over the past couple
decades, the US has rose as an uncontested superpower and the largest economy. However, that is
beginning to shift as a couple of contesters have begun to arise, primarily China and Russia. This is not to
say that the US has been weakening as much as it says about the strengthening of the rest. As the rest
gets stronger and richer, and confidence in the West declines, the power dynamics in trade negotiations
have been changing, countries are finding the courage to stand up against the West and even defy the US
(Zakaria 2012, 4). This current trend of equalizing power dynamics has also impacted the cultural influence
of the West over the rest of the world. Some examples of this are the rise of Korean and Japanese pop
culture across the globe. Youth in both the West, South, East and North are obsessed with Korean music,
tv series, and language.

Migration in search of economic opportunities is not new, but it has increased exponentially as
more nations enter the global economy. For most of history, it was only the very powerful that didn’t live
in poverty and insecurity, everyone else was poor (Myers 2017, 82). The discovery of wealth creation
radically transformed this state of the world. Industrialization and capitalism gave everyone a path to being
wealthy. Given that both started in the West, everything Western became the standard and model in
developing countries. This also made the West the target of economic opportunity seekers wanting to
build better lives for themselves and their families, resulting in the exaltation of the Western lifestyle and
culture as the model of life to be achieved. The American Dream became desirable across the globe.

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 A key aspect of economic opportunities is their effect on identity. As Fukuyama observes,
“Economic distress is often perceived by individuals more as a loss of identity than as a loss of resources.”
(Fukuyama 2018, 94). Therefore, economic opportunities are more than chances to get rich, they are
ways to restore human dignity to people. As many countries have made the necessary changes that allowed
them to access the global markets, nearly 2 billion people were added to the global economy. This caused
it to triple over the past couple decades while global trade has increased 267% (Zakaria 2012, 21). At the
same time, while economic wealth has increased, people’s identities across the globe have been changing
with it, for good or for ill.

The accelerated economic and social change caused by globalization has greatly diversified
societies. Recently, more minorities and marginalized people have begun demanding recognition from the
oppressive majority. The groups that have enjoyed privilege are feeling threatened by the attention the
oppressed groups have been receiving, which has been fueling much of the nationalist and tribalist
movements (Fukuyama 2018, 92). Western societies are splintering into pieces based on ever-narrower
identities, which prevents society to work together for its own betterment. Technology has empowered
the voiceless, angry masses voices that can be heard across the globe. Fukuyama warns that, “Unless
[societies] can work their way back to more universal understandings of human dignity, they will doom
themselves—and the world—to continuing conflict.” (93). This is what the Gospel power of reconciliation
and oneness in Christ can offer that the world can’t.

America has historically done a great job of assimilating migrants into its economy. In many ways,
America has succeeded at creating a nation capable of uniting the immensely diverse population from all
corners of the earth under one national identity. Zakaria observes that their openness and flexibility are
the things that have led to the extended success and prosperity of the US. At the same time, he also warns
against the current nationalist and exclusivist trends attempting to isolate and divide American society
(Zakaria 2012, 16). The better assimilated immigrants are, the healthier society as a whole is; poor
assimilation on the other hand creates a burden, and even a security threat, on the state and society
(Fukuyama 2018, 108). Therefore, assimilation is not just a matter of hospitality but also has economic
and even safety implications, as seen in many parts of Europe that has been struggling to assimilate the
vast numbers of refugees that have flooded it.

An important part of the immigration dialogue that is not often talked about is the decreasing
population in the West. Western birth rates have steadily decreased to below the replacement level of
2.1 babies per woman (Eberstadt and Groth 2009). This, combined with the “Baby Boomer” generation
leaving the work force, has caused a drastic decrease in labor. Surprisingly, many Asian countries are

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actually in worse situations with birth rates well below 2.1 (Zakaria 2012, 213). One way of reversing this
trend is to add immigrants to the labor force. Immigrants joining the work force makes economic sense
as the increase in workers helps pay for the pensions of the aging population. At the same time, the
innovation that results from immigration is overwhelming. In the US, most doctorates in the sciences are
being awarded to international students (2012, 215). The future of the West and parts of Asia depends
greatly on their ability to assimilate immigrants into their society.

Current trends towards nationalism and regionalism across the globe could have drastic economic
implications for everyone. Nationalism unites the local populations against immigrants, feeding the conflict
that the discomfort of assimilating them brings. Everything foreign is viewed with suspicion and as a threat
to their nation. Sadly, many of these same sentiments have infiltrated the church. Despite the economic
benefits immigration brings, these narratives breed division and fear rather than unity and assimilation.

Rather than viewing cross-cultural encounters as opportunities to learn and grow, they are viewed
as threats to the ethnic-majority’s cultural identity (Fukuyama 2018, 96). While exposure to other cultures
can feel threatening, they could also be viewed as opportunities to grow and improve. Two things that
immigrants bring to the economy is hunger and energy. While Westerners become comfortable and less
willing to work, immigrants have a hunger for success and an energy that are fruits of years of lack (Zakaria
2012, 215). They tend to value the opportunities the West offers more than the Westerners that take
them for granted.

Applications for the Church

The implications of globalization and migration for the Church are many. Globalization has
transformed the religious landscape of the world. A fundamental understanding that must change in the
churches of the West is that they are no longer the center of Christianity. The largest concentrations of
believers have shifted to Africa, Asia and Latin America. Brazil and South Korea have the fastest growing
evangelical churches, not the US (Zakaria 2012, 97). Because of the complex global realities of globalization
Christians have the mandate to rethink its stewardship of the Gospel as a global message and faith (Yates
2005, 7).

Contextualization must be done in every culture, including the West. Western Christians must
let go of the past notions of living in Christendom and recognize that Western culture is not Christian.
There must be a return to the attitude of the 2nd century church that understood their temporary earthly
citizenship and identity as secondary to their eternal heavenly one. “For them, any foreign country is a
motherland, and any motherland is a foreign land.” (Hanciles 2008, 124). With this mindset change, the

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West can better commit to the Lausanne affirmation that Christianity is above any political or national
identity (Yates 2005, 5). Contextualizing the Gospel, therefore, recognizes the importance of local cultures
while simultaneously affirming that the Gospel is over and transforms all cultures.

Migration is a fundamental part of our identity as believers. One of the contemporary motivations
for Christian migration is missions to the West. Missions is no longer just a Western activity, rather
missionaries are being sent “from everywhere, to everywhere” (Myers 2017). The fruit of this is that the
fastest growing churches in many Western countries are Ghanaian, Nigerian, Korean, Hispanic and
Chinese. In fact, Britain’s largest megachurches are African (Myers 2017, 114). These migrants are bringing
much revival and energy to the dying churches, or that are already dead in some cases. This is a primary
reason for Western churches to embrace immigrants.

For the Western church to truly embrace immigrants, they must regain the fundamental doctrine
of the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5). This is one of the core commitments and affirmations of
the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization. Practically this means that the Missio Dei is a calling
for the global Church to work together as co-laborers to train and empower all believers for the ministry
of evangelism (Yates 2005, 4). This also implies that the US must break the paternalistic mindset along
with the messiah complex, to view the rest of the world as equal shareholders and agents in the Body of
Christ. Christianity is not a religion of the West, but is as much African as it is North American or
European (Kim and Kim 2016, Kindle Location 259 of 1394). Therefore, diversity gives a fuller and more
accurate picture of the Kingdom of God and of our identity in it.

Ultimately, globalization is a call to discipleship. Jesus’ last words to His disciples were to go to
the ends of the Earth, that call remains. As globalization brings more awareness of the global identity of
the church, the Church needs leaders that are able to engage with the global reality and develop future
generations to embrace the diversity (Yates 2005, 7). Local churches and denominations must recognize
that the Gospel is not exclusive to their particular expression or tradition, but that it transcends and
includes all cultures. Romans 2:14-16 indicates that every culture has the fundamental revelation of Divinity
upon which the Gospel can be translated and appropriated. In other words, the Word becomes flesh in
every context (John 1:1). The result of this is that every tribe, tongue, nation, and identity are able to
recognize each other in Christ (Hanciles 2008, 123). This is the beauty of diversity in the Body of Christ,
where God reconciled all of humanity into One new humanity.

Conclusion

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 In conclusion, migration has been an important part of human history. From the beginning of time,
people have migrated around the world fulfilling God’s command in Genesis 1:27-28. Migration always
exposes people to other cultures, environments and situations that change and transform their identities.
We saw how this was true throughout the Bible and is still true today. There are many similarities between
the migrations of the past and those today, though recent years have seen a significant increase across the
globe.

Globalization has radically transformed people’s identities by connecting all corners of the earth
to each other. This exposure is something that previously was only possible through migration. The
economic growth globalization has brought has increased the migration of opportunity seekers. This
blending of cultures has made identities more flexible and hybrids where identities are no longer bound
to geographic locations, tribes, etc.

The church has the responsibility to engage globalization with the Gospel. Christians in the Global
South are viewing the West as a mission field rather than the center of Christianity. Through these
migrants, revival is coming to Europe and the US. Just as God used the returning exiles to revive the faith
of the people of Israel, I believe that God is using immigrants to revive the West.

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https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/europe/2007-05-01/healthy-old-europe.

Fukuyama, Francis. 2018. “Against Identity Politics: The New Tribalism and the Crisis of Democracy.” In

Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment.

Hanciles, Jehu. 2008. “A Wandering Aramean Was My Ancestor.” In Beyond Christendom: Globalization,

African Migration, and the Transformation of the West, 113–25. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis.

Kim, Sebastian C. H., and Kirsteen Kim. 2016. Christianity as a World Religion: An Introduction. SECOND

EDITION. London; New York: Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PIc.

Lewellen, Ted C. 2002. The Anthropology of Globalization: Cultural Anthropology Enters the 21st Century.

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Myers, Bryant L. 2017. Engaging Globalization: The Poor, Christian Mission, and Our Hyperconnected World.

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Publishing Group.

Steger, Manfred B. 2017. Globalization: A Very Short Introduction. Fourth edition. Very Short Introductions

86. Oxford, United Kingdom; New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Yates, Josh. 2005. “Globalization and The Gospel: Rethinking Mission in The Contemporary World.” In,

30:25. Lausanne Occasional Paper. Pattaya, Thailand: Lausanne Committee for World

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Zakaria, Fareed. 2012. The Post-American World: Release 2.0. New York: W. W. Norton.

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