International Conference “Religious Communities in the Age of Migration” in Kaunas

On October 24-25, 2019 the Vytautas Magnus University Research Cluster “Church Relations with State and Society in Lithuania” invited a broad international group of researchers to the conference on the religious communities in the age of migration. The goal of the conference was to explore and discus the religious history and contemporary processes of the Catholic Church, religious communities (such as Jews, Muslims, Catholics, Lutherans and Orthodox), migration, and diasporas.

Researchers from various research fields: religion, theology, history, political science, sociology, cultural science, public communication, and art history representing different countries (Belarus, Finland, Hungary, Holland, US and Lithuania) gathered to the conference.

Dr. Ilona Strumickienė

Two researchers from the Adolfas Damušis Democracy Studies Center of National Library of Lithuania participated in the conference. Dr. Ilona Strumickienė, director of the Center, in her presentation “Returning Migrants and Their Influence on Lithuania’s Social and Religious Life” talked about re-emigration processes and the religious influences and expressions brought back by re-emigrants. In presentation “Listening to ‘the Words of God’ on Lithuanian-American Radio,” Dr. Ina Ėmužienė analyzed various forms of religion in the American radio media and its different expressions and impact on the Lithuanian-American community.

Photo credit: Ina Ėmužienė