ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the question of how the relationship between religion and diaspora has been theorized. It seeks to provide a nuanced understanding of both the meaning of these categories and their relationship. The chapter contributes to new strands of scholarship that contribute to the dismantling of the dichotomous ways of thinking in the modern world by emphasizing the cross-fertilization between different diasporic cultures and religions as they interact. It extends the analytical gaze to the transnational flows of religious beliefs, practices and symbols, and not just the mobility of people. The chapter explores religious beliefs and practices moving, people moving, and their sometimes moving together. By examining the relationship between religion and diaspora, a number of specific approaches can be identified within the literature. The chapter presents these into four broad categories: religion prioritized over diaspora, diasporic religions, modernist approaches and multi-religious diasporas.
