Migration, Immigration and Their Effects on Religion, Women And Essay

Migration, Immigration and Their Effects on Religion, Women And Minorities in Germany - Essay Example A country like the United States is considered to be a â€Å"melting pot† of different cultures and ethnic minorities. The same can also be said with the European Union with its free movement of labor. Higher wages attract workers, especially women to migrate with the idea of having a better and improved welfare. This paper aims to examine the effects of migration on women, religion and ethnic minorities. In this case, Germany shall be examined due to its immigration and refugee policy. It is also considered to have the largest foreign population in Europe. In fact, Germany’s foreign population has already exceeded seven million people for each of the last 10 years, not counting those migrants who have acquired German citizenship (Oezcan, 2004). Clearly, these factors pose challenges to the Germany and the European Union. Migration in Germany In European history, Germany was identified to have a long history of absorbing migrants from Europe: Lutherans from Austria, Huguenots from France, Jews from East and Central Europe. However, this openness through the years sparked debates and inquiries. Nationalists espoused a particularist approach to such issues which stressed on blood rather than territory or birth right. Those that migrated to Germany were never identified to be Germans. Such an approach was very much seen in Hitler's regime wherein Jews were considered to be a lesser race compared to full-blooded Germans. The particularist approach in Germany history was subdued by the need for economic recovery especially after World War II and German Unification. By the end of the late 1980s, foreigners were increasingly being blamed for taking jobs, housing and public services away from German citizens (Hollifield, 1997:48). There was a need to rebuild Germany after the damages it suffered after the war. With a relatively low population and workforce, it needed foreigners to work and rebuild infrastructures. Nonetheless, this was not seen by German citizens who were easily displaced and unable to receive benefits from the state. The Effects on Women, Religion and Ethnic Minorities In 2000, a new citizenship law came into force, the first such measure in nearly 90 years. For the very first time, children born to foreigners in Germany automatically receive German citizenship, provided one parent has been a legal resident for at least eight years (Oezcan, 2004). The demography and ethnic makeup of Germany has clearly become diversified. Data in 2000 shows that 41,300 children born of parents with non-Germany citizenship became German by birth; in 2001 the figure was 38,600. Without the new rule, these children would have appeared among the statistics on the foreign population and therefore would have increased the number of foreigners by about 80,000. With the continuous entry of temporary workers, refugees, asylum seekers from countries such as Poland, Russia, Czech Republic and Turkey, the society of Germany is bound to be characterized by diversity and dynamicity. For instance, the inflow of different culture greatly affects religion. If one would examine the history of Germany, it has been the refuge for exiled religious groups. Previously it was a Catholic country but with the rise of Protestantism and its variants, the German princes changed their alliance. Currently, the country still serves as a hodgepodge for different religions such Roman Catholic, Lutheran Protestantism, Orthodox Christianity. Immigration to Germany in past decades has seen the arrival of more foreign citizens and more religious communities. At the end of 2001, there