The Catholic Ethic and the Spirit of Global Modernities. Global Catholicism in a Danish Transnational Context

CESGM is the first comparative, in-depth study of the growing Catholic populations in Denmark and their ties to the wider world. Immigration and cultural integration have been at the top of the political agenda for decades, with almost automatic reference to Islam and Muslims. But in today’s Denmark, there are at least as many immigrants with a Christian as a Muslim background. A large proportion of these immigrants are Catholics, but there is virtually no research on Catholicism in Denmark. CESGM will unearth how Catholicism is lived in the movement in and out of Denmark and analyze how Catholic faith and practice are connected to a Catholic-inspired ethic that influences attitudes to morality, work, body and identity. The study will be based on five case studies of Polish, Middle Eastern, Nigerian (West African), Filipino and Spanish/Mexican minority groups and their national and transnational networks. Theoretically, the study will position globalization as a dialogue between ‘multiple modernities’, where cultural and religious notions play a significant role in interpretations of the modern project in a global age.