Music, Spirituality, and Community-Building Among War-Displaced Syrian Melkite Christians in Germany

This paper explores the role of religion in community-building and healing among the Syrian Melkites in Germany as they strive to overcome the atrocities of the war and displacement and rebuild their lives in exile. Drawing from Kenneth Pargament’s theory of religious coping during stressful life events (1997) and from recent scholarship on the relationship between religion and wellbeing among refugees and forced migrants (Dorais 2009; Ennser et al. 2018; Shubin 2012), I argue that faith and faith-based practices can support the moral and mental wellbeing of war-displaced Syrian Melkites by providing them with a sense of community, spiritual support, and coping mechanisms. Furthermore, I argue that the performance of musical and ritual practices of the Syrian Melkites are more than a religious need; rather, they are intertwined with a subculture strongly linked to a homeland from which these migrants have been uprooted and will help preserve their cultural identity.