Abstract

The article examines the solidarity activism promoted by migrants in the religious sphere, expressed «from below» through the organisation of alternative ways of responding to social problems. This issue, although it has received little attention in the literature, is one of the most interesting perspectives for the analysis of the relationship between Italian society and migrant minorities. We, therefore, aim to fill this gap by discussing how migrants’ religious centres have become territorial hubs where to cope with a wide range of needs that derive from the experience of migration and are linked to the processes of settlement and integration: a role that we term as «welfare from below». After defining a theoretical framework of the theme, the article presents a comparative analysis of different case studies selected from a large research project aimed at investigating the new religious pluralism in Lombardy. We then discuss the variety of solidarity activities observed and identify three ways of welfare provision: mutualism, mission and mediation. Finally, we examine the main challenges that migrant minority religions encounter in promoting aid and support activities, as well as we discuss whether and how their solidarity activism is a resource for local institutions and social cohesion.