New monograph "The Untold Journey of the Nazarene Emigration from Yugoslavia to North America"

 

Aleksandra Djurić Milovanović, PhD, a Principal Research Fellow of the Institute for Balkan Studies SASA, published a new monograph entitled The Untold Journey of the Nazarene Emigration from Yugoslavia to North America, by prestigious international publisher Lexington Books. This book has been a result of extensive ethnographic and archival research on the emigration of Christian-Protestant religious community of the Nazarenes, who, due to their pacifism and conscientious objection, emigrated en masse from Yugoslavia to North America during the 20th century. Aleksandra conducted field-research in the state of Ohio, where the largest number of the Nazarene diaspora (in America known under the name of the Apostolic Christian Church – Nazarean) from Yugoslavia is present, and conducted archival research in the Virginia Historical Society Archives in Richmond and in the Archives of Serbia and Yugoslavia. The monograph focuses on the broader issues of reasons for emigration and the role of religion and religious communities in the processes of migration and integration into a new environment. The history of the emigration of the multi-ethnic religious minority of the Yugoslav Nazarenes is viewed through the prism of their oral history and archival documents related to prison sentences, including numerous examples of Nazarenes who were sentenced to serve in the Barren Island (Goli otok). The book chronologically presents their departure, their stay in refugee camps in Italy and Austria, the role of the World Council of Churches in the emigration process, their departure to America and the transformations occurring in the new communities they have joined. The example of Nazarene migration represents an interesting case study of the hitherto unexplored Yugoslav diaspora in America, which in the context of contemporary migration dynamics across the Globe, provides better understanding on the role of religion in the processes of integration and development of transnational and supranational networks based on religion.

More information on the book can be found on the following website