ASYL och KONVERSION Asylsökande konvertiters förståelse av sin konversionsprocess

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse asylum seeking converts understanding of their conversion process based on church context, specifically within the realm of evangelical church and theology. Through the method of content analysis this essay analyses six qualitative interviews done with converts from two Islamic traditions to Swedish free church Christianity. The essay discusses the results through the lens of Lewis Rambos seven-phase theoretical concept of conversion. The important results given by this study shows that the first contact with other Christians in a new country, which creates a new community serving as an interpretive framework for their lives, triumphs the question of the theological perception for the conversion. Also, the results shows that intellectual understanding of the doctrines of faith is less important relative to the conversion process best described by the words touched, taught, and transformed. Though, the evangelical theology is not found explicitly within the converts story, it is implicitly emphasized as the converts express the importance of the Bible, Jesus as Savior, and the local church as their new community.