Some Findings from an Overview of the Studies of the Lay Migrant Community in Hanoi

Abstract

According to the 2019 census’ results, Vietnam’s domestic migrating people amount to about 6.4 million people, of which Hanoi is one of the 12 provinces and cities with a positive net migration rate, including a section of Catholic believers. According to the Archdiocese of Hanoi, just counting the number of parishioners gathering and partaking in religious activities in the Catholic Family Association away from home in Hanoi, there are more than 10,000 people from different dioceses. Research on the community of parishioners who migrated to Hanoi from other provinces contributes to clarifying the picture of socioeconomic life in the capital with the contributions of migrants, including Catholic migrants. It also shows similarities and differences in adapting to a different social environment of migrants. Up to now, the Catholic migrant community, including the one in Hanoi, has been studied from many angles. Based on an overview of a good deal of research on this community of migrants, the article points out some open issues that need to be studied.