Through an ethnographic analysis of local "politics of recognition", i.e. how some churches fight for recognition and interact with mainstream Christianity, this project explores the role of religion in African diasporas and their capacity to help reconfigure the European religious heritage, influence national and regional identities within the continent, and establish connexions between Europe and Africa, but also across Europe.

We propose a comparison of three national settings with a strong African presence (Portugal, United Kingdom and the Netherlands), each one with its own colonial past and its own Christian traditions. We propose the following research themes:

• Religion as resource.
• Religion as a space for identity formation.
• Interactions.
• The politics of religious encounters and recognitions.
• Religion, memory and identity.
• New exclusions and inclusions within churches.

In order to address them, the following case-studies are to be undertaken: Kimbanguist and Tokoist churches in Lisbon and their relation with Catholic communities; the Celestial Church of Christ parish in Amsterdam, and the Redeemed Christian Church of God based in London. These case-studies will be put into dialogue in order to build an empirical framework that will provide the comparative bases for a common theoretical discussion.