Abstract
The three papers (of which only two appear in this issue) dedicated to the theme “Migrations, culture shock and religion” necessarily bring the old question of the relationship between the social identity and religious reference of actors to the forefront. The use actors make of their religious referent is never dissociable from the social position they occupy and the mobility strategy they adopt. Beyond the overly simplified paradigm which postulates the decline of the religious referent accompanying the transition from “tradition” to “modernity”, contemporary situations seem to indicate a renewed and complex use of a religious referent always associated with community membership.