Pentecostal migrant entrepreneurs doing identity work: complying and contesting faith and gendered neoliberal subjectivities in Britain

Villares-Varela, Maria and Sheringham, Olivia (2025) Pentecostal migrant entrepreneurs doing identity work: complying and contesting faith and gendered neoliberal subjectivities in Britain. In, Clara, Margaca, Walmsley, Andreas and Knörr, Helena (eds.) Immigrant Entrepreneurship, Religion, and Ethnicity: : Cases from Europe, Africa, and Asia. 1 ed. Taylor & Francis. (doi:10.4324/9781003489214).

Abstract

This chapter critically examines how migrant entrepreneurs who are of the Pentecostal faith shape their identities while navigating their entrepreneurial journeys in the context of neoliberal Britain. Pentecostalism is the fastest-growing Christian denomination in the UK and is especially popular among migrant communities. Research on migrant entrepreneurship has generally overlooked the role of religion in explaining the motivations, strategies, and outcomes of entrepreneurship, particularly for migrant entrepreneurs. Moreover, studies looking at the intersection of gender and religion in this context have been insufficient. Drawing on fieldwork vignettes featuring two of our research participants, we illustrate how women entrepreneurs, while adhering to traditional family structures where collective strategies align with the husband’s/patriarch's goals, emphasise education and self-improvement, enabling them to adapt and succeed in their entrepreneurial endeavours. For male business owners, entrepreneurship allows them to reconcile their Christian faith with new forms of hybrid masculinities within the household. Both male and female entrepreneurs rely on their religious identity and values to become successful in the context of neoliberalism.

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Contributors

Author: Maria Villares-Varela

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