This article examines how Christian activists in Norway engage with asylum seekers and how these activists perceive suggested guidelines for missionary work. Using a case study approach, this article shows how missionaries act as agents of change: for example by hastening conversions or by offering diaconal services that may eventually lead to conversions. Furthermore, I will argue that even though missionaries do not specifically use the language of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they are nevertheless influenced by discussions of such rights. This case study shows how specific worldviews and images of asylum seekers shape missionaries' priorities and strategies, as well as their attitudes to mission guidelines. I argue that further studies on Christian proselytisation and human rights need to take into account religious worldviews, and use the discussion of ethics as a possible common ground for debates on missionary work within a human rights framework. © 2016 Norwegian Centre for Human Rights.

Proselytisation Norway human rights Asylum seeker reception centres missionaries mission

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