THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT CULTURAL CAUSES OF MIGRATION - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The main causes of migration are religious persecution, language, customs and traditions, the possibilities of accessing education and the dichotomy between rural and urban world.

Migrations have been a constant since the beginning of time. Already the first nomadic peoples traveled from one place to another without permanently settling anywhere.

Over time societies tended to settle first in villages, and then larger cities, until nation-states were created, with their defined borders.

The cultural causes of migration are just one more set of the many reasons that motivate human beings to migrate. There are also political, socio-economic, military causes, among others.

The 5 main cultural causes of migration

1- religion

Religion has been present in the history of humanity since its inception. For great periods it was intimately linked with power.

It has been the cause of numerous internal and internal conflicts, and a pretext for some of the greatest persecutions and massacres that have taken place.

This forced millions of people to migrate in different historical periods. Even today religion is a determining factor when choosing a destination in case of migration.

In many cases, it is the very reason for migration, as there are persecuted religious minorities in some countries of the world.

2- The language

Language as a cultural cause will determine the destination of migrations. In this way, a Latin American emigrant will prefer to migrate to Spain rather than to Germany due to the linguistic factor.

It may also happen that a person decides to migrate because he wants to learn a language other than the native one, and considers that the best way to learn it is by developing in the region where that language is spoken.

This dynamic was appreciated in the last years of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. It is a very important factor that leads to the division of the world into several linguistic blocks: English, Spanish and Arabic.

These three languages, along with Chinese and Hindi variants, are spoken by more than half of the world's population.

3- Customs and traditions

In accordance with the previous point, not only the language but the set of traditions and customs of a place determine the volume of migrations.

Countries or regions that are more closed in on themselves will tend to receive less migration.

The most multicultural and historically diverse areas will receive a much greater amount of migrations and will be the cause and consequence of these, since the mere multiculturalism will be the reason to migrate to those places.

4- Education

The democratization of education in many countries throughout the 20th century was built on migratory movements.

The prestige and fame of some universities attracts students from other cities (internal migrations) or from other countries (migrations abroad).

The possibility of receiving higher quality training convinces many parents to send their children to universities or schools outside their original environment.

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This cause intensified after the Industrial Revolution, when larger urban centers were created.

These cities, much more developed, offered better job opportunities and social advancement.

Rural areas were dedicated to agriculture and livestock, and resources were more limited. Even today, the young tend to migrate to the cities to settle and raise families there, while the older ones stay in the villages.

References

1. Types and Causes of Migration from IB / AP Geography at mcleankids.wikifoundry.com
2. "Causes of International Migration", Eurostat. (1994). European Commission.
3. "The Age of Migration", Stephen Castles, Hein de Haas and Mark J. Miller. (1998).
4. "Exodus: How Migration is Changing Our World", Paul Collier.
5. "The Atlas of Human Migration", Russel King. (2007).