This manuscript explores the dynamic between religion and rural-urban linkages in northeastern Madagascar. I find that church leaders have coalesced around two competing narratives of ancestors. Catholic churches see some types of migrant linkages (e.g., burial in the rural family tomb and participation in rural ancestral rituals) as being in line with Christian beliefs, while Protestant churches see these same activities as morally questionable or potentially satanic. To some degree Protestant migrants exert agency in the face of these religious teachings, and do not view their religion as an impediment to maintaining rural connections. However, quantitative analysis of rural-urban linkage behavior over a twelve-month period shows that Protestants have weaker rural ties compared to Catholics, even for behaviors that are not the focus of religious prohibitions. I offer several explanations for this finding. Protestant migrants are less motivated to invest in all types of rural linkages due to family conflicts after conversion, uncertainty about burial in the rural family tomb, reduced opportunities to develop affective ties with kin, and economic motivations to reduce rural demands on their urban wages.

该手稿探讨了马达加斯加东北部宗教与城乡联系之间的关系。我发现教会领袖围绕着祖先的两个相互竞争的叙述融合在一起。天主教教会认为某些类型的移民联系（例如，在农村家庭坟墓中埋葬和参加农村祖先仪式）符合基督教信仰，而新教教会则将这些活动视为在道德上有问题或可能是撒旦。在某种程度上，新教徒的移民在面对这些宗教教义时发挥了作用，并不认为他们的宗教是维持农村联系的障碍。但是，对十二个月内城乡联系行为的定量分析表明，与天主教徒相比，新教徒与乡村的联系较弱，即使不是宗教禁令重点的行为。我对此发现提供了几种解释。由于conversion依后的家庭冲突，农村家庭坟墓中埋葬的不确定性，减少与亲戚建立亲密关系的机会以及减少农村对城市工资要求的经济动机，新教徒的移民没有动力去投资所有类型的农村联系。