Religion and Ethnicity Among New Immigrants: The Impact of Majority/Minority Status in Home and Host Countries

Abstract

Research shows that religion continues to be an important identity marker for new immigrants in the United States. However, immigrant groups differ in the ways they integrate religious and ethnic identities and the emphasis they place on each. In this paper, we argue that majority or minority status of their religious affiliation in the home and host countries is an important, but overlooked, factor in understanding strategies concerning religious and ethnic identities. By comparing two Chinese congregations, a Chinese Buddhist temple and a Chinese Christian church in Houston, Texas, we analyze what happens when an immigrant group moves from majority status in the home country to minority status in the United States (Chinese Buddhists) and when a minority group (Chinese Christians in China) become part of the Christian majority in the United States. We conclude by arguing the importance of going beyond U.S. borders and taking into account factors in their home countries in attempts to understand patterns of adaptation of the new immigrants.

Beyond the Bible and the Cross: A Social and Cultural Analysis of Chinese Elders' Participation in Christian Congregations in the United States

“…This finding echoes previous studies about the social functions of ethnic churches among Asian immigrants (Ebaugh and Chafetz 2000;Min 1992;Wang and Yang 2006). According to Yang and Ebaugh's (2001b) study, Chinese immigrant congregations are not only just ''sites for religious worship,'' but also social institutions organizing various community services, such as offering English classes, providing child-care services, and arranging entertainment activities (Yang and Ebaugh 2001b, p. 275). ''Sinicized'' Chinese Christian churches, as presented in earlier research, are contributing to an expansion of roles from just being religious organizations to becoming more comprehensive social institutions (Yang and Ebaugh, 2001a, p. 373).…”

Immigration and Religion

“…A "lived religion" approach that focuses on immigrants' stories and experiences in a range of social spheres is relatively new to this area of research. Also in existing research, independent variables such as demographics, immigration status, geographic contexts of exit and reception, and the presence or absence of coethnics in receiving contexts are rarely systematically considered as factors that influence the shape of immigrants' religious beliefs, practices, and affiliations (for exceptions, see Van Tubergen 2006, Yang & Ebaugh 2001a. Similarly, only recently has religion been carefully considered as an independent variable that influences factors such as immigrant economic mobility or civic and political participation (Ebaugh & Pipes 2001, Jones-Correa & Leal 2001.…”

In the Shadow of Bell Towers: The Use of Religious Capital among Christian-Catholic Second Generations in Italy

“…In any case the three groups share same characteristics: 1) Relative ease of insertion into the labour market (Betrand & Mullainathan, 2004); 2) Prevalence of care-giving among the women; 3) Positive acceptance on the part of Italian society; 4) High rate of children left behind and rejoined years later with their families; 4) Positive image of the children in schools. Using an American concept, Italian media, government, and schools as well as the general debate portray Filipinos, Peruvians and Eastern Europeans as the "model minority", contending that ethnic cultural traits predispose them to be financially and educationally successful (Yu, 2006;Yang & Ebaugh, 2001). These images create borders between these and other immigrant groups.…”