November 10, 1999
New immigration patterns reshaping religious landscape as well
___NEW YORK (RNS)--More than 8 million immigrants have made new homes in the United States during the 1990s, rivaling the 8.8 million who came in the first decade of the 20th century.
___But this wave is different. It is largely non-European and, as a result, it is having far-reaching, even surprising, impacts on religions.
___In the first of a series of lectures titled "Shifting Boundaries: Religion and Immigration in the Contemporary United States," sociologist Stephen Warner sought to unravel the significance of the change.
___"The world of American religion is going through enormous change. It will be increasingly difficult to distinguish, say, Christians from Buddhists just because of what they look like," he said in the lecture at New School University in New York City.
___A University of Illinois-Chicago professor of sociology of religion for the past 22 years, Warner recently completed the "New Ethnic and Immigration Congregations Project," a three-year interdisciplinary research, training and support program.
___The findings of his broad-ranging project recently have been published as "Gatherings in Diaspora: Religious Communities and the New Immigration."
___Warner's study found thousands of new religious communities cropping up across the country, helping immigrants retain ties to their homelands while adjusting to life in a new country.
___With more than 1,200 Islamic centers, thousands of Hindu centers, 3,000 Korean congregations, 7,000 Latino churches, growing contemplative Buddhist gatherings as well as home altars and meetings, he said, he found immigrants often take comfort in old forms of religious expression while experiencing the demands of a new culture.
___However, Warner believes the migration process also has brought about transformation for many of the new immigrants. He found, for example, many immigrants have become "born-again Christians" as a result of their relocation.
___But "migration is not random with respect to religion; it's a filtering process," he said, meaning many immigrants are coming from diverse communities in their countries and bringing with them unique cultural attributes.
___For example, one-fourth of Korea's population is Christian, and yet 50 percent of Koreans who come to the United States are evangelical Christians who are likely to congregate in affluent suburban neighborhoods. Although only 2 percent of India's population is Christian, 10 percent of Indians who come to the United States are Christians.
___From Iranian Jews to Mexican conservatives, the new immigrant is challenging old religious stereotypes.
___"What's happening is that the great majority of new immigrants are at least nominally Christian, bringing a de-Europeanization of Christianity," Warner said. "Now those handing out religious tracts on college campuses are likely to be Asian. And we're seeing more Europeans becoming Buddhists, while Muslims are often merging cultures from African-American and immigrant communities."
___The results have not always brought about spiritual harmony. Many first-generation immigrants believe retaining their Old World religious ties are a way to reproduce cultural attributes in their children. But children are quick to assimilate to U.S. culture and often find their parents' religion "boring or irrelevant," he said.
___The challenge in each new religious community is for families to promote adjustment to their new host country while preserving cultural and religious ties to their homeland, Warner said.
___"It is common for a family to drive long distances here to worship with others from their culture, whereas in their homelands, worship was primarily experienced at a regional or local level," he observed.
___Even non-Western religions have begun adopting American structures.
___For example, the Buddhist Church of America has begun to look a lot like Christian congregations in forming men's and women's groups, choirs and local service projects, Warner said.
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