Religion & Social Services-Lecture Outline
Issues to Consider in Group Discussion:
P&R Ch. 9 Religion
- What are the 3 R’s that religious affiliation provides for immigrants?
- How does religion aid immigrant modes of incorporation into the US ( re: govt. policy, societal reaction to immigrants, & co-ethnic communities)?
- How is it especially tied to development of co-ethnic communities, & how are those helpful in adaption & incorporation into US for immigrants?
- How is religion transnational for immigrants(esp. 1st generation), and how does that help them in adjusting to the US?
- What does Religion provide for the 2nd Generation& beyond? And how so? What is “Selective Acculturation” & how does religion aid this? What are some examples? ( Irish, Italian, Polish in earlier times, & today Vietnamese Catholics, Buddhist Laotians, Mexican Catholics, etc.)
- How is level religious affiliation associated with successful or negative adaption for 2nd generation?
- How has Catholic Church aided earlier European immigrant groups? How is it doing with Mexican immigrants today? What explanations are there for this?
- How is Islam aiding Muslim immigrants today? What would be wisest govt. policy re: Islam and immigrants, according to P&R. How do US Muslims compare to British Muslims?
Dunn, Aragones & Shivers web rdg.
- What role do religious-inspired activists play in assisting Mexican and Central American immigrants on Delmarva? How and what types of services to they help with? Does any of this fit with anything from P&R’s view of Religion & Immigration, as examples / counter-examples?
Lecture& Group Discussion Points (from P&R ch. 9, unless otherwise noted):
Modes of Incorporation – Govt policy, Societal reaction, and Ethnic Communities
Religion affects all 3 elements – esp./ Ethnic communities
Social Capital: Social relationships. Ethnic Communities & institutions = access to resources
Religious Institutions as part of Social Capital
Assimilation, yes, but not religious assimilation, -- lots of examples….
Showed scenes from video “Estamos Aqui” [We Are Here] on Guatemalan immigrants in Georgetown, Del.
Many examples of role of religion, Catholic Church, and religious-inspired activists and organizations (esp. La Esperanza center) in aiding Guatemalan immigrants – ala 3 R’s of religions in P&R
3 R’s of Religion for immigrants -- Refuge, Respect, Resources
--Examples in video, and in Dunn et al. web rdg. – La Esperanza and others.
-- These all lead to increased social capital and stronger ethnic communities, which in turn are crucial to successful adaptation of immigrants to US.
Selective Acculturation – what it is and how religious affiliation helps this and avoids downward assimilation, and instead leads to successful immigrant adaptation to US, esp. for 2nd generation.
Vs. Full Assimilation -- & some of dangers of this.
Immigration’s strong contribution to overall strong religious character of US – esp. Catholic Church & others
Reactive Religious affiliation VS. Linear Religious affiliation, & reasons for Reactive
How is Islam aiding Muslim immigrants today? How is Islam organized (decentralized)? So impact on social capital & networks? Govt. and societal hostility, but what do P&R think would be wisest govt. policy re: Islam and immigrants?
How does religion aid immigrant modes of incorporation into the US ( re: govt. policy, societal reaction to immigrants, & co-ethnic communities (P&R diagram)
How does religious affiliation aid 2nd generation in successful adaptation to US?
Other Things to Know for Test:
- How has Catholic Church aided earlier European immigrant groups? How is it doing with Mexican immigrant groups today?
- Religious Institutions as key part of Social Capital for immigrants – access to social services -- Delmarva faith-based activists (Dunn, et al. web rdg.)
- What sorts of social services are Latino immigrants able to gain access to, and which no?Who are service providers? What are obstacles, and what is role of legal status? (Dunn, et al. web rdg.)