How Does Religion Shape Filipino Immigrants' Connection to the Public Sphere?: Imagining a Different Self-Understanding of Modernity
Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: Donald McQuarie, Co-AdvisorScholarly studies of immigration, religion, and race and ethnicity debate the role of religion in modern society, highlighting the salience of religion among post-1965 immigrants.In this dissertation, I explored the following question: How does religion shape Filipino immigrants' connection to the public sphere?To that end, I investigated: 1) How does religion shape immigrants' understanding of American citizenship?2) How do immigrants constitute a sense of empowered citizenship via the civic and religious institutions they navigate?3) Does religion act as a preserving force of traditional Filipino culture within American society?4) To what extent does religion foster unique transnational ties to the homeland?Focusing on Filipino-Americans' stories and utilizing a humanistically-oriented sociological approach, I immersed myself in "lived religion" (McRoberts, 2004), engaged in participant observation, and conducted 60 in-depth interviews of Filipino-American adults in Virginia Beach, Virginia-one of the most highly populated Filipino areas on the East coast.I attended events at St. Gregory Catholic Church, the largest Filipino Catholic parish in the city, and the Filipino-American Community Action Group, the only local Filipino political organization.I also interviewed key leaders, including former Philippine president Fidel Ramos.Although religion encourages civic engagement, Filipino-Americans' political engagement is largely limited due to regionalism and the community associations that Filipino-Americans craft in the U.S. Catholicism reinforces regionalism via ethnic-specific Catholic practices like the celebration of patron saints who represent hometowns in the Philippines.Regionalism limits the ability of Filipino-Americans to collectively perceive themselves as "Filipino-American," unify, and politically mobilize.However, civic organizations such as the iv Filipino American Community Action Group attempt to transcend regional differences, foster inter-ethnic pluralism, and establish a strong coalition of Filipino-Americans rather than organizing based on regional identities.The overwhelming majority of Filipino-Americans in this community immigrated and gained citizenship by way of the U.S. Navy.Because of this historical-American tie, most interviewees reported a strong sense of American nationalism and a sense of utang ng loob or 'indebtedness' to the U.S. for their American citizenship.I hope to unravel the crucial role of religion and its relationship with immigrant integration, pluralism, race/ethnicity, and transnationalism through the lens of the religious and nonreligious experiences of post-1965 immigrants.
Author: Aprilfaye Manalang
Institution: Bowling Green State University
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1840824139