Religion and the New Immigrants

"""Few issues are more compelling to contemporary American society than the emerging religious and social diversity represented by new immigrant populations. Foley and Hoge tackle the important question of whether recent immigrants are being effectively incorporated into American civil society through their religious institutions. They show that religious institutions both facilitate and constrain immigrant adaptation and offer a persuasive and nuanced 'institutional' perspective on these religious and social changes."" -- Rhys H. Williams, Editor, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion ""Based on a survey of over 200 immigrant congregations in the Washington DC area, Foley and Hoge describe the complex ways in which newcomers to America interact with religion. To date, most of the research on religion and immigration has focused exclusively on ethnographic case studies. This book shows, however, that religion functions very differently depending on the social class background of immigrants and the factors that motivated their decision to come to the United States."" -- Donald E. Miller, Director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California ""Once again, academicians who thought religion is irrelevant have been proven wrong. In this carefully researched study, Foley and Hoge show that religion must be examined as part of the immigrant experience -- not simply because immigrants are religious, but because their religious practices influence the social networks they form, how they connect with job opportunities, and whether they gain civic skills and become involved in the wider community. A ""must read"" for social scientists and policymakers."" --Robert Wuthnow, author of American Mythos: Why Our Best Efforts to Be a Better Nation Fall Short ""Few issues are more compelling to contemporary American society than the emerging religious and social diversity represented by new immigrant populations. Foley and Hoge tackle the important question of whether recent immigrants are being effectively incorporated into American civil society through their religious institutions. They show that religious institutions both facilitate and constrain immigrant adaptation and offer a persuasive and nuanced 'institutional' perspective on these religious and social changes."" -- Rhys H. Williams, Editor, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion ""Based on a survey of over 200 immigrant congregations in the Washington DC area, Foley and Hoge describe the complex ways in which newcomers to America interact with religion. To date, most of the research on religion and immigration has focused exclusively on ethnographic case studies. This book shows, however, that religion functions very differently depending on the social class background of immigrants and the factors that motivated their decision to come to the United States."" -- Donald E. Miller, Director of the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California ""Once again, academicians who thought religion is irrelevant have been proven wrong. In this carefully researched study, Foley and Hoge show that religion must be examined as part of the immigrant experience -- not simply because immigrants are religious, but because their religious practices influence the social networks they form, how they connect with job opportunities, and whether they gain civic skills and become involved in the wider community. A ""must read"" for social scientists and policymakers."" --Robert Wuthnow, author of American Mythos: Why Our Best Efforts to Be a Better Nation Fall Short"