Assimilation (Sociology)

Immigration has become a hot button issue across the United States. Television newsmen dedicate hours of time to excoriate the "illegal invasion." I viewed the immigration debate as something not directly concerning me. I am a legal citizen of Hispanic descent. My mother is a naturalized citizen from Mexico. However, as the government conducted raids looking for illegal immigrants, my mother became more aware of her place as a Mexican woman living in the Midwest. She wondered whether people would assume she was illegal because of her accent and appearance. Our discussions prompted me to think about of my place in the story, and about my lack of connection with the Hispanic culture. I set out to interview migrants living in South Florida, and to document my and my mother's experience with immigration and assimilation.

Christian churches in the United States are very diverse. The diversity seen often goes unmentioned by religion and immigration scholars who write about the key role churches play in the assimilation of Hispanic immigrants. Scholars use the word "church" in order to refer to all Christian religious institutions. The use of one word to encompass the broad range of institutions can misguide readers to believe that all Christian churches in the United States help Hispanic immigrants assimilate in the same way. This comparative study includes Anglo, Immigrant, and Transnational Christian churches throughout the United States The focus is to explore the particular methods by which immigrants forge identities in Christian churches, identities with assimilation potential into an already multi-cultural, American society. Whether immigrants build an ethnic identity, a religious identity, or a mix of both, there is no guarantee that the identity developed will help immigrants assimilate.