Immigrants Religious Institution

5. Role of religious institution in the life of America immigrants

Religious institution plays various roles in the life many immigrants, when it comes to the aspect of immigration process in many civil societies. Aftermath of my theoretical component by functionalist theorist has portrayed religious institution as instruments of social control, social change, integration and social capital. Today, through this theoretical hypothesis, various religious institutions in the U.S. are able to fulfill their integration/ adaptation task in the life of many American immigrants with either or not same religious belief. Those roles of religious institution on the life of American are as follows;

5.1. Religious institutions attribute to sense of belonging/reconstruction

The familiar ancestral altars and ash houses, as well as traditional Buddhist customs that accompany the forty-nine days of mourning for a deceased person, remind members of both their religious and ethnic roots. Holidays such as the Chinese New Year and ‘Id al-Fitr, the Islamic feast of fast-breaking during Ramadan, are widely celebrated in temples, churches, and mosques across the country and create sense of ethnic pride within many immigrants communities. The diverse images of the Virgin Mary among Hispanic immigrants stem from their home country images and devotions. (Dillon, 2003:231)

Furthermore, most immigrant congregations in American society sponsor secular activities, such as meals, festivals, holiday celebrations, fundraisers, language classes, citizenship classes, and youth activities. One way in which immigrant religious institutions often differ from those in the home country is that they develop community centers. Alongside, with places of worship, social spaces, and activities whose function it is to maintain social cohesion among members and the passing on of both religious and ethnic culture to the next generation. (Dillon, 2003:231)

Religious institutions attribute to incorporation of immigrant into U.S. society

In present-day American multicultural and plurality society, virtually all immigrants/ ethnic religious institutions make major efforts to serve social and economic needs to their congregations. Such as giving information about housing, social, economic opportunities that facilitate their adaptation/incorporation of immigrants into American community. (Portes & DeWind, 2007:409)

However, Levitt (2007) has stated that for many immigrants in American communities, religion and culture were inextricably linked. And which immigrants find it difficult to separate their ethnicity from their religion components of their identity. Even among immigrants who said they were not religious, faith guide how they lived their everyday lives, those with whom they associated, and the kinds of communities to which they belonged.(Bramadat & Koenig, 2009: