Hips between immigration status and indicators of organizational, non-organization and subjective religiosity is consistent withNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptRev Relig Res. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 December 1.Taylor et al.Pageresearch which indicates that religious involvement would be of greater importance for first generation immigrants vs. second or third generation, native-born Caribbean Blacks (Foley Hoge, 2007; Herberg, 1960; Kurien, 2006). However, the nature of these relationships is neither simple nor straightforward. In some cases, there were no differences between immigration status and religious participation, while in others significant effects were different depending on years since immigration. When significant differences did emerge (with the exception of church membership) they were in the anticipated direction indicating that first generation immigrants as compared to native-born Caribbean Blacks had higher levels of religiosity. The overall pattern of relationships between immigration status and religiosity is consistent with observations by Herberg (1960) and others (Connor, 2008) about the salience of religion for first generation immigrants and suggests that a number of issues (e.g., the role of broader social influences and community institutions such as the church) are deserving of further study. Country of origin was significant in 6 instances. Persons from Trinidad-Tobago (compared to Jamaicans) attended religious services less frequently, but were more likely to be church members. Respondents from Spanish CPI-455MedChemExpress CPI-455 speaking countries more strongly endorsed the view that it is important to take children to religious services. Haitians engaged in other activities at their place of worship more frequently, prayed more frequently, were more likely to be church members, and attached greater importance to taking children to religious services than respondents from Jamaica. We argued that persons from non-English-speaking countries, who are triple minorities by virtue of being Black, foreign and non-NIK333 cost English speakers (Boswell, 1982), would rely upon and invest in religious behaviors, attitudes and formal religious settings to a greater degree than those from Anglophone countries. For nonEnglish speaking immigrants, religious commitments and activities are important for reinforcing a sense of cultural and language identity and providing access to a variety of social networks and concrete resources located within worship communities. The social and civic functions of Caribbean churches (Foley Hoge, 2007; McAlister, 1998; Stepick et al., 2009) are especially salient for those Haitian immigrants whose primary or only language is not English (Haitian Creole), and who, as a consequence, have limited access to health and social welfare services and information that are provided in English (Stepick, 1998). Haiti’s ongoing experiences of political upheaval, military subjugation, and economic underdevelopment has resulted in successive waves of large number of immigrants seeking better life conditions and opportunities in the U.S. (Stepick, 1998). The most recent immigrants (beginning in the early 1970s), including the so-called Haitian boat people, were a particularly disadvantaged group (e.g., poorer, undocumented status, unskilled urban workers and rural peasantry) as compared to earlier cohorts. Upon entry to the U.S., these latest Haitian immigrants experienced extraord.Hips between immigration status and indicators of organizational, non-organization and subjective religiosity is consistent withNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author ManuscriptRev Relig Res. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2011 December 1.Taylor et al.Pageresearch which indicates that religious involvement would be of greater importance for first generation immigrants vs. second or third generation, native-born Caribbean Blacks (Foley Hoge, 2007; Herberg, 1960; Kurien, 2006). However, the nature of these relationships is neither simple nor straightforward. In some cases, there were no differences between immigration status and religious participation, while in others significant effects were different depending on years since immigration. When significant differences did emerge (with the exception of church membership) they were in the anticipated direction indicating that first generation immigrants as compared to native-born Caribbean Blacks had higher levels of religiosity. The overall pattern of relationships between immigration status and religiosity is consistent with observations by Herberg (1960) and others (Connor, 2008) about the salience of religion for first generation immigrants and suggests that a number of issues (e.g., the role of broader social influences and community institutions such as the church) are deserving of further study. Country of origin was significant in 6 instances. Persons from Trinidad-Tobago (compared to Jamaicans) attended religious services less frequently, but were more likely to be church members. Respondents from Spanish speaking countries more strongly endorsed the view that it is important to take children to religious services. Haitians engaged in other activities at their place of worship more frequently, prayed more frequently, were more likely to be church members, and attached greater importance to taking children to religious services than respondents from Jamaica. We argued that persons from non-English-speaking countries, who are triple minorities by virtue of being Black, foreign and non-English speakers (Boswell, 1982), would rely upon and invest in religious behaviors, attitudes and formal religious settings to a greater degree than those from Anglophone countries. For nonEnglish speaking immigrants, religious commitments and activities are important for reinforcing a sense of cultural and language identity and providing access to a variety of social networks and concrete resources located within worship communities. The social and civic functions of Caribbean churches (Foley Hoge, 2007; McAlister, 1998; Stepick et al., 2009) are especially salient for those Haitian immigrants whose primary or only language is not English (Haitian Creole), and who, as a consequence, have limited access to health and social welfare services and information that are provided in English (Stepick, 1998). Haiti’s ongoing experiences of political upheaval, military subjugation, and economic underdevelopment has resulted in successive waves of large number of immigrants seeking better life conditions and opportunities in the U.S. (Stepick, 1998). The most recent immigrants (beginning in the early 1970s), including the so-called Haitian boat people, were a particularly disadvantaged group (e.g., poorer, undocumented status, unskilled urban workers and rural peasantry) as compared to earlier cohorts. Upon entry to the U.S., these latest Haitian immigrants experienced extraord.
