Contemporary Ethno-Religious Groups and Political Activism in the United States

• In Event: 458 - Regular Session. The Politics of Race, Ethnicity and Religion

Abstract

The literature on the political activism of established ethnic groups in the United States is generally based on the assumption that people who share national origins have common political interests. However, newer scholarship emanating from Europe argues that religious background plays an important role in determining the mobilization patterns of groups. The bulk of this research has examined the activism of European Muslim immigrants. The role of religion in shaping the political mobilization of immigrants has hardly been examined in North America. This paper examines how majority versus minority religious status in the United States and in the homeland influence patterns of political activism around US-based and homeland based issues. The focus is on Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, and Christian groups from India living in the United States. Indian American groups present a good way to examine the role of religion versus ethnicity in impacting patterns of mobilization since Indian Americans are religiously diverse and have also become politically active.

Author

• Prema Ann Kurien, Syracuse University