Immigrant Churches as Sites of Adaptable Political and Cultural Transformation: The Role of the Second-Generation

• In Event: Sociology of Religion Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 5. Religion and the Experiences of Immigrants

Abstract

Using ethnographic data and semi-structured interviews at a Latino immigrant
Evangelical church in Los Angeles, California, I examine how second-generation members
navigate and transform immigrant churches, operating at the critical intersection where
generational divides meet the organization’s changing ideological and practical needs. My results
demonstrate that immigrant churches are flexible and responsive to changing sociopolitical
contexts. Specifically, I find that second-generation members fuel a shift in the church’s values
to expand its role beyond serving as a spiritual sanctuary for first-generation immigrants.
Second-generation immigrants advance a counter-narrative of cultural resistance and
reorientation, transforming the church’s ethos: from insular to politically engaged, from rigid to
flexible, and from dogmatic to empathetic. At a time when religious spaces are predominantly
understood as sites of assimilation for immigrants, my findings contribute a more nuanced
understanding of immigrant churches, proposing them as adaptable sites of cultural and political transformation.

Author

• Ana Maria Vieytez, University of California-Los Angeles