Title: The Importance of Ethnicity and Religion in the Life Cycle of Immigrant Churches: A Comparison of Coptic and Calvinist Churches
Abstract: This paper explores the stages of ethnic and religious adaptation and transformation of two immigrant groups: Christian Orthodox Egyptians—Copts—and Dutch Canadian Calvinists. While the Copts are relatively new to the religious tapestry of North America, the Calvinists established churches and other ethno/religious structures soon after their arrival in Ontario after World War II. Established Coptic migrant churches are “vessels of faith”; a source of emotional rejuvenation to nostalgic migrants; institutions for the retention and negotiation of an ethno-religious identity in immigrant societies; and facilitators for the integration of newcomers. Religious identity was more important than ethnic identity in the establishment of Dutch Calvinist churches and other organizations. The orthodox Calvinists, who believe that all of life is religious, undertook the building of their own structures because they could not find Canadian organizations based on their ideological and religious beliefs. The literature on other Canadian immigrant groups provides a context for the comparison between the Copts and the Dutch Calvinists. Research for both groups is based on oral histories and on historical information. The theoretical framework for this study is Driedger’s (1996, 39) model of voluntary pluralism and integration.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 6
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