ETHNICITY AND BELIEFS

What Modood find in his social survey (1997)?

most minority ethnic ethnic groups in the UK are more religious and show higher levels of religiosity than the white British majority

What do trends since Modoods study find?

His findings are not outdated and if anything the trends appear more apparent today, Pakistani and Bangladeshi Muslims in The Uk seeing Muslim as their primary identity (as ppposed to ethnicity)

What is the link between age and ethnicity?

Young Muslims in the UK had a greater knowledge of their religion than their parents did. However Modood did find some evidence of declining religiosity among some Asian men (eg younger Sikhs were less likely to wear a turban than their fathers were)

What does Bruce say about cultural transition?

This is the idea that minority ethnic groups could use religion and religious institutions to assist the process of immigration. When people came to a new country, with very different belief systems and unfamiliar traditions building building religious communities helped to support them

What is some examples of Bruce’s cultural transition?

Hindu communities built temples, Muslim communities built mosques, Sikh communities built gudwaras

If Bruce’s cultural transition theory was right what could you expect to see?

You would expect to see second and third generation immigrants having less need for religion and therefore see a secularisation process in such communities, but there is little evidence of this and for Muslims the opposite has occurred

What does Bruce mean by cultural defence?

This is where immigrant communities or other minorities use religion to defend themselves from a hostility of the majority population. It is not a case of bringing something in order to ease transition but instead building a safe community away from racism

What is an example of Bruce’s cultural defence?

African Caribbean immigrants who were predominately Christian, the cultural transition here should have been easier here as their religious institutions were firmly established, however in response to racism in congregations they set up their own churches (eg adventists) thus explaining why young Muslims are more Muslim due to the Islamophobia in British society

What does Johan put forward?

Religious identity is increasingly important in a multi cultural and multi faith society

What does Davie say?

Who suggests that religious identity provides a sense of belonging and cultural identity

What five reasons does Nird suggest for providing a sense of belonging and cultural identity?

1) greater religiosity in countries of origin

2) membership of a religious group providing a sense of community and identity

3) maintaining cultural identity and tradition

4) religious socialisation that children then feel pressured to maintain

5) a way to deal with oppression

What are the three categories Chryssides develops?

1) Apostasy - abandoning their beliefs to make them fit in a hostile environment

2) Accomodation - adapting their beliefs to make them more in tune with the values of the new environment

3) increased religiosity and observance which may include the adoption of fundamentalist beliefs

What is wrong with the data?

Represents a social construction rather than a social fact

What is the issue with religiosity in minority ethnic groups?

Is seen as a highly deviant point to not believe this may therefore disguise levels of atheism or agnosticism

What may people use religion for?

A community hub and service provider

What are the issues with Bruce’s ideas?

Suggest high level of religiosity were not down to high levels of religious belief but due to other social factors

What about other migrant groups?

More recent migrant communities are predominantly RC EU migrants so have seen an increase in the congregations in their catholic chirches