Devising a Study on Religion and the Latina Experience

Abstract

The author looks at Latina women in the United States and their contributions to the mosaic of religious social patterns. The underlying assumption here is that Latinas/os, like other ethnic groups, have made their mark shaping religious practices. The article builds on notions that gender, ethnic, and race foci in our research expand our knowledge of the nuances in the mosaic of religious practice. The sociology of religion would be left behind if it did not challenge the restrictive ways the field has looked at religious practice and expression. What methodological approaches and what questions we ask are important to enriching research on religion in the United States and elsewhere. Here the author suggests that both questionnaire and focus group interviewing are particularly useful in studying a multiethnic and multilingual community, because the two-pronged approach brings out the complexity of religious beliefs and practice.