Ethnic Church Meets Megachurch

Abstract

This book examines how a new paradigm of ethnicity and religion is shaping contemporary immigrant religious institutions and the intergenerational transmission of religion. While earlier European immigrants to the United States were expected to assimilate to the culture of the host society in the public realm, they could maintain their community lives and cultural traditions through American denominations. In contemporary society, multiculturalism and post-denominationalism have reversed this paradigm. First- and second-generation immigrants integrate by remaining ethnic and group-identified, but religion is viewed as a personal quest. Drawing on multisited field research in the United States and India, including interviews and participant observation in the Mar Thoma Syrian Christian denomination belonging to an ancient south Indian community, the book looks at the shifts in the understanding and practice of Christianity by church members as a result of their U.S. migration and the coming of age of the American-born generation. The widespread prevalence of megachurches and the dominance of American evangelicalism created an environment in which the traditional practices of the Mar Thoma church seemed alien to its American-born generation. Second-generation Mar Thoma Americans were caught between their criticisms of the “ethnic” character of the Mar Thoma church and its traditions, and their appreciation for the social support its warm community and familial relationships provided them as they were growing up. This book is also a case study of global religion. It examines how transnational processes shape religion in both the place of destination and the place of origin.