Abstract
Despite documentation of intergroup conflict between African Americans and Irish immigrants during the mid-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, few studies have comparatively considered the beneficence of religion as an adaptive, conciliatory mechanism for the two ethnic groups. Yet, literature supports the historic centrality of the Black Church for the former group and the indelible influence of Catholicism for the latter. This research examines common religious themes and organized efforts associated with these faith traditions for the two historically oppressed groups. Informed by Cultural Theory, this study compares and contrasts religious cultural dynamics to illumine adaptive features and activism. Exilic themes based on nationality, race, and/or ethnicity tied to biblical symbolism; social programs and self-help; as well as appropriation of Liberation Theology are common group patterns. Yet, findings also illustrate the inability of religion to foster substantial intergroup cooperation in light of other prevailing systemic forces.
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