Abstract
Evidence from some contemporary ethnic groups suggests that ethnic religion may play a strong role in the lives of second generation members. This is evident in recent studies on Muslims living in Europe. But Europe's immigrant population is not just Muslim in origin. Migratory flows from Latin America, the Philippines and Eastern Europe (i.e. Romania or Ukraine) bring people from Catholic and Christian countries to Europe. And—as in the Italian case—these groups are now the majority among the whole immigrant population. Consequently, the almost exclusive focus on the Islamic component has allowed little investigation of the increase of the Christian-Catholic component. The paper describes and compares the religious paths of immigrants’ youth from Peru, the Philippines and Romania, considering the following questions: How do they interact with/develop their religious identity? Is this generation seeking less visible, less participatory means of contact with the church to better integrate with their peers? Or, on the contrary, do they choose, strategically, to reinforce the Catholic part of their identity in order to succeed better in the integration process in a Catholic country?
Highlights
The question of how faith, ethnicity and acculturation relate to one another is highly pertinent in the Italian context, where Catholicism continues to be the religion of reference for the majority of the population in spite of the secularization process of other European countries (Garelli, 2013; Marzano & Pace, 2013; PérezAgote, 2012)
Even if the media sometimes continue to stress the risk of Islamization (Allievi, 2009), it is incorrect to speak of an “Islamic invasion”, first of all because of the statistics: according to estimates by the Italian National Office Against Racial Discrimination (UNAR), Christians constitute 52% of immigrants and Muslims 32% (UNAR, 2015)
The perspective I assumed is that there are many possible patterns in the relationship with religion among Christian-Catholic young people and the outcomes depend on three sets of factors: a) Personal and demographic factors; b) factors that are external to individuals and their communities; and c) Differences between immigrant groups and society at large
Summary
The question of how faith, ethnicity and acculturation relate to one another is highly pertinent in the Italian context, where Catholicism continues to be the religion of reference for the majority of the population in spite of the secularization process of other European countries (Garelli, 2013; Marzano & Pace, 2013; PérezAgote, 2012). The presence of immigrant minors in Italy has been an established fact of life for at least 15 years, highlighting the stabilizing character of migratory flows towards the country: a Social Inclusion, 2016, Volume 4, Issue 2, Pages 87-94 rapid evolution which had affected first schools and the whole society (Vilaça & Pace, 2010) In this scenario, Christian-Catholic second generations are increasing in numbers and visibility. On the one hand, that these young people (that enjoy a good reputation among Italians) who—formally—haven’t negotiated their religious identities at school or in the broader society due to their Christian-Catholic adherence can maintain a strong religiousness On the other, they are “children of their time” and they share with their peers (Italians as well as those who belong to other nationalities) the idea of leaving religion and returning just for family reasons or for special events. The paper uses qualitative research data collected in the Italian context: it is a peculiar case due to its religious characteristics but findings can offer interesting and generalizable consideration for research on the relationship between second generations and religion in Europe
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