Abstract
European immigrant churches had an important role in shaping religion in America. After recent decades of assimilation and acculturation, however, questions arise over whether European ethnicity is a meaningful force in Protestant denominations today. This study explores the continuing influence of Dutch descent in one of America's oldest denominations, the Reformed Church in America (RCA). After a brief background of the RCA, we present survey data that indicate an enduring presence of Dutch heritage among its laity and clergy. When explanations of the persistence of Dutch descent among clergy are examined, social structural factors are found that appear to encourage Dutch clergy to remain in the denomination and to discourage non-Dutch clergy from doing so. The significance of our findings for both the future of the RCA and for the future of ethnic identification for Americans of Dutch descent is discussed.
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