Immigration has made Southern California one of the most diverse parts of the country, making it an ideal place to explore the relationship between religion and the movement of people. Mosques and temples are growing rapidly. Both Catholic shrines for Our Lady of Guadalupe and Pentecostal storefront churches remain popular, even as many second- and third-generation Latinos opt out of religion all together.
Anti-immigrant sentiment often comes from the idea the United States is a “Christian nation.” At the same time, many religious communities have taken a leading role in advocating for immigration reform. Faith-based groups organize marches for immigrants’ rights. Lawyers help refugees win asylum. Congregations offer sanctuary to undocumented families. Religious institutions are often at the center of immigrants’ lives because that is where they can find community and support in their new home.
ArticlePat Murphy and Joann Persch: Two Nuns Determined to Help Detained ImmigrantsThis radio documentary was produced by KALW’s The Spiritual Edge, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. To hear this and other profiles, subscribe to The Spiritual Edge podcast in your …Topics: Catholicism, Christianity, Engaged Spirituality, Immigration, Spiritual Exemplars- VideoGod’s Resistance: Mobilizing Faith to Defend Immigrants
ArticleFouzia Azizi: A Helping Hand for Afghan RefugeesFouzia Azizi vividly recalls the night her family fled Afghanistan nearly 30 years ago. Fearing for their lives, they crossed the border into Pakistan. They traveled lightly, expecting to return soon. “I …Topics: Diane Winston, Engaged Spirituality, Immigration, Racial Justice, Spiritual Exemplars- VideoSister Networks Building Hope at the US/Mexico Border
ArticleSonia Tinoco García: Responding to Muslim Asylum Seekers at the US-Mexico BorderThis article was originally published on New Lines Magazine, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. It’s late afternoon in Tijuana, and the air is hot and thick. Hamza — …Topics: Engaged Spirituality, Immigration, Islam, Southern California, Spiritual Exemplars- VideoLayli Miller Muro: Protecting the Rights of Migrants
CommentaryHolistic Resilience: Why Some Spiritual Exemplars Question Suffering as a Path to ResilienceWhen CRCC’s “Spiritual Exemplars Project” team was invited to present about “resilience,” it was easy to think of many examples within our sample of 100+ spiritually engaged humanitarians who had endured and …Topics: Catholicism, Economic Justice, Engaged Spirituality, Hebah Farrag, Immigration, Judaism, Racial Justice, Religious Leadership, Spiritual Exemplars- VideoSister Norma Pimentel: The Hands and Voice of God for Migrants at the US/Mexico Border
CommentaryWhy They Cross the Mediterranean: Italy’s ‘Guardian Angel of Refugees’ in Conversation with a Survivor of the 2013 Lampedusa ShipwreckFor nearly 20 years, Eritrean Catholic Priest Mussie Zerai has fielded thousands of distress calls from refugees and migrants on shipwrecked vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. “I’ve heard the voices. I’ve heard …Topics: Catholicism, Engaged Spirituality, Immigration, Spiritual Exemplars- VideoFather Mussie Zerai: The Migrant Priest
- ArticleFouzia Azizi: Refugee to Refugee, Afghan Resettlement Worker Draws from Faith and ExperienceThis article was originally published by Religion News Service, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. CONCORD, Calif. (RNS) — Sayed Hashmi, an Afghan citizen, did not want to leave his …Topics: Diane Winston, Engaged Spirituality, Immigration, Islam, Spiritual Exemplars
ArticleNeris Gonzalez: ‘My Dreams Will Never Be the Same’This story was originally published by Harvard Divinity Bulletin, with the support of CRCC’s global project on engaged spirituality. NERIS GONZALEZ WAS WATCHING the news when the grainy video of George Floyd appeared. She sat …Topics: Catholicism, Engaged Spirituality, Immigration, International Affairs and Policy, Spiritual Exemplars, Violence
“Is Americanization an inevitable influence that needs to be addressed but cannot be changed? Or should Latinas encourage a strong Latino identity among their children as a way of helping them maintain a strong religious identity (or vice versa)? Can Latinos better contribute to U.S. society, if they resist the negative aspects of Americanization?”
—Juan Martinez
CRCC Experts
To schedule an interview with one of our experts, please contact CRCC:
crcc@usc.edu or 213-743-1611
Andrew JohnsonPast FellowAndrew Johnson is a sociologist who studies religion on the margins of society, with specific interests in religious practice inside of prison, Latin American Pentecostalism and religion in the city.
Juan MartínezPast FellowJuan Martinez studies the history of Latino Protestantism, Latino Protestant identity and transnational mission among U.S. Latinos.
Donald E. MillerCo-FounderDonald Miller focuses on global religious trends, genocides of the 20th century, and the role of religious NGOs in addressing issues of moral concern.
Jon MillerGuest ContributorJon Miller is a comparative sociologist and director of the international mission photography archive.
Arpi MillerArpi Miller is a sociologist who studies secular and faith-based immigrant advocacy and accompaniment.
Megan SweasEditor and Director of CommunicationsMegan Sweas is a journalist specializing in social and economic justice issues and world religions.