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/ /฀ Ethnic Church Attendance and Social Participation of Immigrants in Canada Eric Fong and Linda Lee1 Introduction Like immigrants to the US, described in Zhou and Lee's chapter about recent American immigratio n patterns , immigrants fro m non-Europea n countrie s have dominate d th e immigratio n flo w t o Canad a fo r th e las t few decade s (Jasso an d Rosenzwei g 1990) . The populatio n o f thes e ne w immigrants i n major Nort h American citie s has reached th e poin t o f critical mas s neede d to support various ethnic activities and divers e institutions. Ethnic churche s are among the ethnic institutions that have seen considerable growth in recent decades (Warne r 1998) . If one drives around th e North American citie s tha t have a large numbe r o f Chines e immigrants , i t will not b e difficul t t o se e Chinese churche s i n th e neighborhood s wher e thes e immigrant s ar e concentrated. Most of the ethni c churche s in North American citie s are congregatio n oriented an d emphasiz e volunteer participation . Decisions in the immigran t church ar e usually made by lay leaders rather tha n b y full-time clerg y (Yan g and Ebaug h 2001) . The stron g congregatio n orientatio n partl y reflects, a s Yang (1999 ) observed , th e fac t tha t immigrant s hav e a choice o f religiou s affiliation i n Nort h America , i n contras t t o religion a s the traditio n o f th e nation o r ethni c group . To compete effectivel y i n th e "religiou s economy, " as Finke an d Star k (1992 ) pu t it , ethni c churche s hav e yielded substantia l decision-making power to lay persons in order t o entice them t o stay. Almost all church activitie s ar e initiated , organized , an d ru n b y church members . Therefore, ethni c churche s i n Nort h Americ a ca n b e viewe d a s ethni c voluntary organizations with considerable participation o f members in ever y aspect of church activities . Members who are active in Chinese churches ca n easily spend many nights during the week and almost entire weekends in th e church. Thes e member s participat e i n churc h choi r practice , weekly Bible study, weekly praye r meetings , Sunda y service , and/o r a weekly outreach visiting program. Some of these members may serve as leaders of small groups 254฀Eric ฀Fong฀and฀Linda ฀Lee฀ or as guides in youth fellowship, activities that require more than one meetin g in a week. As these ethni c churche s flourish i n majo r citie s across North America , the stud y of ethnic churche s ha s experience d a considerable reviva l (Yan g and Ebaug h 2001 ; Warner 1998 ; Bankston an d Zho u 1996) . Most o f thes e studies are about the consequences of participation i n ethnic churches. They focus on understanding ho w immigrants adapt their religion t o express thei r experiences in the new country and to make sense of their new environmen t by organizing themselve s through religiou s activities. More specifically, thes e studies document ho w immigrants negotiat e thei r identitie s (Kurie n 1998 ) and develo p a stronger sens e o f ethnic identificatio n (Banksto n an d Zho u 1996), and how the churches facilitate a sense of satisfaction (Mi n 1992 ) an d foster network s that support entrepreneurshi p (Par k 1997) . Although man y o f these studie s have explore d th e effec t o f th e ethni c church on the adaptation process of immigrants, surprisingly few studies, and especially fe w quantitativ e empirica l studies , hav e examine d th e effec t o f attending ethnic churches on the social integration o f immigrants, especiall y friendship choic e an d participatio n i n socia l activitie s o f th e wider societ y (Bankston and Zho u 1996) . Most studies remain a t the level of theorizing o r detailed ethnographi c cas e study (Nagat a 2003 ; Yang 1999; Park 1997) . To addres s...

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