(Photo: http://www.hispanicallyspeakingnews.com/notitas-de-noticias/2011/04/05/)

As we studied Jewish immigrants to America at the turn of the twentieth century, we found that though religion remained the dominant force in the lives of many, it also began to fade from the lives of many others. A hundred years later, Mexicans are now the primary migrants to the United States, and a majority of them are Catholics. Are today’s immigrants experiencing a similar kind of secularization on the other side of the border, or has the faith remained? To what extent does Catholicism influence their everyday lives?

As of late, the answer to the first question is becoming more clear. In spite of a growth in conversion and a great number of potential distractions, Mexican Catholicism is manifesting itself in the United States as much as it ever has. More and more churches have begun to offer Spanish language masses to accommodate the Latino population, establishing the parish as a safe haven and new place or religious association for the previously disenfranchised Mexicans. The influx of new parishioners has revitalized many churches that might have otherwise faced closure, yet it simultaneously seems to have divided them; there comes great difficulty in bridging the sects together and having one group associate with the other.

The importance of this is that it illustrates a couple larger problems. One is that the specifically Mexican aspects of their Catholic practices, although often celebrated, can be used as a wedge to divide fellow Catholics among themselves. But more importantly, it addresses the complications of assimilation and the persistent feelings of difference between Mexican immigrants and naturalized Americans. The possibility of tackling these issues lies at the center of the immigration debate today. In the following pages, I will provide details of my research into the dilemmas of the migrant Catholic.

I) At the Start: The basics of how Catholicism gained a foothold in Mexico

II) “Bad Catholics”: The unique practices of Mexican Catholics, and the “Baptism of Cultures”

III) Catholicism and the Chicano Movement: “Ethno-religion”, social justice

IV) Across the Border: The parish problem, the persistence of division, and the Catholic Church

Works Cited