Religion and Adolescent Immigrants in Italy: A Case of Identifying with or Turning away from their Communities?

Abstract

This article deals with a specific element of immigrant identity in host societies: the religious element, which is increasingly important in the definition of integration paths. I examine how the religiousness of two youth immigrant groups in Italy (Filipinos and Moroccans) is related to multiple collective identities (origin, new country, European, and cosmopolitan), attachment to one or both cultures (original or new), and acculturation as a process realized through a variety of domains in personal and social life. Firstly, I seek to ascertain some of the major subjective factors motivating church/mosque attendance and involvement. Secondly, by means of participant observation, in-depth interviews, and analysis of the rhetoric within the religious communities, I explore and describe (by comparing and contrasting) the various ways in which ethnic religiousness contributes to the construction and support of ethnic identity and consciousness among the two groups.