Religion, ethnicity, and citizenship: the role of Jain institutions in the social incorporation of young Jains in Britain and the United States

Abstract

The on-going importance of religion as a marker of identity among young South Asians has provoked reflection on the relationship between religion and citizenship in the aftermath of events such as 9/11 and 7/7. In general, European and American scholarship highlights different perspectives on the role of religion in the social incorporation of immigrants and their children. In this article I explore how religion shapes identity and citizenship among young Jains, a group that experiences successful socio-economic integration and material success in Britain and the United States. This qualitative comparative analysis of Jain institutions which are oriented towards young Jains reveals the ways in which the intersection of transnational circulation of religious ideas and actors, national integration regimes, migration histories, and the place of religion in specific contexts shapes religious identities, religious group boundaries, and religious discourses in different ways. Different Jain religious assemblages affirm views of religion in the United States as having a positive role in the social incorporation of immigrants and their children, but point to a more neutral role for religion in the incorporation of middle-class young Jains in Britain.

Keywords:

• Second-generation Jains
• Jain institutions
• spatialising religion
• religious identities
• religious assemblage

Acknowledgements

This article is based on a research project funded by the British Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC), “Ethnicity, Religion & Citizenship among the children of immigrants in the UK and USA” (RES-063-27-0131).

I would like to thank Elisabeth Arweck and I am grateful to the anonymous referees of the Journal of Contemporary Religion for their comments on an earlier version of this article.

Notes

1. ‘Jain Dharma’ refers to the Jain religion. I use ‘Jain Dharma’ rather than ‘Jainism’ to refer to the Jain religion’s constructed character rather than viewing it through an essential, universal lens.

2. The author has lived in both Britain and the US since the 1970s and has observed the establishment of Jain organisations and religious classes specifically aimed at young Jains in both countries during the late 1980s and early 1990s as well as the subsequent growth in interest among second-generation Jains in cultivating a greater understanding and practice of Jain Dharma.

3. See http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_And_You/religion.aspx, accessed 18 August 2012.

4. See http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/key-statistics-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-wales/rpt-religion.html, accessed 19 August 2013.

5. Caste is a corporate identity. Jains in the UK belong to several different castes, with the greatest number belonging to the Oshwal caste.

6. Jains are divided into sub-sects: Shvetamber and Digamber. Shvetamber means ‘white-clad’: Shvetamber monks and nuns wear simple white robes.

7. While the notion of karma is an integral part of dharma-based religions, there are differences in its understanding in the Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist traditions (see Jaini 1979, 111–112).

8. The term aparigraha refers to non-attachment to worldly possessions. It is one of the vows that lay Jains and ascetics are expected to adhere to.

9. The term anekantvad refers to the Jain doctrine of non-absolutism or the multi-faceted nature of truth.

10. Anthony Robbins and Stephen Covey are life coaches, who have developed particular approaches to achieving success in life.

11. The term paryushan is used by Shvetamber Jains to refer to one of the most important Jain religious festivals celebrated in August or September. The term das lakshana parva is used by Digamber Jains to refer to the same religious festival.

12. The term pratikraman refers to a ritual Jains perform to repent for their sins during their daily life.

13. The word ahimsā is also spelt ahinsa; both refer to non-violence.