Mexican and Central American Migrant Religiosity Change: Impact of the Journey North (2013)

Undergraduate: Danielle Cuddington

Faculty Advisor: Jacqueline Hagan
Department: Sociology

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Sociological research concerning migration and religion, though an increasingly popular avenue of study in the context of recent influxes in Mexican and Central American immigration, fails to consider religious behaviors and practices beyond the church, and changes in the religious practices of migrants over the course of the migratory process. Drawing on findings from interviews with 312 recent arrivals in the United States, this research examines how Mexican and Central American migrants' religiosity changes in pre and post migration religious practices. In doing so, the thesis introduces new, multidimensional measures of religiosity. In addition, influence of migrants' religious affiliation and gender on religiosity change is analyzed. Data come from the Religion and Migration Survey (RMS), which includes quantified interviews with documented and undocumented Mexican and Central American migrants. Findings move beyond traditional unidimensional measures of religiosity and demonstrate that change depends on frequency and type of religious practices and activities.