Responses by White Christians to Recent Latino Immigration in the Rural U.S. Midwest

Datos Bibliográficos

ID16901413
AutoresJeremy Rehwaldt (Midland University, autor de correspondencia)
Año2015
Volumen6
Número2
Páginas686-711
Fecha de publicación2015-06-15
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligions (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel6020686
OpenAlexW1529824046
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas14

Over the last twenty-five years, the rural U.S. Midwest has undergone dramatic demographic changes as the population of white people decreased in many areas and the number of Latinos surged. These shifts are especially noteworthy in areas that had stable, relatively homogeneous populations over at least the last half-century. Many Christian churches, both Protestant and Catholic, are responding by reaching out to new residents. Such efforts have sometimes led to tension as Anglo Christians seek to reconcile the moral claims of their faith communities with the prejudices and fears they have of Latino immigrants. This article describes how Anglo-majority mainline Protestant congregations and Catholic parishes are responding to these demographic changes, notes key differences between the two groups’ responses, and then sketches several possible explanations for the differences, including the underlying theology of their efforts, the prior religious affiliation of Latino newcomers, the organizational structure of church bodies, and varying impetuses for action. The paper concludes with observations about the future of Christian communities in the rural Midwest

Christianity · Faith · Geography · Homogeneous · Immigration · Political science · Population · Protestantism · Rural area · Sociology · Theology · Demography · Gender Studies · Law · Pentecostalism and Christianity Studies · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development