OGS Statement of Interest

My name is Ada Chidichimo Jeffrey and I am enrolled in a 2 year Master’s program at the University of Toronto in order to have sufficient time to complete my research project which includes large numbers of interviews as well as data analysis. I would like to research the role that religious institutions play in the integration of immigrants into Canada. Specifically the questions I would to address are as follows: Do religious institutions in Canada provide resources for integration that immigrants might not otherwise have access to as readily? Or, do religious institutions in Canada actually work against the process of integration by encouraging immigrants to identify themselves first as members of a particular community, and secondly, as Canadians?
Traditionally, scholarship on religion and immigration has maintained that religious institutions play a positive role in the integration of immigrants. They serve as community centres which put recent immigrants in touch with resources for housing, employment and social services while offering a support network of people with similar language and culture. Nancy Foner and Richard Alba in their article “Immigrant Religion: Bridge or Barrier to Integration?” (2008) state that this is primarily the case for immigrants integrating into the United States. Alternatively, some of the literature on the subject takes the opposite view, that religion and religious institutions are a barrier to integration. These scholars are mostly writing with regards to the Western European case wherein the government is typically more secular, and primary religion of immigrants is Islam. These authors, such as Buijs and Rath (2002) suggest that religious institutions (specifically Islamic religious Institutions) encourage “cultural isolationism”, and can lead to acts of violence and terrorism.
While much literature has been written about the role of religion on immigration in the United States and Western Europe, there has not been much work on the topic in Canada. The research being undertaken by Prof. Jeffrey Reitz at the University of Toronto is unique in this regard because it examines the Canadian experience of immigration with recourse to role of religion (Reitz 2008). I believe I am well situated to benefit from and hopefully contribute to his research due to my experience in the field of comparative religion and my involvement in his
collaborative program Ethnicity and Pluralism Studies. This program, when combined with my courses in the Study of Religion will enable me to address issues of race, gender and ethnicity in collaboration with my previous background in religious studies. Additionally, my fluency in both French and Spanish will allow me to access materials in other languages, including research done on the Quebec situation.
In order to answer the aforementioned questions I will use both quantitative and qualitative sources in my methodology, while also referring to some background literature in order to contextualize my findings. Quantitatively, I shall use data from the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey in order to provide background on the number of immigrants who declare a strong religious affiliation, and of whom, the percentage who feel accepted by Canadian society. Also Canadian census data will provide information on the degree to which these immigrants are structurally integrated into Canadian society vis-à-vis employment, education and housing levels. To obtain qualitative field data, I shall conduct interviews with several prominent religious institutions in the GTA whose congregation is primarily new Canadians. Some of these institutions include: The New Life Church on Queen St. E, and the Jafari Mosque. Finally, authors such as Jeffrey Reitz, Nancy Foner and Richard Alba, and Charles Hirschman provide relevant, contemporary articles that I can use to situate my own findings.
I am confident that my previous training, and skill-set, when combined with the resources of the University of Toronto, will allow me to undertake original research on the role of religious institutions on the integration of immigrants which will ultimately benefit Canada in the area of immigration policy and social service improvements. I hope to provide an answer to the question: Should Canada be supporting religious institutions as an intermediary way of providing access to services to new immigrants, or should Canada attempt to provide these services itself?



Works Cited
Jeffrey G. Reitz, Rupa Banerjee, Mai Phan, and Jordan Thompson. "Race, Religion, and the Social Integration of New Immigrant Minorities in Canada," September 2008;

Foner, Nancy and Richard Alba. “Immigrant Religion: Bridge or Barrier to Inclusion?” International Migration Review. 42.2 (Summer 2008): 360-392.

Hirschman, Charles. “The Role of Religion in the Origins and Adaptations of Immigrant Groups in the United States.” International Migration Review. 38.3 (Fall 2004): 1206-1233.

Buijs, F. J., and J. Rath. “Muslims in Europe: The State of Research.” IMISCOE Working Paper. (2006).