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The Role of Catholicism in the Identity Construction Processes of Filipino Second Generations Living in Italy

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Migration, Transnationalism and Catholicism

Abstract

This chapter analyses the role of Catholicism in the identity construction processes of Filipino youth living in Italy. The aim is to examine whether Catholic religion remains a vital source or if it is eroded in the new context; whether it reinforces ethnic identities or if it goes beyond ethnic boundaries, providing second generations with a less rigid kind of identity. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Filipino youth, the findings show that the religious vitality approach is confirmed: young people use Catholicism as an identity marker. Religion is not eroded in the immigrant context, but it remains an important identity reference point. According to its role in identity construction processes, three types of identity are identified: a religious identity, an ethno-religious identity and an ethnic identity.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For the sake of simplicity, in this contribution I will use the conceptual category of ‘second generations’ in a generational perspective, referring to both young people who were born and grew up in Italy from immigrant parents, and those of immigrant origin who arrived in Italy in their infancy or adolescence to rejoin their parents (that is, the 1.5 and 1.25 generations, cf. Rumbaut 1997).

  2. 2.

    The three studies are: the research conducted during my PhD and published in Caneva (2011), two other studies published in Ambrosini et al. (2010, 2011).

  3. 3.

    Even though classifications and typologies classify phenomena into general categories and they are not exhaustive, they are useful to structure the field of study and highlight distinctive features.

  4. 4.

    The phenomenon of ‘church-sharing’ between Italian Catholic communities and immigrant Catholic communities is well described in this volume by Ambrosini (see chapter “Protected but Separate: International Immigrants in the Italian Catholic Church”).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Elena Caneva

Authors
  1. Elena Caneva
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom

    Dominic Pasura

  2. Peace Research Institute Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Marta Bivand Erdal

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Caneva, E. (2016). The Role of Catholicism in the Identity Construction Processes of Filipino Second Generations Living in Italy. In: Pasura, D., Erdal, M. (eds) Migration, Transnationalism and Catholicism. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-58347-5_10

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