Religious assimilation refers to the adoption of a majority or dominant

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

practices and

belief A belief is a subjective Attitude (psychology), attitude that something is truth, true or a State of affairs (philosophy), state of affairs is the case. A subjective attitude is a mental state of having some Life stance, stance, take, or opinion ...

s by a minority or subordinate culture. It is an important form of

cultural assimilation Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's Dominant culture, majority group or fully adopts the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group. The melting pot model is based on this ...

. Religious assimilation includes the

religious conversion Religious conversion is the adoption of a set of beliefs identified with one particular religious denomination to the exclusion of others. Thus "religious conversion" would describe the abandoning of adherence to one denomination and affiliatin ...

of individuals from a minority

faith Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept. In the context of religion, faith is " belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". According to the Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, faith has multiple definitions, inc ...

to the dominant faith. It can also include the religious

indoctrination Indoctrination is the process of inculcating (teaching by repeated instruction) a person or people into an ideology, often avoiding critical analysis. It can refer to a general process of socialization. The term often implies forms of brainwas ...

of children into a dominant religion by their converted parents. However, religious assimilation need not involve wholesale adoption of a dominant religious belief system by a minority; the concept is broad enough to include alterations in the frequency of religious participation to match that of the dominant culture. Indeed, religious assimilation among immigrant groups most commonly involves such minor changes, rather than sweeping change in religious belief systems.

Forms of religious assimilation

Gradual changes

In sharp contrast to other aspects of cultural assimilation such as language and nationality, dominant cultures in general tend not to expect immigrants to adopt the dominant religion. Some researchers, such as Will Herberg, have advanced a thesis of perpetual religious pluralism, to the effect that

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

their religious affiliation even after complete cultural assimilation in other aspects of culture. Still, even those who retain their religion are still likely to become less religious over time as a result of assimilation, Herberg says. After a generation or two, formerly devout families may see their original religious identity develop into something more surface-level or symbolic.

In response to pressure and/or persecution

Some dominant cultures may exert pressures for religious assimilation so extreme as to amount, according to some researchers, to a form of

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic oppression of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religion, religious beliefs or affiliations or their irreligion, lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within socie ...

. These pressures may be exerted by making other, more appealing forms of cultural assimilation, such as membership in secular social club activities, so time-consuming that they interfere seriously with attendance at minority religious services, and by discouraging expression of minority religious beliefs in public. Some examples of this form of religious assimilation can be found throughout Jewish history. In the late 1300s, antisemitic violence forced many Spanish Jews to convert or leave. Then, in 1492, Spain officially ordered the Jewish population of Spain to convert to Catholicism or leave. While some Spanish Jews did leave, others stayed. Those who stayed had to convert, but not all of those who converted fully adopted Catholicism; many of these continued to practice Judaism in secrecy, becoming known as " crypto-Jews." Others converted and began gradually adopting Catholicism over subsequent generations.

References

Religious conversion Sociology of religion {{reli-socio-stub

Forms of religious assimilation

Gradual changes

In response to pressure and/or persecution

See also

References