Religion Across Borders — Transnational Immigrant Networks

A study describing the transnational ties between members of Houston, Texas congregations and individuals, groups, and congregations in their sending communities in Argentina, Mexico, China, Vietnam, and Guatemala. Also includes one chapter on New York City Chinese immigrants. Congregations examined represent diversity in geographic proximity of communities of origin, immigration history, faith, socioeconomic status of the immigrant population, and the extent to which immigrants come from a tightly bounded geographic area. Seven chapters address particular congregations; the final chapter analyzes the variety of transnational religious networks described in the seven case studies. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Helen Rose Ebaugh, Sociology Professor, University of Houston, received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1975 with specialties in organizational sociology and the sociology of religion. In addition to four books, she has published numerous articles in scholarly journals. She has been a faculty member at the University of Houston since 1973 and routinely teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in sociological theory, the sociology of religion and world religions. Janet Saltzman Chafetz, Professor of Sociology, has been at the University of Houston since 1971. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin, in 1969. Her most recent publications include an edited Handbook on the Sociology of Gender (1999), a review of feminist theories in Annual Review of Sociology (1997), and a paper on feminist theory and social change in Current Perspectives in Social Theory (1999). A life-long interest in immigrants occasioned by the fact that all of her grandparents immigrated to the U.S., has finally found professional expression through joining Professor Ebaugh on this project.