Second-Generation Filipino American Faithful
Second-Generation Filipino American Faithful
Are They “Praying and Sending”?
This chapter discusses how Filipino Americans “filipinize” their Catholic religiosity through performing particular types of ministry and charity, particularly the act of sending balikbayan boxes back to relatives in the Philippines. At the same time, the church helps to reinforce and pass on Filipino values, such as utang na loob (debt of gratitude), and bayanihan (mutual cooperation for the common good). The chapter shows how the second generation continues the practice of remitting balikbayan, with 40% of them sending goods back to their parents' homeland. Institutions such as Catholic universities, parachurch organizations, and student groups also provide the infrastructure and space to develop filipinized Catholicism. These acts of religious institutions and structures merging with ethnic values and transnational connections help nurture and promote ethnoreligion.
Keywords: Filipino Americans, Catholic religiosity, balikbayan boxes, Filipino values, utang na loob, bayanihan, Filipinized Catholicism
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