Changing geographies of immigration and religion in the U.S. south

This chapter examines the internal workings of faith communities in the U.S. South and how they are deeply enmeshed in every-day productions and negotiations of societal membership, citizenship rights, and immigrant integration. We begin with a brief overview of recent immigration and the ways it has complicated the region’s social and political landscape in the region. We then discuss the diversity of immigrant faith communities and the very different ways that established faith communities have tried to incorporate immigrants. Drawing on our research on faith communities in Charlotte, NC, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC, and Atlanta, GA we show how faith communities, both Christian and non-Christian, are producing diverse conceptions of social difference and societal membership. Our aim is to convey how ideas about citizenship are molded in faith-community contexts and the ways that these processes are shaped by particular regional histories.