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Catherine Holtmann Editor

Exploring
Religion and
Diversity in
Canada
People, Practice and Possibility
Exploring Religion and Diversity in Canada
Catherine Holtmann
Editor

Exploring Religion and

Diversity in Canada
People, Practice and Possibility
Editor
Catherine Holtmann
Sociology Department
University of New Brunswick
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

ISBN 978-3-319-78231-7    ISBN 978-3-319-78232-4 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78232-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018942902

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of
the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,
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Acknowledgments

The editor and contributors to this volume would like to acknowledge the extraordi-
nary support they have received from Dr. Lori Beaman and the Religion and
Diversity Project team members (www.religionanddiversity.ca). This support came
in many forms including leadership, critical engagement, mentoring, professional
development opportunities, access to funding for research and workshops, research
collaborations, co-authored publications, and editorial experience. The words of
contributor, Amélie Barras, who completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Lori
Beaman, capture the how the opportunities provided by the Religion and Diversity
Project impacted our scholarship:
Religion and Diversity Project events were a fantastic opportunity to meet and develop
relationships with scholars throughout Canada working on religion and diversity. It was
also a way for me to have first-hand experience of how collaborative Canadian research
projects are developed and carried out. As an assistant professor today, these experiences
acted as an invaluable roadmap.

We also want to thank Emma Robinson, a graduate student at the University of

New Brunswick, for her fine work on the organizational details of the manuscript,
communication with the contributors, copy editing, and formatting.
We are grateful to the reviewers whose comments helped to improve the chapters
in this publication. Finally, many thanks to the staff at Springer for their support in
making this emerging scholarship on religious diversity in Canada affordably avail-
able to students.

February 2018 Catherine Holtmann

v
Contents

Introduction������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������    1
Catherine Holtmann
I mmigrant Women and Religious Social Networks��������������������������������������   11
Catherine Holtmann
Religion, Domestic Violence and Congregational Life���������������������������������   35
Nancy Nason-Clark
 eligious and Sexual Identities in Motion: Challenging Stereotypes,
R
Exploring Nuance��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   57
Heather Shipley
 eligion and Education: The Story of a Conflicted
R
Canadian Partnership ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������   81
Leo Van Arragon
 eligious Diversity, Health and Healthcare in Canada�������������������������������� 107
R
Lisa Smith
 hristian Congregational Life in a Changing Social Environment������������ 135
C
Steve McMullin
 anadian Catholic Experience: The New Evangelization
C
and Identity in a Diverse Canada ������������������������������������������������������������������ 157
Paul L. Gareau
Reasonable Accommodation �������������������������������������������������������������������������� 183
Amélie Barras

vii
viii Contents

Muslim Canadians ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 207

Jennifer A. Selby
 theism and Religious Nones: An Introduction to the Study
A
of Nonreligion in Canada�������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 237
Steven Tomlins
 onclusion: The Changing Shape of Religious Diversity���������������������������� 255
C
Lori G. Beaman

Index������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 261
Introduction

Catherine Holtmann

Keywords Religious diversity · Social inequality · Homogenization · Learning

resources · Critical reflection · Identities · Concepts · Politics · Complexity

I will never forget the email I got from Heather Shipley inviting me to create a
Facebook page for the Religion and Diversity Project student caucus. It was no
problem to create the page (https://www.facebook.com/RDPStudents/) but accept-
ing the invitation from Heather, the Project’s manager, was a big deal. It was my
formal entry into the Religion and Diversity Project, a research program funded by
the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada on issues of reli-
gious diversity in Canada and abroad from a variety of perspectives including reli-
gion, law, communication, sociology, history, political science, education and
philosophy, under the direction of Lori Beaman at the University of Ottawa. For
seven years, scholars associated with the Project explored the questions:
1. How are religious identities socially constructed?
2. How is religious expression defined and delimited in law and public policy?
3. How and why do gender and sexuality act as flashpoints in debates on religious
freedom?
4. What are alternative strategies for managing religious diversity?
Religion has become a prominent topic in public discourse, politics and interna-
tional affairs, and for most of the contributors to this book the Religion and Diversity
Project was a big deal because it provided a magnificent training milieu for our
academic careers.
The Religion and Diversity Project consisted of a core team of thirty-seven estab-
lished researchers of international repute, their graduate students, and staff. Through
team meetings, workshops, public lectures, and conferences we got to know each
other personally, learn about and share our research interests, take part in training
opportunities, apply for research funding, expand our scholarly ­networks, engage in

C. Holtmann (*)
Sociology Department, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
e-mail: [email protected]

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 1

C. Holtmann (ed.), Exploring Religion and Diversity in Canada,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78232-4_1
2 C. Holtmann

critical conversations about key questions and controversies in the field, and collabo-
rate on projects. Intense scholarly exchange was always evident as members of the
Project wrestled with concepts that were either new to them or being considered in
new ways. The fact that scholars were bringing perspectives from multiple national
contexts—the issues that accompany religious diversity change depending on par-
ticular social, political and economic realities—made our academic exchanges them-
selves exercises in negotiating diversity. Much of the research that is the basis for the
chapters in this book was funded by the Religion and Diversity Project. This edited
collection provides a glimpse of some of the fruits of the Religion and Diversity
Project largely from the perspectives of emerging scholars of religion in Canada.
Exploring Religion and Diversity in Canada: People, Practice and Possibility is
organized according to themes and traditions related to religious diversity, from
education to health care, from Christians to Muslims. Throughout the book, the
contributors highlight concepts that are important in their fields of expertise.
Although I will highlight a few of the concepts related to religion in this introduc-
tion, it is important to read and think about them in the chapters themselves in order
to better understand how the concepts are used in relation to particular individuals
and religious groups, or specific situations and contexts.
The category of religion has become problematic, given the mutually influencing
and changing nature of religion and society. Many scholars of religion are asking
critical questions about what should be the focus of our investigations. I interviewed
James Spickard a few years ago as part of a series of short videos of scholars, reli-
gious leaders, and adherents speaking about religion that Nancy Nason-Clark and I
created as teaching and learning resources <http://religionanddiversity.ca/en/
projects-­a nd-tools/projects/linking-classrooms/linking-classrooms-videos/>.
Spickard suggests that there are at least six stories that indicate what is going on in
the study of religion today: (1) religion is disappearing; (2) religion is becoming
more conservative; (3) religion is increasingly congregational in form; (4) religion
is more individualized than ever before; (5) the religious sphere is a marketplace
offering different forms of religion to consumers; and (6) religion is globalized. At
first glance, some of these stories appear to be contradictory—which is why coming
to a critical understanding of religion in its contemporary manifestations is com-
plex. In order to simplify things somewhat, I suggest that there are at least three
trends in which elements of Spickard’s six stories are embedded that contribute to
the problematization of the category of religion. The advent of a global, networked,
information society (Castells 2000) has contributed to two opposing trends, the pro-
cess of homogenization of cultures and religion as well as the increasing heteroge-
neity of religious beliefs and practices. A third trend, related to the first two, is the
rise of non-religion, as increasing proportions of people do not affiliate with any
religious tradition or describe their beliefs and practices as religious or spiritual.
The homogenization of culture and religion means that in several ways religions
are becoming more alike. Technological innovations enable people and information
to travel rapidly around the globe. Using the internet, Canadians can easily access
information about religion, particularly non-Christian religions. Our awareness of
different religions is heightened as the religious diversity of our society increases
due to immigration. For many students, the university is a much more multicultural
Introduction 3

and multi-faith space than was their local high school. Religious groups and indi-
viduals always adapt their practices to the social contexts of which they are a part.
There is evidence that religious minority groups in Canada are reshaping aspects of
their practices to conform to those of the Christian majority (Beyer and Ramji
2013). The adaptation of religious practices by minority groups can be understood
as an effect of the pressure of Christian hegemony but it can also be viewed as stra-
tegic. Religious minorities seize opportunities to adapt to the congregational form
which characterizes Christianity in order to position themselves favorably in rela-
tion to state policies on multiculturalism, religious freedom, and human rights as
well as in relation to public opinion. Many Canadians associate Christians with
regular attendance at churches and therefore expect that Hindus and Buddhists will
worship in their temples and Muslims will visit their mosques on a weekly basis.
The homogenization of religion, however is not simply benign. Colonization is a
violent project of cultural and religious homogenization through which Christianity
and its values and practices are imposed on the colonized (Chidester 1996; Peterson
and Walhof 2002). I write about the colonization process in the present tense,
because it is ongoing and evident in the ways that public rhetoric and state interven-
tions continue to distinguish between good and bad religions (Orsi 2005). Good
religions are given state support such as the right to establish faith-based schools,
but the state intervenes to curb bad religions such as banning certain religious sym-
bols in the public sphere. Mainstream media sources reinforce the designation of
good and bad religions when their reporting paints all members of a religious group
with the same brush. News tends to focus on outliers within religious groups, usu-
ally the most conservative or radical, giving the impression that religions are essen-
tially disruptive or destructive forces in society. If higher education has a role to
play in the process of the homogenization of religions, this can be a constructive
role in teaching that all religions have within them beliefs and practices that can be
used for good or ill. Given my area of expertise is the intersection of religion and
domestic violence, I think we can evaluate the social impact of religious practices
and beliefs based on whether or not they are a source of harm or a source of
liberation.
We have access to information on religion via the internet 24/7. This means that
individuals and groups with the resources needed to spread information about reli-
gious teachings and practices are challenging the traditional authority of religious
leaders. Individuals and groups can access information on religious teachings and
practices with relative ease and are drawn to forms of religion that have widespread
appeal. In this way, the religious marketplace caters to desires of the masses through
their smart phones and iPads. To paraphrase McLuhan, the medium has become the
message—religious seekers can surf the internet anywhere and anytime looking for
forms of religion that fit with their lifestyle. This can contribute to the homogeniza-
tion of religion, toning down its critical social function, especially those elements
that critique consumerism, violence and environmental degradation.
Given the social pressures to conform, the rising heterogeneity of religious
groups and the increasing diversity of religious beliefs and practices within reli-
gious traditions can be understood as forms of resistance to the global trend of cul-
4 C. Holtmann

tural homogenization. Despite those that predict the disappearance of religion,

religion continues to be a salient aspect of collective and individual identities. The
internet and technological innovations have led to the proliferation of and wide-
spread access to information about particular religious groups that would otherwise
remain obscure. New religious movements are arising all the time. And although
unmediated access to religious information can lead to the popular appropriation of
religious messages and practices, it is also used to strengthen individual and collec-
tive commitment. Not only can religious people access sacred texts, commentaries,
prayers, and music online but they can connect with other people in their religious
group or with those who have similar spiritual goals through social media if they
cannot do so face-to-face. In the face of seemingly unlimited choices, some people
are choosing to limit their choices in order to follow strict forms of religious prac-
tice, such as Orthodox Jews or Salafi Muslims (Davidman 1991; Inge 2017).
Individuals and groups choose to purposely foreground their religious identities in
the face of social conditions in which the promises of science and democracy have
not been fulfilled. Conservative or fundamentalist religious identities provide firm
guidelines, stability and truth in an era of uncertainty and growing social
inequality.
Religious groups can broadcast and podcast their services so that individuals can
feel part of a congregation even if they cannot or choose not to physically partici-
pate. This is related to the phenomena called “believing without belonging” or
“vicarious religion” (Davie 2007). Some people feel that religious groups have a
role to play in society but they might only engage with religion periodically like
when they want a religious wedding ceremony or funeral. Even leaders of secular
states turn to religious language and practices in dealing with public tragedies such
as terrorist attacks or mass shootings. Beyond congregational walls, home-centered
faith sharing or spirituality groups can supplement or become the core of some
people’s religious practices. In these intimate gatherings, individual understandings
of religious teachings can deepen and group members can hold one another account-
able to maintain religious practices, especially if they are counter-cultural. This
resistance to the homogenization of religion, especially in its institutional forms, is
especially evident amongst women, whose religious beliefs and practices have his-
torically been marginalized (Holtmann 2011) or take place under the radar of reli-
gious leaders (Gervais 2012). Some women who work for gender equality draw
upon the resources of their faith traditions in order to address social problems such
as domestic violence (Nason-Clark and Clark Kroeger 2010; Nason-Clark and
Kroeger 2004).
Several chapters in this collection employ the concept of lived religion or every-
day religion in order to capture the reality of day-to-day religious beliefs and prac-
tices of people in contrast to institutionally prescribed teachings and norms
(Ammerman 2007; McGuire 2008). McGuire (2008) argues that this is not a new
phenomenon—what constitutes authentic religious belief and practice has been
contested throughout history. Questions of religious authenticity always involve
power struggles. Lived religion is evidence of the healthy dialectic between indi-
vidual and collective agency and religious and political institutional structures. That
Introduction 5

is why the subtitle of this book is People, Practices and Possibility—religion (and
non-religion) as it is actually lived and practiced by Canadians is dynamic. Change
is inevitable and exciting because it means that deep equality is possible (Beaman
2014). Widespread access to information about religion today has increased peo-
ple’s ability to craft their own approaches to religion without any necessary connec-
tion to or censure from religious institutions. Wise religious and political leaders
who are aware of the power of the people, so to speak, are adapting accordingly.
This brings me to the concept of spirituality and its relationship with religion.
During my Catholic theological studies, I learned that the relationship between reli-
gion and spirituality is like the relationship between bones and flesh— one needs
both to be a healthy and whole person. Religion is associated with the structuring of
religion—its rules, roles, texts and symbols—while spirituality is associated with
the practicing of religion—one’s body, emotions, thoughts, self-awareness, and
sense of connection to others and the sacred. It makes sense that an institutionally
grounded school of theology would promote this kind of understanding but socio-
logical research concerning peoples’ everyday religious practices indicates that the
association between religion and spirituality is not so straightforward. Some people
who describe themselves as deeply spiritual may or may not have a connection to a
religious institution or group. Others who identify as members of a religious group
may not engage in any kind of intentional spiritual practice. There are a range of
possible combinations of religion and spirituality between these two examples.
The increasing number of people who do not identify with any particular reli-
gious tradition is the third trend in the contemporary study of religion. This group is
of interest to scholars of religion because it is diverse and growing. Religious
“nones” are comprised of atheists, non-theists, agnostics (those who have yet to
decide where they stand about religion and the sacred), the spiritual but not reli-
gious, and those who do not attribute their beliefs and practices to religion yet
whose lives resemble those of religious people. It is perhaps this group of people
that are most impacted by the contemporary dynamics between religion and soci-
ety—the opposing trends of homogenization and differentiation of religion. Perhaps
they are even playing a role in driving these trends. In countries of the West, the
domination of public discourse by the perspectives of politics, economics, and sci-
ence (technology), has shoved religion to the side and many agree that is where it
belongs. As consumers in a highly diverse religious marketplace, many people exer-
cise their choice not to be religious. They reject, or at least choose not to use, reli-
gious or spiritual language to describe or give order to their everyday lives.
All of the chapters in this text will help you to further explore these complex
trends within the academic study of religion. The structure of each chapter is similar
in order to help facilitate your learning. The chapters include a real-life story based
on empirical research. The stories we tell help us to make sense of our lives. In tell-
ing a story, religious and non-religious people assemble the different elements that
arise from the relationships and situations that fill their days into a coherent whole.
Stories are particularly appropriate when it comes to religion, because all religions
are rooted in stories—meta-narratives and myths that have helped to explain some
of the big questions in life such as: Why are we here? What should our relationship
6 C. Holtmann

to others be like? What should I do with my life? And what happens after we die?
Religious people understand their personal stories to be intertwined with larger reli-
gious narratives (Ammerman 2014).
In addition to highlighting key concepts, each author refers to statistical data in
her/his chapter. These data, most often that collected by Statistics Canada, provide
a snapshot of the population in relation to religion. Statistics help us to identify
broad patterns of religion in society and are a good contrast to the rich details pro-
vided by individual and collective stories. The combination of qualitative and quan-
titative data in each chapter of this volume provide different perspectives on religious
diversity. Differing perspectives on particular religious issues or traditions are
important in understanding the complexity of religion. Each chapter addresses some
of the current challenges and future opportunities in the author’s field of inquiry.
All of the contributors are concerned about the dissemination of our research
findings on religion and are aware of the multiple opportunities that people have for
learning. Thus, this text has a focus on teaching and learning about religious diver-
sity. Its electronic format is important so that it is widely accessible and affordable.
The chapters include questions for critical reflection so that readers can begin to
integrate the new information provided. It is hoped that these questions will assist in
interrogating some of the assumptions or stereotypes that students have about reli-
gion. Students can also consult the online and print resources listed at the end of
each chapter if they are interested in furthering their learning about a particular
issue or religious/non-religious group. Some of the online resources are hosted on
the Religion and Diversity Project website: <www.religionanddiversity.ca> and
were created specifically for the study of religious diversity. The resources include
short video clips of scholars, religious leaders, and adherents speaking about reli-
gion; photo essays; instructions on “how to” link classrooms using technology; a
guide to organizing a religious leaders panel; and examples of assignments such as
mapping the religious diversity of urban spaces.
The availability of print and multi-media learning tools recognizes that there are
a variety of ways that learning takes place. It usually begins with tapping into what
people already know—their personal experiences, opinions, and knowledge about
religion and religious people. Many of the questions for critical review throughout
this book are designed to encourage self-reflection. Online visual resources can also
stimulate reflection through the juxtaposition of familiar images alongside the unfa-
miliar. For example, a photo essay on same sex marriage combines traditional sym-
bols such as flowers and rings with feminist theory texts. Another example is the
Stained Glass Story of Abuse on the RAVE Project website <www.theraveproject.
org> which brings together the beauty of traditional stained glass with the ugliness
of domestic violence. It is when personal knowledge and assumptions are made
explicit that the starting point for further learning and change can be identified.
The chapters in this book cover a diverse range of religious traditions, themes,
and issues concerning contemporary religious diversity in Canada. Four of the
twelve chapters focus on a single religious group. Steve McMullin explores the
changes taking place in evangelical Protestant congregations in Chap. 7. This is one
group of Christians that is experiencing growth in the midst of widespread decline
Introduction 7

in mainstream Christian denominations. One of the denominations struggling with

declining participation by its Canadian-born membership is the Catholic church.
Chap. 8 features the findings of Paul Gareau’s research on Catholic youth and their
involvement in a program that is part of the church’s attempts to revitalize a coun-
tercultural Catholic identity. This exploration of the identity formation of religious
youth shines a light on the complex relationship between institutions and individu-
als. Jennifer Selby introduces readers to the lived religious practices of a young
Muslim woman living in Newfoundland and Labrador in Chap. 10. This case study
serves as a springboard for better understanding the unique challenges that Muslim
Canadians face on a daily basis in a post 9/11 world. Selby’s work highlights the
ongoing social and political pressures of colonialism and their impacts on members
of religious minorities. Although atheists are, strictly speaking, not a religious
group, they are the exclusive focus of Steven Tomlins’ research presented in Chap.
11. An increasing number of Canadians are identifying as religious “nones” on our
national census. Tomlins helps to unpack this census category by means of examin-
ing historical legal cases and an ethnographic study of everyday atheists in Ottawa,
Ontario.
The other chapters are organized according to themes and issues and position
these in relationship to the diverse religious traditions being practiced throughout
the country. In Chap. 2, I write about the role that religious social networks play in
the lives of immigrant women who have recently settled in the Maritime provinces
on Canada’s east coast. The chapter highlights the role that formal and informal
social networks play as Christian and Muslim women navigate life in a new society.
Social networks assist them in dealing with the realities of becoming a visible
minority and/or religious minority, experiencing discrimination, coping with shift-
ing gender roles in their families, and living with religious diversity. Nancy Nason-­
Clark takes up the issue of domestic violence in families of faith in Chap. 3. She
explains the unique vulnerabilities of religious women to victimization as well as
the story of how violence and abuse become part of religious men’s lives. The chap-
ter highlights the important role that religious leaders can play both within their
congregations and as part of a community-wide response to the problem of domes-
tic violence. Nason-Clark’s research addresses a gap in scholarship that has desig-
nated religion as part of the problem of domestic violence. She argues that religions
have resources that can be harnessed to assist victims and perpetrators in the process
of change, accountability and social justice.
In Chap. 4, Heather Shipley addresses the hot button issue of religion, gender
and sexual diversity. Her chapter is based on the findings of the Religion, Gender
and Sexuality among Youth in Canada project—research that reveals the complex
diversity of young Canadian’s identities. Youth identities are religiously diverse and
involve a range of gendered identities as well as an array of choices concerning
sexual relationships. Each of these identity categories are dynamic and mutually
influencing as the young adults engage in a process of figuring out who they are.
Van Arragon’s work on religion and education is presented in Chap. 5. A longtime
educator and administrator, he invites readers to ask critical questions about the
regulation of religion by the state within educational systems in Canada. This chap-
8 C. Holtmann

ter will be of particular interest to those training to be teachers as he skillfully

reminds readers about the religious dynamics at play in and outside classrooms
whether or not religion is the subject matter. Another significant location of religion
in Canadian public life is its intersection with health care and this is the focus of
Chap. 6 by Lisa Smith. Religious narratives become even more salient to individu-
als and groups during times of crises and this is certainly the case when people
require medical care. Smith raises questions about the religious definitions of health
and well-being and their implications for those who provide public health care in
Canada. Again, this chapter could be helpful for those training to be health care
workers.
The negotiation of religious diversity is the issue addressed by Amélie Barras in
Chap. 9 in which she explores the concept of reasonable accommodation in case law
and its movement into public discourse in Quebec. Using an example from her
qualitative research with Muslims, Barras suggests an alternative framework for the
negotiation of religious diversity.
It is fitting that Lori Beaman, the catalyst behind most of the research presented
in this book and to whom all of the contributors are grateful, is the author of the
concluding chapter. Beaman writes about the goals and design of the Religion and
Diversity Project and how the work unfolded in ways that were unforeseen, as is
often the case with collaboration and research. Beaman’s assessment of the fruits of
the Project over the past eight years incorporates the contributions of the authors of
this text. She also describes research on religious diversity that is not included in the
collection but which readers can learn more about by visiting the Project website.
Finally, Beaman points to the future and describes emerging scholarship on the
growth of non-religion, including her comparative research on religious and non-­
religious people involved in the protection of sea turtles—fascinating!

References

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New York: Oxford University Press.
Ammerman, N. (Ed.). (2007). Everyday religion: Observing modern religious lives. New York:
Oxford University Press.
Beaman, L. G. (2014). Deep equality as an alternative to accommodation and tolerance. Nordic.
Journal of Religion and Society, 27(2), 89–111.
Beyer, P., & Ramji, R. (Eds.). (2013). Growing up Canadian: Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists.
Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Castells, M. (2000). The rise of the network society: The information age: Economy, society and
culture (Vol. 1, 2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.
Chidester, D. (1996). Savage systems: Colonialism and comparative religion in southern Africa.
Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
Davidman, L. (1991). Tradition in a rootless world: Women turn to orthodox Judaism. Berkeley:
University of California Press.
Davie, G. (2007). Vicarious religion: A methodological challenge. In N. Ammerman (Ed.), Everyday
religion: Observing modern religious lives (pp. 22–35). New York: Oxford University Press.
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Gervais, C. L. M. (2012). Canadian women religious’ negotiation of feminism and Catholicism.

Sociology of Religion, 73(4), 384–410.
Holtmann, C. (2011). Workers in the vineyard: Catholic women and social action. In G. Giordan
& W. Swatos (Eds.), Religion, spirituality and everyday practice (pp. 141–152). New York:
Springer Publishing.
Inge, A. (2017). The making of a Salafi woman: Paths to conversion. New York: Oxford University
Press.
McGuire, M. B. (2008). Lived religion: Faith and practice in everday life. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Nason-Clark, N., & Clark Kroeger, C. (2010). No place for abuse: Biblical and practical resources
to counteract domestic violence (2nd ed.). Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.
Nason-Clark, N., & Kroeger, C. C. (2004). Refuge from abuse: Healing and hope for abused
Christian women. Downer’s Grove: Intervarsity Press.
Orsi, R. (2005). Between heaven and earth: The religious worlds people make and the scholars
who study them. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Peterson, D., & Walhof, D. (Eds.). (2002). The invention of religion: Rethinking belief in politics
and history. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.
Immigrant Women and Religious Social
Networks

Catherine Holtmann

Abstract Canada has one of the highest rates of immigration per capita in the world.
This has led to a highly diverse population, particularly in large urban centres like
Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. However other parts of the country, or what are
referred to as non-traditional receiving societies, are working to attract more immi-
grants. Statistics Canada data reveal that the Maritimes is a region with low levels of
ethnic and religious diversity, but that is beginning to change. Increasing levels of
ethno-religious diversity in the population can be a challenge in terms of social cohe-
sion. This chapter explores the role of immigrant women’s social networks as they
settle into Maritime society. Based on qualitative data, the analysis compares the
roles that Christian and Muslim immigrant women’s religious social networks play
in the development of social capital. Social capital can contribute to immigrant
women’s self-confidence, well-being, and ability to fulfill their dreams for a better
life. Ethno-religious social networks can also assist immigrant women as they indi-
vidually and collectively negotiate their religious identities and practices, deciding
which aspects to emphasize, reshape, and let go of in the Canadian context.

Keywords Social networks · Social capital · Christians · Muslims · Immigrant

women · Maritimes · Gender · Ethno-religious diversity · Intersectional

1 Introduction

This chapter is based on sociological research conducted with Christian and Muslim
immigrant women who live in the Canadian Maritime provinces of New Brunswick
and Prince Edward Island (PEI)1. Using qualitative methods, the research explores
the role of different social networks, including religious ones, in the lives of two
groups of immigrant women during the settlement process. While considering the

1
Funding for the fieldwork in this research was provided by the Religion and Diversity Project.
C. Holtmann (*)
Sociology Department, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
e-mail: [email protected]

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 11

C. Holtmann (ed.), Exploring Religion and Diversity in Canada,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78232-4_2
12 C. Holtmann

multiple social networks that immigrant women access, the spotlight here will be on
the role of religious social networks. Unlike the provinces of British Columbia and
Ontario, the Maritimes are a non-traditional destination for immigrants and have
relatively low levels of ethno-religious diversity. In the last decade however, this has
begun to change as provincial governments in the region look to immigration as a
strategy for population stability and economic growth. A myopic focus on the eco-
nomic contributions of immigrants, however, has blinded public officials to the
importance of considering other factors that contribute to social cohesion.
Confronted with anti-immigrant political rhetoric and policies (Vitali 2017) as well
as numerous media reports on acts of violence against Muslims (Globe and Mail
2017), education concerning the lived religious practices of immigrant women and
their families is of heightened importance in Canada. Through the use of story, sta-
tistics, and online resources, this chapter will assist readers in learning about the
important role that social networks play in the lives of Christian and Muslim immi-
grant women—particularly when facing challenges during the settlement process—
and the individual and collective strengths drawn upon in overcoming these
challenges.

2 A Real-Life Story from Qualitative Research

As you will learn in greater detail in the chapters by Barras and Selby that highlight
Muslims (see Chaps. 9 and 10), regular weekly attendance at the mosque is not as
an important religious practice for Muslim women as it is for men. Women do take
part in public religious practices but for many, the heart of their religious activities
takes place in the home. In Muslim majority contexts, women need not go to the
mosque in order to be part of religious social networks. However, following migra-
tion to the Maritime region where Muslims make up less than one per cent of the
population, they discover that mosques play a different social role than in their
countries of origin. There is only one mosque in each of the large cities in New
Brunswick and PEI, and they are meeting places for Muslims of different ethnic
groups, economic classes, and theological perspectives. In recent years, women in
the Maritime mosques have begun reaching out to new Muslim immigrants and
families with young children. By paying attention to the needs of their faith com-
munity and reflecting on their own experiences as immigrants, Muslim women are
aware that members of a religious minority group need to provide social support to
one other.
One woman speaks about how her regular participation in the local mosque helps
her to assist other Muslims. Through the mosque, she has become aware of the
needs of Muslims in her city:
If somebody in the community needed help with making food because they were sick, I
would make food for them. I would take care, like go to their house and sit there for a while
just to make them feel better. Or if I found out about someone that they’re in the hospital, I
would go visit them.. . There’s always [an Auntie]. . . when I came here she was there for
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 13

me. So when I came here we found out about the mosque and we go directly to the mosque.
So the whole community sort of helps the new immigrant. .. Our mosque is not just
Pakistani. They’re from Africa, people are from the Middle East and you know, the
European Union – everywhere. So if the students need help, we would give money, we
would give food, we would give clothes (Muslim #13).

A mother with a young daughter explains why she attends the same mosque
regularly:
We have a mosque here and we do every Friday over there. Every Sunday we have Qur’an
class. All the children start three years and four years [old] and people, like parents, volun-
teer work and read Qur’an and tell about our religion.. . I read the Qur’an in Arabic but I
translate in my mother language, in Urdu.. . [During Ramadan] every Saturday we have a
fasting dinner at the mosque. Every Saturday everybody goes there because we try to sit
together. Yes, because it’s hard [to break the fast with friends at home] – everybody’s work-
ing and children go [to school] early in the morning (Muslim #19).

Through the religious social networks at their local mosque, these Muslim
women have found ways to put into practice their religious values of care and char-
ity. Mothers take care of the religious education of their children, and women have
the opportunity to practice charity or the payment of zakát (Anderson and Dickey
Young 2010, p. 209) to members of the Muslim community who are in financial
need.

3 Key Concepts

Social networks consist of the interpersonal relationships people develop and main-
tain in the situations, organizations, and institutions of which they are a part through
the course of daily life. Social networks usually begin in the family—the primary
institution in which most individuals are socialized. Socialization includes the
transmission of patterns of communication, belief systems, and actions from older
to younger generations in families. Families are embedded in larger social networks
in geographical locations such as neighbourhoods, villages, cities, and countries as
well as through the institutional processes of education, the provision of public
social services, employment practices, and political participation. Social networks
are developed through regular face-to-face interactions and virtual connections
using email and social media like Facebook. Interpersonal relationships within
social networks differ in their quality. Some consist of strong emotional bonds such
as those with friends, family, and co-workers. These are referred to as strong ties.
Other social bonds or weak ties exist between acquaintances, members of a com-
munity organization, or employees in different divisions of a large company.
It is in social networks that individuals create social capital. The concept of
social capital was developed by Pierre Bourdieu (1986). Similar to the way in which
economic capital is exchanged by people for labour, goods, and services, social
capital is the currency of interpersonal exchanges. In getting to know people and
interacting with them, trust develops. Then when opportunities for further social
14 C. Holtmann

interaction arise, people connect or reach out to people they know and trust. For
example, many new immigrants get their first paid jobs through immigrant social
networks. An established immigrant employer will hire a relatively unknown new-
comer based on ethnic commonalities and word-of-mouth within ethnic social net-
works. Let’s say that there is a job opening as a cashier in an Asian grocery store in
Charlottetown, PEI and a Korean immigrant woman successfully applies for it. She
gets the job because of the social capital she has created within Asian social net-
works. With this first Canadian job, she has the opportunity to start creating social
capital beyond her ethnic networks as she interacts with coworkers, customers, and
suppliers.
Bourdieu developed the concept of social capital in order to explain the social
structuring of class and how class structures are reproduced. Social networks tend
to be largely class-specific and homogeneous, since people tend to socialize with
others who are similar to themselves. Robert Putnam (2007) further explains the
concept of social capital by distinguishing between two types—bonding and bridg-
ing. Bonding social capital is the emotional support that comes from strong inter-
personal relationships and is critical for overall well-being. It is most likely to be
developed through social networks that are homogeneous, such as those among
immigrants who share the same ethnicity or country of origin. In contrast, bridging
social capital develops in social networks that are diverse in terms of ethnic origins
and class. Heterogeneous social networks can assist immigrants in social mobility,
or in other words going from having nothing in the new society (no place to live, no
job, no friends) to becoming settled and productive in their new home. Immigrants
need to develop both bonding and bridging social capital in order to have a positive
experience living in a new society.
In applying the concepts of bonding and bridging social capital to the rapid
growth of ethno-religious diversity in the United States, Putnam suggests that the
development of social networks for the creation of social capital in the early stages
of immigrant settlement can result in increased tensions and divisions between
native-born citizens and newcomers. This is because immigrants tend to support one
another and native-born citizens are unfamiliar with and suspicious of minority cul-
tures. However, over time, as bridging capital between the two groups is created,
social cohesion will improve. Portes (2001) argues that the situation is more com-
plex, depending on a variety of factors associated with immigrants from different
ethnic and class backgrounds. His research highlights the process he calls segmented
assimilation, in which second generation immigrant youth from some ethnic back-
grounds integrate very well socially in the US while youth from other ethnic back-
grounds drift towards the margins of society, unable to realize their immigrant
parents’ dreams for a better life in a new land. Portes asserts that social cohesion in
an ethnically diverse society depends on effective social policies rather than on
social capital. Strong social policies can mitigate ethnic segregation and ensure
equality of opportunity (Portes and Vickstrom 2011).
Based on statistical data in Canada, Kazemipur has explored the social capital
that immigrants develop through multiple dimensions of social life including par-
ticipation in voluntary associations, political engagement, religious involvement,
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 15

membership in labour or professional organizations, volunteering, informal associa-

tions, and subjective feelings of trust (2009, p. 13). In contrast to the situation in the
US, he argues that Canadian immigrants are generally less socially segregated and
have greater trust in their neighbours and in social institutions. In regards to the abil-
ity of immigrants to create social capital, Kazemipur finds that Canada’s multicul-
tural policies are working. Nevertheless, Muslims are struggling to create bridging
social capital largely because of mistrust on the part of native-born citizens
(Kazemipur 2014).
The intersecting structures of gender, class, and ethnicity contribute to complex-
ity in a multicultural society (Walby 2009). Gender, class and ethnicity are social
structures—creations of human society. The structures of gender, class and ethnicity
exert directional pressure on individuals to act in particular ways. People can choose
to resist or conform to these social pressures. In terms of gender, while biological
differences lead to the assigning of male and female genders at birth, much of what
we have come to expect of male and female behaviours depends on the society in
which we live. In Canada and other Western societies, the problematizing of gender
binaries has resulted in gender diversity (see Chap. 4) but in many parts of the world
gender continues to be structured by patriarchy. Patriarchy is a hierarchical system
in which males are assumed to be independent providers and women are expected
to be dependent care givers. Class differences are based on the ownership of capital
(natural resources and financial investments), the control of the physical means of
production, and the control over the labour power of others (Satzewich and Liodakis
2013, p. 150). Regarding the structuring of ethnicity, there is no biological basis for
distinguishing “race” yet ethnicity is often differentiated based on people’s geo-
graphic origins. Ethnic majority and minority groups differ according to country or
regional contexts.
Some social differences based on gender, class, and ethnicity are valued while
others lead to inequality. Religious groups and the public perception of religion also
influence the structuring of gender, ethnicity, and class relations, complicating
things even further. This chapter will highlight the opportunities and challenges that
the intersection of gender, class, and ethnicity present for Muslim and Christian
immigrant women in the Maritimes. In what follows, the phrase ethno-religious
diversity will frequently be used in reference to the intersection of ethnicity and
religion. This is because they are often so closely intertwined in the lives of immi-
grant women as to be practically indistinguishable (Bramadat 2005).
In the process of migration and settlement, immigrants who come to Canada
leave the social networks of which they were a part and enter into, or create, new
social networks. The social capital that they relied on before immigration no longer
has the same value in their new society. For some immigrants, the social capital that
they had in their countries of origin was, to some extent, inadequate to meet their
needs. That is why many people migrate internationally in search of better lives for
their families. They seek opportunities and living conditions available to them as
immigrants that they did not have in their home countries. Immigrants have to invest
time and energy into the creation of new social capital in order to get emotional sup-
port and information, and to access opportunities for education and employment. In
16 C. Holtmann

the initial days, months, and years of settlement, they are most likely to become part
of social networks with those who share their language, ethno-religious background,
or the experience of being a new immigrant. Because social interactions are often
influenced by cultural norms, many immigrants also have to adjust some of the
ways in which they socialize in order to create bridging social capital with Canadian-­
born people.
Research on social networks and social capital creation indicates that these are
gendered processes (O’Neill and Gidengil 2005). Women find it easier than men to
become a part of social networks and they use them differently. From a young age,
women are socialized into emotionally close relationships, especially with other
women (Chodorow 1999). This is quite evident for the immigrant women in my
research. Many immigrant women come from societies with collectivist values—
the individual’s identity is secondary to the collective identity. Immigrant women
understand their identities first and foremost in relationship with others. An empha-
sis on belonging to a community or considering the common good are also religious
values for many of these women. This is in contrast to the values of individualism
and autonomy promoted by Canadian society and liberal feminism. Collectivism
and interdependence are values associated with what Mahmood (2001) refers to as
non-liberal feminism or religious feminism (Fernandes 2003). This emphasis on the
collective coupled with women’s traditional role as care givers means that many
religious immigrant women are adept at creating bonding social capital through
informal social networks. They simply invite newcomers over for dinner or strike up
conversations in the grocery store—telling other women where to shop for specific
foods and housewares. When it comes to their engagement in formal social net-
works, research shows that women’s use of social networks usually focuses on their
care-giving responsibilities (Lowndes 2004). For example, immigrant women will
become part of educational or extra-curricular social networks in order to take
advantage of opportunities for their children. Or, as entrepreneurs, they will form a
catering co-operative in order to promote and strengthen their ability to contribute
to family incomes. Whether immigrant women are engaged with informal or formal
social networks, the social capital that they create in these networks contributes to
the collective well-being of their families and communities. This is an important
consideration for the integration of immigrants and social cohesion—one often
overlooked by governments and employers who focus only on economic factors
(McLaren and Dyck 2004).
Social capital is an integral part of immigrant women’s agency in the face of the
dominant social structures. Every day social life is a continual encounter between
the agency of individuals and groups and the pressures of social structures. In many
instances, most people are not even aware of the pressures that social structures
exert on individual thoughts and actions. However, with awareness comes the
opportunity for individuals and groups to choose to resist these pressures or go with
the flow. New immigrants encounter the pressures of the unfamiliar social structur-
ing of gender, ethnicity, and class upon arrival in Canada, which often put them at a
disadvantage compared to native-born citizens. Yet immigrant women are not with-
out choices about how they will act, or exercise their agency, in the face of structural
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 17

inequalities. This is why this research takes a lived religion approach. Rather than
focusing on what Christian or Muslim teachings have to say about women, it focuses
on how the women understand and live their religion on a daily basis. The remain-
der of this chapter will provide numerous examples of the kinds of social networks
that immigrant women become part of in the initial years after arriving in Maritimes,
and how they utilize them to take advantage of opportunities to create social capital
and overcome the challenges that they face. But before turning to the research find-
ings, it is important to understand some of the contextual factors of the Maritimes,
in particular, the population’s ethno-religious and immigrant diversity.

4 Statistical Data

Table 1 below provides data from the 2011 National Household Survey on the
immigrant, ethnic origins, and religious diversity of the province of New Brunswick.
At that time, immigrants only comprised four per cent of the provincial population.
This is considerably lower than the national average which is approximately twenty
per cent. Sixty-seven per cent of the New Brunswick population claim some form of
European ethnic origins, followed by Aboriginal peoples at five percent, and those
with any kind of Asian ethnic origins at only two per cent. Over eighty per cent of
the provincial population identify as Christian, compared to sixty-seven per cent of

Table 1 Demographic profile of New Brunswick

Variable Count Percentage
Population
Total 735,835 100
Non-Immigrants 704,235 96
Immigrants 28,465 4
Ethnic Origins
Aboriginal 37,900 5
European 489,975 67
African 4435 0.6
Asian 14,535 2
Caribbean 1620 0.2
South, Central and Latin American 1650 0.2
Religion
Buddhist 975 0.1
Christian 616,910 84
Hindu 820 0.1
Jewish 620 0.08
Muslim 2640 0.4
No religion 111,435 15
Source: Statistics Canada - 2011 National Household Survey. Catalogue Number 99–010-­
X2011032.
18 C. Holtmann

the national population. Less than one per cent of New Brunswickers identify with
non-Christian religions, and fifteen per cent do not claim any religious affiliation.
Compared to the New Brunswick data, the province of PEI is even less ethno-­
religiously diverse. Data from Table 2 below indicates that in 2011 less than one per
cent of the PEI population were immigrants. Seventy-seven per cent of the people
in PEI claimed European ethnic origins and only three per cent were of Asian ethnic
origins. Religiously speaking, the majority of Islanders identify with Christianity
(84%), and fourteen per cent indicate that they have no religious affiliation. Even
though Muslims are the largest non-Christian religious group, they comprise half of
one per cent of the total population in the province. But keep in mind that overall,
Muslims made up only a little more than three per cent of the entire Canadian popu-
lation in 2011.
These statistics highlight the fact that new immigrants in the Maritimes encoun-
ter societies with very low levels of ethno-religious diversity. This situation changed
somewhat in 2016 when the region accepted thousands of Syrian refugees. New
Brunswick accepted more Syrians per capita than any other province in the country
(Jones 2016). Syrian newcomers are religiously diverse, claiming Christian and
Muslim religious affiliations.

Table 2 Demographic profile of PEI

Variable Count Percentage
Population
Total 137,375 100
Non-Immigrants 129,390 99.05
Immigrants 7085 0.05
Ethnic Origins
Aboriginal 4460 3
European 105,530 77
African 500 0.04
Asian 4360 3
Caribbean 310 0.2
South, Central and Latin American 445 0.3
Religion
Buddhist 560 0.4
Christian 115,620 84
Hindu 205 0.1
Jewish 100 0.07
Muslim 655 0.5
No religion 19,815 14
Source: Statistics Canada - 2011 National Household Survey. Catalogue Number 99–010-­
X2011032.
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 19

5 Similarities and Differences Amongst Muslim

and Christian Immigrant Women’s Social Networks
in the Maritimes

Eighty-nine women took part in my research on the role that social networks play in
the settlement experiences of immigrant women in the Maritimes. Fifty-eight of the
women identify as Christian, come from twelve different countries, and belong to five
different ethnic origins groups, according to Statistic Canada’s categories (2008). The
Christians are Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Mormon. On average, the Christian
immigrant women had been living in the Maritimes for about two and a half years in
2012. Thirty-one of the women are Muslim, originating from fifteen different coun-
tries, and belonging to six different ethnic origins groups. The Muslim women are
Sunni and Shiite. The Muslim immigrant women had been living, on average, a little
over four years in either New Brunswick or PEI. More than half of the Muslim women
(52%) and sixty per cent of the Christian immigrant women, are mothers.
Despite the tremendous ethno-religious diversity of the sample, analysis of the
social networks of Muslim and Christian immigrant women shows that they share
similarities. All of the women are impacted by globalization, there is heterogeneity
within the women’s ethnic origins groups, most are members of visible minority
groups, and they’ve experienced shifts in the structuring of gender between their
countries of origin and the Maritimes.
The women in this study are truly global citizens—some are social elites and
some are doing what they need to do in order to survive—but all are seeking a better
future. Their reasons for migrating to Canada can be categorized between those who
migrate from stable social contexts because they have the economic resources to do
so and those who have the means to migrate from countries of origin where there are
situations of political turmoil and socio-economic instability. More people are on
the move around the globe today than ever before. Globalization has had the dual
effects of cultural homogenization as well as solidifying particular cultural identi-
ties (Meyer and Geschiere 2003). In terms of the homogenizing effects of globaliza-
tion, the diverse Christian and Muslim immigrant women were all attracted to the
Maritimes by governments seeking young workers. The Filipina Christians, for
example, are part of well-developed, global social networks of Filipinos looking for
work. Through the use of social media, the Filipinas, many of whom had been work-
ing in electronics factories in Taiwan, became aware of employment opportunities
in New Brunswick, and procured temporary work permits through immigration bro-
kers. Most of the women work in seafood and fish processing industries in coastal
communities, while some are working as live-in caregivers. They stay in touch with
family members in the Philippines, to whom they send regular remittances. Filipina
workers stay connected to one another throughout the Maritimes to keep informed
of further opportunities for work once their temporary permits expire. Their reli-
gious social networks are an important source of emotional support. As one Filipina
said, “As long as we have a church service, a church where we belong, we feel very
comfortable and we are really very fast to adjust ourselves, that we are very
20 C. Holtmann

welcome to any kind of country.. . and we feel not alone, so we overcome the home-
sickness. Especially because we are very far from our families” (Focus Group #3,
Participant #3). Some of the Filipinas had not seen their children in years, but
through faith they found the strength to keep on working abroad in order to provide
them with a good education. The Filipinas are part of local Catholic and evangelical
Protestant churches as well as a missionary church from the Philippines—Iglesia Ni
Christo. The diversity of their Christian identities is secondary to their national
identities as Filipinas. As Filipinas, they actively support one another in strategi-
cally negotiating the local and global labour markets. They use bonding social capi-
tal to help one another find work, housing, transportation, and social support.
This is not the case with the majority of immigrant women seeking high skilled
jobs in the Maritimes. Many well-educated Christian and Muslim immigrant women
are unable to find work commensurate with their professional expertise and feel
forced to take low wage, service jobs in order to help support their families. Their
inability to procure work for which they were assigned points in the immigration
system and then admitted into Canada is an indication of the segmented assimilation
of immigrant women into the Maritime labour market. This can be interpreted as
either the result of their lack of bridging social capital or the need for provincial
policies that address ethnic inequality in the workforce.
The ethnic origins groups of the Christian and Muslim immigrant women are
heterogeneous. The Christians are East/Southeast Asian, East European, African,
South American, and Western European. The Muslims are West Asian, Arab, South
Asian, African, East/Southeast Asian, and South American. Most of the ethnic
groups are comprised of women from different countries of origin. The largest
Christian ethnic group is East/Southeast Asian women originally from the
Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, and China. West Asians are the largest ethnic
group amongst the Muslims, with the majority coming from Iran. The Arabic
Muslim immigrant women are highly diverse in terms of their home countries, orig-
inating from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, and Morocco. Because there
are relatively few immigrants in the Maritimes, the density of any particular ethno-­
religious group is low. Nevertheless, many Muslim and Christian immigrant women
become part of or form social networks with others who share their ethno-religious
backgrounds. A Muslim mother from Jordan, for example, knows the names and
contact information for the only other two Jordanian families in the entire province
of New Brunswick!
Heterogeneity is also present within religious groups. Some of the immigrant
women share the same ethno-religious background, but have different religious
practices. For example, one Muslim woman originally from Chad had been looking
for work without success. Her husband suggested that she not wear her head scarf
or hijab to the next interview. She took his advice and got a job at Tim Horton’s. She
went to her first day of work wearing a headscarf underneath her uniform cap. Her
co-workers ask about her Muslim identity but her boss does not comment. She is
happy with her job. This is in contrast to the perspective of a Muslim woman who
came to PEI from Somalia. She also finds it difficult to find work because she
refuses to work in a restaurant or store that sells pork or alcohol. The Muslim woman
from Chad is willing to make compromises with her religious practice to get work
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 21

while the Somali woman is not. This is not to say that one woman is more or less
religious than the other, but it does highlight an aspect of heterogeneity or differ-
ences in the religious practices of women who share a common ethnic origin. These
women do not live in the same city, but if they did, they could potentially be part of
the only mosque or the African cultural association. Moving to the Maritimes some-
times leads to the first experiences of living with ethno-religious diversity for many
Muslim and Christian immigrant women. In their countries of origin, they associ-
ated with people who shared their particular beliefs and practices. Immigration to
the Maritimes gives them the opportunity to build bridging social capital with
Christians and Muslims who have different class and ethnic backgrounds.
As part of its employment equity legislation (Government of Canada 1995), the
federal government defines visible minorities as people who are not of Aboriginal
origins, non-Caucasian in race, and non-white in colour. Almost forty-five per cent
of immigrants living in Canada are members of visible minority groups (Statistics
Canada 2013). With the exception of those with European ethnic origins, all of the
Muslim and Christian immigrant women in this research transitioned from being
part of the ethnic majority in their home countries to being members of visible
minority groups upon their arrival in the Maritimes. As already mentioned, there are
proportionately few immigrants in the Maritimes and only two to three per cent of
the population are members of visible minority groups. Thus, visible minority
women are highly visible in contrast to the rest of the local-born population. Their
visible minority status makes social support networks even more important because
the women and their children face subtle and not-so-subtle acts of discrimination on
a regular basis. An example of this is shared by Yun,2 a South Korean Christian
woman from New Brunswick featured in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 below, one of several

Fig. 1 On the Outside, photo credit: Denise Rowe

2
Yun is a pseudonym.
22 C. Holtmann

Fig. 2 On the Outside,

photo credit: Denise Rowe

photo essays developed as online teaching resources for the Religion and Diversity
Project. In the creation of the photo essay, Yun chose the door as a symbol of the
barriers she faces as a member of a visible minority group. When she encounters a
doorway she never knows what awaits her on the other side. Will the people there
be welcoming and helpful? Or will she experience misunderstanding and discrimi-
nation because of the way she looks, speaks English, her foreign education, or her
lack of Canadian work experience?
During an interview, Yun shares this story:
When I was driving one day, somebody yelled at me. A guy and his girlfriend—they were
young people with a nice car—they were laughing and yelling. I didn’t do anything wrong
but they said, “Oh stupid Asian!” How do they know I’m stupid? They don’t know that I
have three degrees—maybe they don’t even have one degree. That is inappropriate and
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 23

Fig. 3 On the Outside,

photo credit: Denise Rowe

those things are so discouraging. On that day I couldn’t do anything. I have a strong person-
ality—I like challenges to break through. On that day I couldn’t do anything. I just returned
back home and laid down on the sofa and until sunset I couldn’t concentrate on anything
and that made me so discouraged. Sometimes it leads to depression.

Yun is a devout Christian and like her, other Korean Christian women receive
support from social networks in churches in the Maritime region. In particular, they
use opportunities in Bible study or faith sharing groups to speak about their strug-
gles against racism in light of the narratives of the Christian tradition—they under-
stand their suffering as part of their journey with Jesus, who was also misunderstood
and persecuted. They are comforted by their faith that suffering for the sake of their
families’ future is making them stronger in the present and that God is by their side.
Like the hand on the other side of the door that Yun grasps in Fig. 4, members of
visible minority groups, Christian or Muslim, tend to support one another because
they share painful experiences of discrimination due to their visible minority status.
24 C. Holtmann

Fig. 4 On the Outside,

photo credit: Denise Rowe

In sharing their experiences of adversity, immigrant women create bonding social

capital with one another.
Both Christian and Muslim women have experienced shifts in gender roles as a
consequence of the immigration and settlement process. Practically without fail,
immigrant women speak about becoming more independent after moving to Canada.
This independence is the result of very pragmatic changes in their lifestyles. Many
of the Christian women are living alone in the Maritimes, either as migrant workers
like the Filipinas described above, or, like many of the Koreans, parenting their
children while their husbands continue to work in South Korea. Korean women say
that before immigration they relied upon their husbands for help with the day-to-day
tasks of life, and their gender roles in the family were quite traditional. In the cir-
cumstances of their new home, they find themselves responsible for looking after all
aspects of the household including repairs, car maintenance, yard work, and dealing
with the ice and snow removal during the winter. Because of these very pragmatic
concerns, they immerse themselves in their neighbourhoods and cities and become
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 25

part of the religious and cultural social support networks. They learn English and
develop stronger self-confidence and autonomy. If their husbands come to visit or
decide to immigrate and join their families, the Korean men are sensitive to the
change in their social status in Canada. They are unable to communicate in English
in public with the ease that their wives or children possess. The social respect that
the men gained amongst their peers from their careers in Korea is also absent. The
men have lost their traditional gender role within the family as well as their higher
social status outside of the family. This often results in conflicts in the family
(Holtmann 2016). For those with access to social support networks, like the evan-
gelical Christian immigrant women, they use relationships with other women in
their social networks to process these changes and develop strategies for dealing
with conflict. For those without access to social support networks, like some moth-
ers with young children, they can feel isolated and lonely. This creates a situation of
vulnerability for the women which can lead to mental health problems (Holtmann
and Tramonte 2014) or exacerbate the problem of family violence. For more details
on the unique vulnerabilities of women and faith in situations of family violence see
Chap. 3.
Gender role shifts also occur in Muslim immigrant families, but in ways that dif-
fer from the Christians. Most Muslim women immigrate to the Maritimes with their
whole family. Several of the Muslim research participants are graduate students,
and their stories of gender involve their changing relationships with their fathers and
brothers. In accordance with their ethno-religious backgrounds, these Muslim
women were taught that they should not associate with non-relative males in public.
As graduate students, it is novel for them to be in a co-ed atmosphere and their
brothers tend to keep a close eye on them while at university. An engineering stu-
dent finds the constant scrutiny of her behavior by her three brothers hard to take.
She describes her brothers as controlling and insists that she is above reproach. She
sought help from student counselling services because she was becoming depressed
about the situation.
I saw them once and then I just stopped, ‘cause I didn't feel comfortable. Like ok, what’s the
point in going and telling them, and they can’t do anything for me? Because I understand
it’s a cultural thing and in my point of view it’s a very wrong culture, but I have to live with
it because it’s my culture right? Like either I can run away from the house and live my life
independent but then I am going to lose my family, right?. .. but I wouldn’t leave home for
sure, like my parents are the most important thing in my life (Muslim #10).

Her brothers’ control over her is lessening somewhat the longer the family is liv-
ing in Canada, but she believes that ultimately, her independence as a Western-­
educated Muslim woman depends on her future husband. She wants to marry a
Muslim man “who is really good, who is open and not controlling. .. but if I get a
guy who is another version of my father and brothers then it’s going to be terrible.”
This student became the president of the Muslim women’s association on campus in
order to provide opportunities for women to support one other as they deal with
these conflicting gender expectations. The association organizes social gatherings,
exclusively for Muslim women, and schedules regular access to the university pool.
Although only a few women are taking advantage of these opportunities for
26 C. Holtmann

s­ upporting and creating bonding social capital with other Muslim women experi-
encing the pressures associated with shifting gender roles at this particular Maritime
university, it is a start.
There are four important differences between immigrant women, depending on
their ethno-religious origins, which have consequences for their participation in
social networks and creation of social capital. The experience of migration between
religious contexts differs for Christians and Muslims; the density of Christians from
some ethnic origins groups in the region is higher than that of any Muslim group;
Muslim women deal with a wider range of ethno-religious diversity than Christians;
and the religious differences between Christian ethnic origins groups have structural
support in the Maritime context while those between Muslims do not.
Canada is a Christian majority country and the proportion of the Maritime popu-
lation who identify as Christians is even higher than the national average. People in
Atlantic Canada are also more likely than Canadians elsewhere to indicate that they
are religiously engaged (Clark and Schellenberg 2006). Thus, Christian immigrant
women are moving from one Christian majority context into another. This contrasts
with Muslim immigrant women who move from Muslim majority contexts to one in
which they are a religious minority. Although there are many cultural differences to
be negotiated, in a Christian majority context, even secular public social networks
are sensitive to the religious beliefs and practices of Christians. For example,
Christmas and Easter are religious as well as public holidays in Canada. Immigrant
Christian workers and students get legislated time off to celebrate religious holidays
with their families and friends. Even though many people must work on weekends,
the regular work week runs from Monday to Friday, with Saturday and Sunday for
leisure and voluntary activities—which is conducive for being part of Christian
churches. In contrast, the Muslim day of public prayer is Friday, and it is practically
impossible for a business owned and operated by Muslims to shut down on a Friday
afternoon so that the owners and workers can attend the mosque—Maritime cus-
tomers are at best unaware or at worst insensitive to this religious practice.
In addition to being part of the Christian majority in the Maritimes, Christian
women also belong to immigrant groups that have a higher density than any single
Muslim immigrant group. For example, there are relatively large numbers of
Chinese, Korean, and Filipino immigrants living in New Brunswick. Once immi-
grant groups reach a critical mass, they begin to develop more formal social net-
works and institutions. Breton (1964) has theorized the process in which immigrant
groups create businesses and services that support their cultural practices and are
infused with their cultural values, the goal of which is what he refers to as institu-
tional completeness. For example, a Chinese immigrant woman in the research,
who came to Canada as an international student, became part of an evangelical
Protestant church with a sizable Chinese population through the invitation of her
friends. In addition to attending worship services, she is part of a Chinese-language
Bible study group that meets weekly in the home of an elderly Chinese couple. For
the regular church suppers, she joins other Chinese women for a day together to
make hundreds of egg rolls with ingredients purchased from a local Chinese grocery
store. The church is also home to the Chinese Cultural Association and hosts its
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 27

annual New Year’s celebrations. This woman is working in her first job in Canada
as an administrative assistant for the Association, which not only organizes cultural
events but supports networking amongst Chinese business owners. This example
illustrates how it is possible for Chinese immigrants in this city to feel part of
Maritime society while maintaining aspects of their cultural identity. The low den-
sity of Muslim ethnic groups in the Maritimes means that a degree of institutional
completeness is not yet evident.
Even the fact that it is possible to identify Chinese evangelical Protestants as a
sub-group of Christian immigrant women with their own cultural organization in
this study is evidence of a major difference between Christians and Muslims in the
Maritimes. Despite their ethnic and religious heterogeneity, Muslims are more
likely than Christians to be perceived as a single group by the public. This is partly
due to there being only one mosque in each Maritime city. Yet there is considerable
ethno-religious diversity amongst the Muslim population. This diversity presents
opportunities and challenges for Muslim women. For many, living in the Maritimes
is the first opportunity in their lives to associate with Muslim women from other
class and ethnic backgrounds. This was evident during an Eid al Fitr celebration
which I attended at the end of Ramadan. A potluck dinner was held at a community
centre in which the men and women gathered in separate rooms. The long buffet
table in the women’s room had a vast variety of foods—a colourful (and flavourful!)
symbol reflecting the ethnic diversity of the participants united to share a collective
religious feast. However, the women from different ethnic groups sat at separate
tables. Differences were evident in the different ways that they dressed (the majority
wore hijabs but some did not) as well as in their languages. Linguistic differences
are a considerable challenge for Muslim women on several levels. At the Eid pot-
luck, announcements to the group were made in a couple of different languages but
it was apparent that not everyone present understood what was being said. This was
not likely a problem, since there was not a lot at stake in terms of misunderstanding.
But one research participant indicates that there are problems when it comes to
decision-making in the mosque. There is no imam and the mosque leadership falls
to the largest ethnic group by virtue of them sharing the same language. Public dis-
cussions are dominated by men of the Muslim ethnic majority and this puts those
from ethnic minority groups at a disadvantage.
One issue over which there was misunderstanding amongst the women was that
of veiling. Muslim women in the same city did not understand the reasons behind
different choices concerning veiling practices. For example, because Iranian women
had been forced by law to veil in their home country, some women from Iran had
chosen not to veil in Canada. One woman is perplexed that in a context of religious
freedom, some Muslim women choose to veil.
It doesn’t really matter what is your religion in Canada. No one asks you what is your reli-
gion or no one asks you why you have hijab or you don’t have hijab. Even when I go to the
mall and I see a woman with a burqa, I look at her more than people from Canada! No one
cares that she covers her face or her hair (Focus Group #6, Participant #1).
28 C. Holtmann

This particular Iranian woman’s perspective indicates that her understanding of

religious freedom springs from her experiences of having been forced by the state
to conform with a religious dress code. Religious freedom for her means not having
to conform to standards set by the Iranian government and likely by any external
authority. She is free to not be a practicing Muslim in Canada. But religious free-
dom can be exercised in different ways by other Muslim women, like those who
choose to wear a burqa. Another research participant chose to wear the hijab after
9/11 to increase her visibility as a woman of faith and use people’s questions as
opportunities to promote Islam as a peaceful and tolerant religion. She believes that
the hijab enables Muslim women and men to interact honourably with each other in
public (Muslim #6). The lack of opportunities to discuss and understand the diver-
sity of women’s religious choices can become a problem amongst Muslim women
when majority ethnic groups exert pressure on minorities to conform to particular
norms for religious practices. Formal ethno-religious social networks might offer
more opportunities for this kind of discussion and understanding to take place
among Muslim women.
Gender segregated networks can play an important role in helping Muslim immi-
grant women negotiate their identities and practices in a new social context. With
migration to a religiously pluralistic society like Canada comes the opportunity for
Muslim women to choose which aspects of identity to maintain and/or heighten and
which to let go (Bramadat 2005). Nason-Clark and Fisher-Townsend (2005) draw
attention to a trend towards “gender inerrancy” in the rhetoric of contemporary
conservative religious leaders, which influences the public perception of patriarchal
religious groups. Through their rhetoric, some religious leaders give the impression
that women’s religious identities and practices are fixed. This puts pressure on reli-
gious women to conform to a narrow set of gender norms. Yet empirical studies
highlight diversity in women’s lived religious practices. In their study of Christian
women in the US, Winter et al. (1995) found tremendous diversity of beliefs
amongst theological conservatives and liberals accompanied by a consistent sense
of discomfort with their tradition’s gendered teachings. Gallagher (2003) has shown
that despite professing a belief in gender traditionalism, many evangelical Protestant
couples in fact practice gender egalitarianism in their families. The traditional social
structuring of gender is being challenged collectively by women (and some men) in
a variety of Christian denominations through organizations such as Christians for
Biblical Equality and the Catholic Network for Women’s Equality (Holtmann
2015). Differences in gendered religious practices and beliefs amongst individual
Muslim women have been highlighted by empirical studies (Hoodfar 2012; PEW
2012; Zine 2012) and collective resistance is occurring through organizations such
as the Canadian Council of Muslim Women and the Federation of Muslim Women.
Problems arise when state attempts to assist Muslim women’s emancipation actu-
ally curb their religious freedom and impose secular gender norms (Selby 2014).
Differences of practice and belief within religious groups are historically com-
mon. This is what led to the division between Sunni and Shia Islam, the schism
between Roman and Orthodox Catholics, and the Protestant Reformation. Mosques
may be few and far between, but Christian differences in practice and belief are
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 29

s­ upported structurally in the Maritimes. Cities and villages have multiple Christian
churches and organizations. This is not the case, however, for Orthodox Catholic
women. There are very few Orthodox churches in the region, making Orthodox
immigrant women reliant on informal social support networks. As with all ethno-­
religious groups, difficulties in accessing social networks for the creation of bond-
ing or bridging social capital with other Orthodox Christians means that Orthodox
immigrant women may lack emotional support and information that can help them
as they integrate into Maritime society.

6 Future Opportunities

Globalization has increased the flow of immigrants to non-traditional receiving

societies like the Canadian Maritimes in recent years. The low density of all immi-
grant groups and the low levels of ethno-religious diversity in the region present
challenges for immigrant women, especially when it comes to their involvement in
social networks. Like the financial capital needed for housing, food, clothing, and
transportation, the social capital that is created through social networks is an essen-
tial component in fulfilling immigrants’ dreams for a better future in their new soci-
ety. The substantial ethno-religious diversity amongst immigrants in the Maritimes
means that for some, social networks are informal and this presents challenges in
terms of immigrant women accessing support and information during the settlement
process. Immigrant women must rely on word of mouth to find support from others
who share their ethno-religious backgrounds. The local-born population lacks
understanding of religious minority groups and this can be a problem amongst pub-
lic service providers when social workers or public school teachers are insensitive
to the ethno-religious practices of immigrant families (see Chap. 5). Racialization
of members of visible minority groups, which can lead to acts of discrimination, has
a negative impact on immigrant women’s self-esteem.
Nevertheless, ethno-religious diversity presents opportunities for Christian and
Muslim immigrant women and for the local-born population in the Maritimes. For
the most part, evangelical Protestant churches in New Brunswick and PEI are wel-
coming of the new immigrants in their midst. Not only is immigration seen as an
opportunity for the growth of congregations, but many churches have opened their
doors to non-Christian and non-religious immigrants to participate in opportunities
for language learning and fellowship. This contributes to social cohesion as
Canadian-born Christians get to know and assist new immigrants. Other Christian
churches have the opportunity to follow this example.
Christian and Muslim immigrant women have opportunities to create bridging
social capital amongst the diverse immigrant population in the Maritimes, within
the ethnic and class diversity of their religious groups, and with members of the
local-born population. The language learning and employment counselling services
offered by immigrant settlement agencies throughout the region are where many
women start to become part of social networks of other immigrants who share
30 C. Holtmann

c­ ommon experiences. Women in the mosques in the Maritimes are beginning to

reach out to newcomer Muslims and families with young children, encouraging
them to become part of public religious social networks, even though this may not
have been something they did in their countries of origin. Opportunities for creating
bridging capital with non-immigrants in the region are the least available to immi-
grant women, according to those in this particular study. Many of them long to make
more meaningful connections with their Canadian neighbours, coworkers, and
classmates. Social policies that address ethnic and gender segregation in the labour
market are needed. Social networking opportunities between Canadian-born citi-
zens and immigrant women can help to break down barriers of misunderstanding
and fear. Women from diverse backgrounds are potential allies in overcoming dis-
crimination and social inequality. There is much that Maritimers can do in order to
deepen appreciation of ethno-religious diversity and the values and practices that
immigrant women hold dear.

7 Questions for Critical Thought

1. Which social networks (family and friends, education, employment, reli-

gious) are most important to you at this time of your life and why? What
kind of social capital (bonding or bridging) are you creating and what
return do you expect on this investment?
2. What is the difference between how you use virtual and face-to-face social
networks in your life? Which of these are more important in terms of your
education or your career plans?
3. Proposed state bans of full or partial veiling for public servants (teachers,
day care workers) and in the courts in Canada and France are controver-
sial. Do you think this is a violation of Muslim women’s religious freedom
or a move to ensure the equality of all women?
4. What are some of the advantages of studying women’s lived religious
practices as opposed to the teachings of religious institutions? What are
some of the disadvantages?

8 Online Teaching and Learning Resources

There are several photo essays and accompanying materials (interviews, commen-
tary, questions for students, and suggested readings) on the Religion and Diversity
Project website, including the one used in this chapter called “On the Outside.” For
essays on the intergenerational transmission of ethno-religious identity see “Mother
Daughter” and “Food and Family.”
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 31

http://religionanddiversity.ca/en/projects-and-tools/projects/linking-classrooms/
photo-essays/
Several scholars speak about their research on religion and immigrants in short
video clips including Peter Beyer, Helen Rose Ebaugh, Vivian Lee, and Michael
Wilkinson:
http://religionanddiversity.ca/en/projects-and-tools/projects/linking-classrooms/
linking-classrooms-videos/
Moving People Changing Places is a website based on a major research program
in the UK led by Dr. Kim Knott. It features information, stories, images and learn-
ing resources, with links and further reading to follow up.
http://www.movingpeoplechangingplaces.org/
The Religious Studies Project is a collection of podcasts from the leading schol-
ars in the scientific study of religion:
http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/
The Pluralism Project at Harvard University has a plethora of information on
ethno-religious diversity in the United States. It includes a Case Study Initiative
which shows how the case study method can be creatively applied to teaching and
learning in the religious studies classroom. Topics range from inclusiveness in city-­
sponsored prayers to a controversy over bringing the kirpan to school.
http://pluralism.org/

9 Suggested Further Reading

Beyer, P. & Ramji, R. (Eds.). (2013). Growing up Canadian: Muslims, Hindus and
Buddhists. Montreal: McGill/Queen’s University Press.
This book is based on data from interviews conducted with hundreds of univer-
sity students from three urban immigrant-receiving contexts—Toronto, Ottawa and
Montreal. The research highlights the process of religious change in the lives of
second generation and generation 1.5 non-Christian immigrants. It offers compari-
sons of the dynamics of young adult religiosity from the perspective of each of three
minority religious groups. Several chapters have a focus on gender.
Breton, R. (2012). Different gods: Integrating non-Christian minorities into a pri-
marily Christian society. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Based on the results of smaller scale studies carried out by other researchers in
Canada and the United States, this book investigates the place of religion in the lives
of non-Christian ethno-religious minority communities and its role in their mem-
bers’ integration into a predominantly Christian mainstream society. Breton’s anal-
ysis focuses on processes: the experience of individuals being uprooted from one
32 C. Holtmann

social world and transplanted to another; changes to individual immigrant identities,

beliefs, and practices; challenges to minority religious institutions; and the changes
experienced by individuals and groups in mainstream society.
Kazemipur, A. (2014). The Muslim question in Canada: A story of segmented inte-
gration. Vancouver: UBC Press.
This is an empirical study using quantitative data from three surveys conducted
by Statistics Canada as well as two surveys conducted by Environics. Qualitative
data from interviews with 12 Muslims from the Prairie provinces are also analyzed.
Kazemipur’s work provides an overview of the situation of Canadian Muslims as a
whole as well as a comparison with the non-Muslim population in Canada. He
advocates for an increase in the levels of social interaction among people of differ-
ent faiths in Canada at the level of neighbourhoods, schools, and workplaces and
claims that improvement in social relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims
could lead to improved economic experiences and a stronger sense of belonging for
Muslims in Canada.
Lee, B. R., & Tak-ling Woo, T. (Eds.). (2014). Canadian women shaping diasporic
identities. Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
This collection of essays explores how women from a variety of religious
(Christian, Jewish, Mormon, Bahai, Hindu) and cultural backgrounds contribute to
Canada’s pluralistic society. The contributors show how religious women both con-
serve and transform their cultures and collective identities. A focus on women’s
informal and unofficial activities within their religious traditions provides new per-
spectives on religion, gender, and transnationalism.
O’Connor, P. (2014). Immigrant faith: Patterns of immigrant religion in the United
States, Canada and Western Europe. New York: New York University Press.
This book is based on the statistical analysis of large data sets and offers an over-
view of general patterns concerning the role of religion in the immigration process.
Without focusing on any particular religious group, O’Connor summarizes these
patterns as the moving, changing, integrating and transferring of the religions of
immigrants. The book offers a comparison of the contemporary dynamics of immi-
grant religions in the West.
Zine, J. (Ed.). (2012). Islam in the Hinterlands: Muslim cultural politics in Canada.
Vancouver: UBC Press.
With this edited collection Zine convincingly shows that Muslim women are not
a singular entity and should not be essentialized. Through critical essays and empir-
ical studies of media content and educational settings, the researchers contributing
to this book challenge some of the prevailing generalizations about Muslim women
in Canada.
Immigrant Women and Religious Social Networks 33

10 Researcher Background

Catherine Holtmann has spoken with over a hundred immigrant women from across
Canada about their lived religious practices in the last decade. Her work highlights
their stories of resiliency in the face of challenges. She co-produced the documen-
tary, “Breaking Barriers Moving Forward” in 2017 to showcase some of these sto-
ries from immigrant women living in New Brunswick (https://youtu.be/
I1ciRp-o9aA). She is currently working on a project using photovoice as a method
to facilitate Muslim-Christian relationships. Catherine is Associate Professor in the
Sociology Department and Director of the Muriel McQueen Fergusson Centre for
Family Violence Research at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, New
Brunswick.

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Religion, Domestic Violence
and Congregational Life

Nancy Nason-Clark

Abstract The intersection between intimate partner violence and religion offers us
an opportunity to explore ways in which religious beliefs and practices make a dif-
ference in the life of a woman or man when violence strikes at home. Within this
chapter, we consider how faith communities are sometimes part of the problem sur-
rounding abuse and sometimes part of the solution. When abuse is ignored, or mini-
mized by congregational leadership, there is no attempt to be part of the journey
towards healing and wholeness for a victim, or accountability and change for an
offender. When abuse is condemned and its patterns understood by congregational
leadership, there are practical, emotional, and spiritual resources available to assist
all family members who are impacted by it. The development of faith-specific
resources is still in its early days as are collaborative community efforts that include
religious communities. As the chapter argues, intimate partner violence will never
be eradicated until we offer best practices to those who suffer, including those who
are religious, and challenge the structures of our society that privilege some people
more than others. The chapter concludes with a challenge: we all have a role to play
in making relationships and our communities a safe place for everyone!

Keywords Domestic violence · Intimate partner violence · Religious leaders ·

Victims · Abuse · Faith-specific resources · Christians · Safety · Abusers

1 Introduction

Intimate partner violence is always an ugly subject. It affects large numbers of

women, though some men too are victims. It happens in all kinds of families—rich
and poor, educated and uneducated, and in the broad spectrum of diversities repre-
sented by sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, culture, and religion. The emotional
scars of intimate partner violence last a long time. Children within the family do

N. Nason-Clark (*)
University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada
e-mail: [email protected]

© Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 35

C. Holtmann (ed.), Exploring Religion and Diversity in Canada,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78232-4_3
36 N. Nason-Clark

not escape unscathed: many learn to reproduce the patterns they observed, or expe-
rienced, in their childhood home and many too battle the impact of their families
long after they have attained adulthood themselves. While abusive behaviour is cer-
tainly learned, it thrives most ferociously when it is misunderstood or minimized.
Violence between intimates is a problem that impacts our society at so many levels
and, as such, requires a coordinated community response in order that it might be
reduced, and one day, eliminated.
In this chapter, we explore the interface between religion and intimate partner
violence. We consider some of the ways that faith communities are part of the prob-
lem—augmenting, or ignoring, the abuse that abounds in their midst. And we focus,
more particularly, on ways that faith communities are part of the solution—offering
practical and emotional resources to assist victims as they heal and calling abusers
to accountability and change.
Within our broader culture in Canada, but evidenced in other countries too, there
is a prevailing view that religion has little to offer to the discourse on abuse, or
violence between intimates. Such a position is misguided at best, and dangerous at
worst, especially for religious victims, as it separates them from one of the few
resources that might be able to be harnessed in the aftermath of abusive, controlling,
or violent actions at home.
As the following story illustrates, there are many nuances to the way that religion
and abuse co-mingle in the life of a victim, or a perpetrator, or their families.
In some ways, the story of an explicitly religious woman who has been abused is
similar to that of other women, but there are many unique features too, including
how the abuse is understood and options in its aftermath. These are themes we will
develop later in the chapter.

2 Mary’s Story

After Mary waved good-bye to Sue and Pat, she unlocked her car door and slid into
the driver’s seat. She placed her purse, Bible, and cell phone on the console beside
her and, as she did, she could feel her level of anxiety begin to increase. Why did she
always feel this way after she got into the car on Tuesday morning at the completion
of the Women’s Bible Study? What was it about this small gathering of women that
made her feel so loved while they were together and so very empty when the group
disbanded? Tears began to form in her eyes and then stream down her cheeks. She
wiped them away and quickly pressed the button to start her car. She did not want to
draw attention to herself or risk the possibility that Brenda, always the last to leave,
would come and see why she was still in the church parking lot.
As the car began to accelerate down the highway, so too did her tears. She took
the first exit, in hopes that the “drive-thru coffee shop” with its expansive parking
lot would be a place where she could grab a cup of java and sit alone in the car with
her thoughts and her fears. Before she could sit and sip, she texted Angie, the neigh-
bour who was minding her children, to say that she had a couple of things to do
Religion, Domestic Violence and Congregational Life 37

before she came home and asked if that was okay with her. She offered to bring back
some fresh muffins from the bakery as a treat.
Snapshots of her life began to come to mind—the first night that Greg asked her
out; the party where she introduced Greg to her friends; the first time they went to
church together; his late night calls only to say he was missing her by his side;
Greg’s proposal; her beautiful wedding dress. These were pleasant pictures, and
many brought a smile to her face as she continued to wipe the tears from her eyes.
And then, like a roar of thunder, came the unwanted, but equally true to her life
images: the first time he called her a slut; that Saturday morning when he pushed her
with great force into the kitchen cupboards; the Sunday night when he back-handed
her as they drove home from Jen’s after-church snack. “Imagine, Greg accusing me
of flirting with the husbands of my friends!?”, she said aloud, although she was the
only one in the car to hear her own voice.
In many ways, these snapshots were a vivid portrayal of the roller coaster ride of
her life with Greg: the times that were ever so good, and the times that she felt like
she was being swallowed up with the pain, the hurt, and the fear of what would
happen next.
As she sipped coffee, alone in her car, she realized that it had been some time
since she had allowed herself to prepare this kind of inventory of her relationship
with Greg. Almost every time that she had been overcome with emotion about their
relationship, or her failure to make Greg happy, she had focussed on what she could
do to make things better. Like the time she went to see Krista, the leader of the
Women’s Bible Study. She told her that she wanted to be a better wife and mother:
wanted to receive more practical help from her religious devotions; wanted to have
more patience with the children; wanted to satisfy—no, more than satisfy—Greg’s
wants and needs. She neglected to disclose to Krista that she was frightened of
Greg’s anger, of the bruises he had put on her body, or the growing fear he had
placed in her heart. Or, the time, that she and Greg together met with the pastor—oh,
the tragedy of that time!
She drained the coffee cup and decided that, just this once, as a total indulgence,
she would get another cup of coffee and sit for a few more minutes in the parking
lot. For some reason, strange as it was, all this thinking was making her feel a little
bit better, a little bit like perhaps she could take control of her own life—that she had
some options.
Even though the young man at the window of the coffee shop drive-thru gave her
an odd look, she picked up her order, this time the coffee being accompanied by a
muffin. Then she steered the car to a back corner of the lot and backed into a parking
spot, away from the view of most of the patrons. At this point, once she took a few
bites of the muffin and a few sips of the brew, she let her mind return to the “visit
with the pastor.”
Mary tried to remember the date—best to get things straight in her mind, she
thought to herself. It was spring, early spring, and the forsythia in her garden was
just blooming. She remembered seeing it as she opened the door of Greg’s truck and
hopped into the seat beside him. Neither of them spoke as they drove to the church.
Going to see the pastor was a mediated settlement for Greg: Mary had threatened to
38 N. Nason-Clark

arrange to see a therapist or go home to spend some time with her parents, some
300 miles away, if Greg didn’t agree to seek help for their ailing marriage. He cer-
tainly was not in favour of some “feminist” messing around with his wife’s head,
and he didn’t like the idea that Mary’s parents might “pry out of her,” things that he
felt should be kept private, “between the sheets,” so to speak.
As they drove, Greg was thinking of all the things he had done for Mary over the
years. He wanted to be sure that he could remember to drop into the conversation
some of these stories as they spoke with Reverend Anthony Steel. Yes, Pastor Tony
would love these. Greg knew that he needed to show what a caring, thoughtful hus-
band he was, or else the “sharing” with the pastor could go badly, especially for the
future of their marriage. He decided that he would take control of the interview,
make it sound like he wanted to get help, and throw in a few Bible passages—some-
thing that he knew always impressed the pastor. He would never admit that it made
him agitated when Mary went to services twice on Sunday, or that she insisted they
give generously to the church, or that she wanted the children to remember to pray
before they ate their meals. No, he would keep these frustrations to himself and
instead focus on how, after supper, Mary got easily annoyed with the children when
they did not want to go to bed, often did not have the supper ready for him when he
got home from work later than her, or wanted to keep a part of her salary cheque “to
herself.”
As they drove, Mary was thinking of all the things she had done wrong over the
years. She should not have allowed Greg to sleep with her before they were married,
should have listened to her parents and have insisted on a longer engagement period,
should have seen some of the signs of Greg’s controlling behaviour, should have
listened more carefully to what he wanted to do with their money, and should have
sought help immediately the first time he hit her. She knew that she nagged him a
bit about their church involvement, and she knew she nagged him a lot about help-
ing with the children. But was this wrong? Surely it was her duty as a Christian wife
and mother to ensure that they lived at home what was preached on Sunday. In fact,
she had read in the Bible just this past week that sometimes we are called to suffer,
that certain life experiences can be our cross to bear. Mary thought about that short
devotional book for women: the one that she consulted almost every day. It said that
Jesus was a suffering servant, and that there were times that as his followers we will
be mistreated and have to suffer too! It also said that women should long to have a
servant’s heart—though she was not exactly sure what this meant. When she asked
Greg, later in bed, he said that it was doing as your husband asked, and not com-
plaining. She thought this was very self-serving of him to see it this way, though she
kept her thoughts to herself.
Before long, Mary and Greg were sitting in two comfy chairs inside the pastor’s
study, a lovely office where the late afternoon sun was streaming in through the
long, slender windows. Tony greeted them at the door, after having been called by
the church receptionist to announce their arrival. Tony was a forty-something
people-­person who had served this growing congregation for almost 10 years. He
was a trim man, who liked to keep fit, and was especially good at developing rela-
tionships with young families. He enjoyed his own family a great deal and was very
Religion, Domestic Violence and Congregational Life 39

enthusiastic about helping young people find “the right person” and to maximize
living a “full life” in the family context.
As he had planned, Greg explained to Pastor Tony why he and Mary had come to
seek help. He narrated their story in a way that so surprised Mary that she was
almost unable to speak when the pastor turned to hear what she had to say. She
admitted to some nagging. She admitted to some unhappiness. And she promised to
do better. Greg admitted to nothing at all. He promised to be forgiving of Mary, just
as the Scriptures taught. “Seventy-times-seven, isn’t it, pastor?” he said at one point.
Mary felt queasy and thought that she might throw up.
Mary did not disclose about the abuse. Mary did not say she was frightened of
Greg and his anger. Mary did not tell Pastor T. that Greg took control of all of their
spending, even refusing her a portion of her own pay cheque to “spend as she
wished” on additional things for the children, or on lunches out with her friends, or
on beauty treatments—things they could well afford.
At one point during the interview with Rev. Steel she sat up straight, took a deep
breath, and was about to challenge one of Greg’s accounts of their family life, but
he threw her a look that so frightened her, that she exhaled, slumped back into her
seat, and decided it was too risky to speak the truth.
Pastor Tony summed up their time together by suggesting that Mary focus on
being thankful for all that Greg does for her, and the children, and that Greg con-
tinue with his forgiving spirit. “God will help to ease her out of her unhappiness,”
he said to Greg, with a pat on the back. Then he turned to them both and asked
whether Greg would like to be more involved in helping with the Boy’s Program on
Saturday mornings.
In his prayer for them, before they left his office, Pastor Tony recited the verse
“Unto whom much is given, much will be required,” as a way to motivate Greg to
take on an additional church responsibilities and to shake Mary out of her sadness—
by reminding her of all their material blessings.
As they walked past the receptionist, she noticed that Mary looked downcast and
Greg elated. “Great meeting,” he said loudly to Mary, “I should have insisted on this
earlier.”
Her second coffee cup drained, Mary got out of the car and took both disposable
cups and walked over to the large garbage can near the coffee shop. As she threw
them in the trash, she felt a renewed sense that she needed to be making some plans
for her future, and for her children. No longer was she going to wait for Greg to
change, she was going to take steps to ensure that there would be peace and safety
in her home. It was going to be up to her—that is what her parents told her the day
they dropped her off at college and on the way to her wedding, as her mother kissed
her for the last time as a single woman, and whispered: With God’s help, we will
always be there for you. Please never forget how much we love you!
Mary almost ran back to the car, buoyed by the contrast between her husband’s
abuse and her parent’s offer of support. Why had she not realized this before? Mary
told herself that each day for the next week, she would take at least one hour and
focus on what her next steps might be. As an emergency room nurse, she worked a
few days each week and then had a few days off. Maybe she could even ask Jill to
40 N. Nason-Clark

look after the children for a few hours on one of her days off and use that opportu-
nity to both call her parents and make a further appointment to see Pastor Tony. She
dashed in to the bakery to pick up the treats for Jill and for her own family, and then
went straight home to call the church for an appointment.
As we have learned from our ongoing program of research, what happens next
depends in large measure on the pastor and their level of training and experience
relating directly to abuse in the family. Will Reverend Steel be part of the problem,
or part of the solution? Will he help or hinder Mary’s journey towards healing and
wholeness? Will he be prepared to hold Greg accountable for his actions? In essence,
Mary will learn whether or not her church and the pastor’s study are safe places for
her to disclose that she is a victim of intimate partner abuse.

3 Understanding the Issues

Mary’s story offers us a glimpse into some of the challenges faced by devoted
Christian women when they are abused by their husbands. Mary’s faith and her faith
community can be harnessed as a resource at her point of deep personal need. But
sometimes they become an obstacle when a pastor underestimates a woman’s need
for practical help, or the real danger to her physical or emotional health. Pastors
often exaggerate the remorse of the abuser, or his ability or desire to change his way
of thinking or behaving. Sometimes religious leaders overestimate the options of an
abused wife and by so doing add to her guilt and resolve that she must try harder.
Often ministers or other spiritual leaders do not know what to say or what to do
when an abused woman of faith comes to them for help. Unaware of the dynamics
of abuse and the community resources to assist, they attempt, but do not succeed, in
helping her to take action that would increase her safety and longer term psycho-
logical well-being.
From our research program we have learned that less than 10% of Christian pas-
tors report that they are well equipped to respond to the needs of abuse victims who
seek their help (Nason-Clark 1997) and seminary students, as well, report a lack of
preparedness for ministry in this area (McMullin and Nason-Clark 2011). As a
result, it is not surprising that they underestimate the prevalence and severity of
abuse and often fail to refer the women who seek their assistance to other experts in
the community. In fact, referral rates are lowest amongst those pastors with the least
knowledge of abuse—the very cases where a referral to an expert is so badly needed
(Kroeger and Nason-Clark 2010). While there is no evidence from our research that
pastors ignore the violence that is reported to them by women victims, they are
often unaware of the impact it has on children, or the intergenerational patterns of
abusive behaviour, or the temporary nature of remorse in the life of a violent man.
Their lack of understanding places women and their children at risk.
Many religious women believe that if their abusive husbands receive help that
they can, and will, change. This puts a lot of pressure on the pastoral counsellor or
spiritual leader. Clergy too are often very optimistic that change will occur—even in
Religion, Domestic Violence and Congregational Life 41

the face of years of experience observing limited change in the lives of those abu-
sive men (or women) they have attempted to help. Wise counsel from a religious
leader must include an understanding that God’s provision for victims of abuse is
not limited to altered behaviour in the one who is causing their pain (Nason-Clark
and Kroeger 2004).
One of the findings to emerge from our research is that many ministers are reluc-
tant, unwilling, or perhaps even unable, to provide explicitly spiritual help to victims
who come to them for help. We find this surprising, since for many women, the reason
they go first to their religious leader is that they want help with the spiritual dimen-
sions of their problem. Often women feel abandoned by God at their point of need,
feel like they must keep on forgiving their abusive partner, or believe that divorce is
never an option. Part of the counsel they need is related to their spiritual life and spiri-
tual angst. This is something that normally cannot be offered at a community-­based
agency, from a worker who may or may not be familiar with their faith tradition.
We have learned that churches and religious leaders who are proactive when it
comes to abuse encourage disclosures amongst those who attend their churches and
assist victims and abusers alike to seek both help from a religious professional and
as well as help from professionals based in the community. Not only do pastors have
an important role to play in offering support and empowerment to Christian women
who are abused, but they are vital in any community-based coordinated response
(where workers from a variety of different agencies, including the police and the
justice system, work together in an effort to coordinate their intervention and thereby
increase its effectiveness) to work with those who act abusively. Challenging an
abusive religious man, using the words of his faith tradition, is powerful. In so doing
the religious leader helps to bring justice, accountability, and change.

3.1 Something to Think About and Something to Do

You have just read the story of Mary. Now I want you to picture in your mind
how she might have felt as she approached the church building and the
pastor’s office after she made a phone call to see him alone.
If you have never attended a Christian church, or at least not for a long
time, it would be a good idea to attend a service, or even two, just to remind
yourself what happens there. There you will observe that a wide variety of
people meet together to worship, sing, learn, and socialize.
When you do so, ask yourself this question: Do I think that it would be safe
for Mary to approach this pastor, in this church, with her story of intimate
partner violence? Are there any clues from the service that would either lead
me to believe that this congregation would be a safe place to disclose violence
or that this would be a place where her pain and her despair would be mini-
mized or ignored?
42 N. Nason-Clark

Throughout this book, you are being presented with the richness of images, texts,
and practices that come under the umbrella of religious diversity. Later in this chap-
ter, you will be presented with the variety of behaviors that are included in any defi-
nition of abuse, or intimate partner violence. But, for the moment, I want you to
reflect on the point about religious diversity and think about Mary’s story from the
perspective of a woman linked to a faith tradition other than conservative Christianity.
To help you to do this, consult a variety of websites that focus on faith traditions
other than Christianity. Google several shelters for battered women that are specifi-
cally for aboriginal women, or Muslim women, or Jewish women and read what is
presented about these services online. You can also consult websites that are specifi-
cally designed to highlight a particular faith tradition and see if you can locate any
information there that talks about intimate partner violence. And you can call a local
shelter and ask if they have any information on hand about resources available for
women of particular faith traditions. At this point, you should be ready to answer a
few questions.

3.2 Religious Diversity and Mary’s Story

1. In what ways do you think that Mary’s story would unfold differently if
Mary were practising a faith other than evangelical Christianity? What if
she were Jewish? Or Muslim? Or Mormon? Choose two faith traditions to
explore your answer. Listening to some of the scholars talk about their
research on the Religion and Diversity Project website <http://religionand-
diversity.ca/en/projects-and-tools/projects/linking-classrooms/#resources>
might give you some ideas about the various world religions.
2. How might the story unfold differently if Mary had grown up as a Catholic,
but drifted away from regular contact with her parish? Here it is important
that you consider any additional challenges that a woman might have if she
is no longer connected in a regular way with her faith community but its
hold on her heart is still strong. To assist you with this, look at the photo
essay of an older woman standing outside her church and looking in that
has been placed on the Religion and Diversity Project website <http://reli-
gionanddiversity.ca/en/projects-and-tools/projects/linking-classrooms/
photo-essays/there-not-here/>.
Religion, Domestic Violence and Congregational Life 43

4 I ntimate Partner Violence: An Introduction to Key

Concepts and Statistical Data

Around the globe, there is ample evidence of the prevalence and severity of violence
against women and the girl child. The best way to become acquainted with the fre-
quency of intimate partner violence is to consider the statistics that have been col-
lected. At this point I invite you to go to the RAVE website, a website I developed
together with other colleagues, based upon the results of our various research proj-
ects www.theraveproject.org.
For the remainder of this chapter, I will be asking you to consult regularly with
the content that is presented there. Sometimes, you will be asked to read some text,
other times to consider the visual representation of a concept, and sometimes to
listen to an audio or watch a video clip.

4.1 How Common Is Violence Against Women?

Several years ago, a colleague and I worked with a number of student research assis-
tants to compile a snapshot of the prevalence and severity of woman abuse around
the world (Kroeger and Nason-Clark 2010). The amount of data collected in various
countries leads to one overwhelming conclusion: violence against women is perva-
sive. And, most often, that violence is perpetrated by someone with whom women
have shared intimacy and a common residence (United Nations 2013).
Working with other colleagues and student research assistants, that information
has been updated and presented in a way that you can access now. So, to address the
question we have posed at the beginning of this section, go to the Violence Around
the World section on the RAVE website and click on a variety of different countries.
When you click on the red markers, you will be taken to an in-depth look at data that
has been collected by an organization like the World Bank, or the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), or the statistics department of the govern-
ment of individual countries.
On our RAVE website, you will learn first-hand of the staggering rates of vio-
lence. Sometimes students want to know why there is such variations in the data that
is presented from, and within, different countries. The answer to this question is
that: well, it depends. Sometimes it depends on how the data were collected.
Sometimes it depends on the precise way that the questions were composed, or
asked. Sometimes it depends on how expansive the projects were, or the funding or
time constraints under which the researchers were working. But, irrespective of
these differences—and they are important—the conclusion is undeniable: violence
against women is far too common, everywhere. Table 1 provides a snapshot of some
of the data related to our country, Canada.
In their excellent and highly informative book, Violence Against Women in
Canada: Research and Policy Perspectives (2011), Holly Johnson and Myrna
Dawson document that violence against female partners is the most common form
44 N. Nason-Clark

Table 1 Fast facts concerning intimate partner violence in Canada

According to police-reported data, almost 88,000 people in Canada were victims of family
violence in 2013 (Statistics Canada 2013);
Listed amongst the summary statements from the 2014 General Social Survey (GSS), the most
commonly-reported type of spousal violence was being pushed, grabbed, shoved or slapped
(35%), followed by sexually assaulted, beaten, choked, or threatened with a gun or a knife
(25%), and kicked, hit, or hit with something (25%); women victims reported the most severe
types of spousal violence;
Almost one in three (31%) victims of spousal violence reported physical injuries as a result of
the abuse (Statistics Canada 2014);
According to the 2014 GSS, in the majority of cases of spouse violence, the police were never
called or informed of the abuse (70%);
Canadian Aboriginal women are two times more likely to be a victim of spousal violence than
are non-Aboriginal women (Statistics Canada 2014);
The highest one year rates of intimate partner abuse are reported by women between the age
band of fifteen and twenty-four (Statistics Canada 2005);
The first transition houses in Canada opened in 1973—they were located in Vancouver, Calgary
and Saskatoon (Tutty 2006);
By 2008, there were over 500 shelters for battered women in Canada, located in every region of
the country (Johnson and Dawson 2011).

of family violence in our country. Like other researchers have found, Johnson and
Dawson argue that women victims themselves often perceive emotional abuse to be
more devastating than other forms of violence, including physical abuse. In my own
research program, that has been ongoing for over twenty-five years, I have observed
that women often claim that the persistent emotional put-downs and verbal abuse,
like name calling, takes a greater toll on their mental health and well-being than
other forms of abuse (Nason-Clark 1997; Nason-Clark and Kroeger 2004).
In Canada, and indeed around the world, we are becoming more aware of the
various forms of violence against women and of the devastating consequences inti-
mate partner violence brings to the lives of its victims (Asay et al. 2014; Black et al.
2010, 2011). While physical abuse refers to behaviours such as punching, grabbing,
hitting, choking, or striking with an object, financial abuse refers to withholding
access to money, or stealing resources that do not belong to you. Spiritual abuse
includes denying, or limiting, the access of someone to their church or house of
worship, or its faith leader.
There are many intersecting factors that create special vulnerabilities for desig-
nated groups of women when it comes to the issue of abuse, such as the elderly, the
disabled, new immigrants, racialized minorities, the poor, and women connected to
LBGTQI2SA communities. In more recent years, growing attention has been
directed to the multiple ways that some groups of abused women are especially
disadvantaged—both in terms of the experience of abuse and the strategies and
resources available in its aftermath (cf. Crenshaw, 1994; Statistics Canada 2009;
Nason-Clark et al. 2018).
Exploring the Variety of Random
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Philippine Islands
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Title: The Philippine Islands

Author: Ramon Reyes Lala

Release date: May 17, 2013 [eBook #42726]

Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHILIPPINE

ISLANDS ***
The Philippine Islands
The Philippine Islands

By
Ramon Reyes Lala
A Native of Manila

Illustrated
MDCCCXCIX
Continental Publishing Company
25 Park Place, New York
 Copyright 1898
By
Continental Publishing Co.

The Philippine Islands

TO
Rear-Admiral Dewey,
WHOSE RECENT GREAT VICTORY OVER THE
SPANISH FLEET
HAS BEGUN A NEW ERA OF FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY
FOR MY COUNTRY,
AND TO
President McKinley,
IN WHOSE HAND LIES THE DESTINY OF
EIGHT MILLIONS OF FILIPINOS,
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED.
Contents.

Preface 23

Early History of the Islands.

Discovery and Conquest—Adventures of Juan Sebastian Elcano-Legaspi, the

first Governor-General—Li-ma-hong, the Chinese Pirate—The Dutch appear
upon the Scene—The Japanese, and the Martyred Saints 29–48

The British Occupation.

General Draper’s Expedition—The British demand an Indemnity—Intrigues

against the British 49–56

The Spanish Colonial Government.

The Encomiendoros and the Alcaldes—The Present Division and

Administration—The Taxes and what became of Them—Dilatory and
Abortive Courts—A New Yorker’s Experience 57–70

The Church in the Colony.

Priesthood and the People—Conflicts between Church and State—Clashing

among the Friars—The Monks opposed to Reform 71–79

The Various Tribes of the Philippines.

Character of the Natives—A Native Wedding—Dress and Manners—The

Half-Breeds, or Mestizos—Savage Tribes in the Interior: the Aetas, or
Negritos—The Gaddanes—The Igorrotes—The Igorrote-Chinese—The
Tinguianes—The Chinese: Hated but Indispensable 80–106

The Mohammedans of Sulu.

 Cross or Crescent?—The Sultan’s State—The Dreaded Juramentados—The
Extent of Mohammedan Rule—Sulu Customs 107–118

Manila.

The Old City—Binondo and the Suburbs—Educational and Charitable

Institutions—The Cathedral and the Governor-General’s Palace—The
Beautiful Luneta; the Sea Boulevard 119–137

Other Important Cities and Towns.

Iloilo; Capital of the Province of Panay—Cebú, a Mecca for many Filipinos

—General Topography of the Islands 138–150

Natural Beauty of the Archipelago.

A Botanist’s Paradise—A Diadem of Island Gems—The Magnificence of

Tropical Scenery—The Promise of the Future 151–158

A Village Feast.

The Morning Ceremonies—How the Afternoon is Spent—The Evening

Procession—The Entertainment at Home—The Moro-Moro and the Fire-
works 159–173

History of Commerce in the Philippines.

The Spanish Policy—The Treasure-Galleons—Disasters to Spanish

Commerce—Other Nations enter into Competition—Fraud and Speculation
—The Merchants of Cádiz—Royal Restrictions on Trade 174–187

Commerce During the Present Century.

The Royal Company—The Restrictions are gradually Abolished—Vexatious

Duties on Foreign Imports—Duties made Uniform—Spanish Opposition to
Foreign Trade—Trade with the Natives—The Decline of American Trade—
Recent Measures and Statistics—Bad Results of Spanish Rule 188–198
Agriculture: The Sugar and Rice Crops.

Agriculture, the Chief Industry—The Principal Products of the Colony—The

Cultivation of Sugar-cane—Methods of Manufacturing Sugar—The Several
Systems of Labor—The Rice Crop—Methods of Rice-Cultivation—
Primitive Machines, and Importance of the Rice Crop 199–213

The Hemp Plant and its Uses.

Description of the Abacá—The Process of Manufacture—Some Facts about

Hemp-growing—Difficulties with Native Labor—Tricks of the Natives—
Competition with Other Lands—Experience of a Planter—What the Hemp is
used for 214–226

Culture and Use of Tobacco.

The Cultivation of Tobacco, a State Monopoly—Oppressive Conditions in

Luzon—How Speculators take Advantage of the Natives—The Quality of
Manila Tobacco—Methods of Preparing the Tobacco Leaf—Smoking, a
Universal Habit 227–236

The Cultivation of Coffee.

The Origin of the Industry—Indifference of Coffee-planters—Speculation in

Coffee—Methods of Cultivation—Harsh Methods of the Government
237–242

Betel-Nut, Grain, and Fruit-Growing.

The Areca Palm and the Betel Nut—The Nipa Palm and Nipa Wine—Various
Fruits of the Islands—Cereals and Vegetables—Cotton and Indigo Planting—
The Cocoa Industry—The Traffic in Birds’ Nests 243–250

Useful Woods and Plants.

The Huge Forests—The Bamboo Plant and its Uses—The Bejuco Rope—
The Useful Cocoanut Palm—Oppressive Regulations of the Government—
The Early Missionaries Beneficial to the Natives 251–259
Mineral Wealth of the Islands.

Early Search for Gold—The Mining Laws and Methods of the Colony—
Where the Precious Metal is Found—The Whole Country a Virgin Mine—
Precious Stones and Iron—Peculiar Method of Mining Copper—Other
Materials and the Coal Fields, 260–272

Animal Life in the Colony.

The Useful Buffalo, and Other Domestic Animals—Reptiles, Bats, and

Insects—A Field for the Sportsman—The Locust Scourge—The Chief
Nuisances: Mosquitoes and Ants 273–283

Struggle of the Filipinos for Liberty.

Early Insurrections Against the Spaniards—The Burgos Revolt—The Present

Rebellion—The Katipunan—The Black Hole of Manila—The Forbearance
of the Natives—The Rebel Army—The Tagál Republic Proclaimed—
Treachery of the Spaniards—Dr José Rizal and his wife Josephine—
Execution of Rizal—The Philippine Joan of Arc—Rizal’s Farewell Poem—
Aguinaldo Confers with Admiral Dewey—Aguinaldo as Dictator: His
Proclamations—Triumphant Progress of the Rebels—The Spaniards Fortify
Manila—Sketch of Aguinaldo 284–309

Dewey at Manila.

The White Squadron—Declaration of War, and Journey to the Philippines—

Luzon Sighted, and Preparations for Battle—The Fleet Sails by Corregidor—
First Shot of the War—The Spanish Fleet is Sighted—Dewey Attacks the
Enemy—The Fate of the Reina Cristina—The Commodore Pipes all Hands
to Breakfast—The Americans Renew the Battle—The Yankees are Victorious
310–325

The American Occupation.

Merritt and the Expedition—The Battle of Malate—Capture of Manila—

Capitulation of the Philippines—Awaiting the Peace Commission—
Instructions to Merritt 326–342
Illustrations.
Page.
The Fortifications of Old Manila 30
A Glimpse of the Old Canal 35
In the Batangas Province 36
In the Province of Pangasinan 39
San Augustine Church, in Old Manila 43
A Suburb of Old Manila 45
The Abandoned Aqueduct 47
Tower of Defense, Church, and Priest’s House 50
A Native Village in the foot-hills: Old Manila 52
A Bamboo House in Pampanga Province 54
A Street Scene in Albay 59
Children of a Gobernadorcillo 61
Along the Escolta: Principal Business Street in New Manila 63
A Business Street in Old Manila 65
In the Lumber District 68
Throne Room of the Archbishop’s Palace 72
The Famous Shrine of Antipolo 74
A Parish Priest 77
Negritos of Pampanga 81
The Igorrotes 82
Interior of a Native Hut 85
A High-born Filipina—upper garment of costly Piña 86
The Fashionable Church and the Village of Majayjay 89
Author in Silken Suit: kind worn by high-class natives 90
Full-blooded Native Girl in Reception Attire 92
Negritos Enjoying a Primitive Sun-shade 95
Volcano of Albay—a near view 97
A Body-guard of Igorrotes 99
A Native Restaurant, in Binondo 101
Chinese Merchants on their way to the Joss House 103
A Chinese Chocolate-maker 105
Chieftains of Sulu 108
Sulu Warriors in Fighting Attitude 110
A Bamboo Thicket in Sulu 112
The Devil’s Bridge, in Wild Laguna 114
A Jungle in Luzon 116
The Magnificent New Cathedral in Old Manila, and Ruins of the
Old Cathedral, Destroyed by Earthquake 1863 121
Commercial House of Russell & Sturgis; First American Merchants;
Later, Lala’s Hotel 123
“Home, Sweet Home,” as the Filipino knows it 125
Balcony of Manila Jockey Club, overlooking Pandacan 126
The Nactajan Mess: Manila Jockey Club 128
Church of San Francisco, and the Old City Walls 130
A Rear View of the Governor-General’s Palace 132
A Water-girl 133
The Garrote, Manila Method of Capital Punishment 135
The Beautiful Luneta 136
At the Port of Iloilo 139
Interior of a House Destroyed by an Earthquake 140
Open-air View of an Earthquake’s Violence 142
A Milkwoman of Calamba 144
A Native Hut in the Interior 147
Hot Water Springs, Albay; and Mayon Volcano 149
The Once-beautiful Botanical Gardens 152
Malecon Promenade, along Manila Bay 154
A Mestiza Flower-girl 157
A Village Feast 160
A Fashionable Church in Majayjay, Near Manila 162
Home of a well-to-do Manila Merchant 164
Cock-fighting: the Supreme Enjoyment 166
Interior of the Cathedral, where all Processions Begin And End
168
Square of Cervantes: Fashionable Quarter of Manila 170
A Scene From the Moro-Moro Play 172
The Puente de España: Stone Bridge, Replacing the Old Wooden
One 175
Square of Cervantes—New Manila 178
Tondo: The Ancient Quarter of Native Fishermen 180
Water-Carriers and Fruit-Vender 182
Ancient and Present Method of Washing Clothes 184
A Procession of Natives Carrying Fish 186
A Mestizo Merchant 189
The Escolta: Looking Toward Santa Cruz 191
A Milkman on his Rounds 193
A Village of Santa Ana 195
A Water-Carrier and Customer 196
Weaving the Beautiful Piña Cloth 200
Women Employed in a Piña Shop 202
Natives Preparing the Ground for Sugar-Cane Planting 204
Old-fashioned Process of Drying Black Sugar 206
Cane-stalk Yard, Tanduay; Drying Crushed Cane for Fuel 208
Native Women Hulling Rice 211
Mayon Volcano, Albay; in the Hemp-producing District 215
A Hemp Warehouse, Manila 217
A Hemp Press at a Busy Hour 219
A Chinese Hemp Merchant in Gala Attire 221
A Wealthy Spanish Merchant of Albay 223
A Bamboo Bridge in Albay 225
A Cigar and Cigarette Factory in Manila 228
A View of the Suspension Bridge, Manila; over the Pasig River
230
Native Girls Making Manila Cheroots 233
Spanish Luxury in the Old Days 234
District of Taäl: in the Batangas Province 238
The Useful Buffalo: for all Hauling Purposes 240
A Betel-Nut Gatherer of Luzon 244
A Typical Native Fruit-Girl 246
“La Belle Chocolatière” of Luzon 248
Shifting Lumber in a Forest of Tayabas 252
Natives Transporting Lumber to the Coast 254
The Young Proprietor of a Cocoanut Grove Gathering Tuba 256
A Wealthy Mestiza of the Upper Class 258
A Group of Tagals Employed by a Mining Company 262
Another Glimpse of the Great Stone Bridge 264
La Laguna Lake; the Neighborhood of a Gold Discovery 266
A Country House in Tanguet Village 268
House of Native Coal-Laborer of Cebú 270
 A Buffalo in Harness; Harrowing the Soil 274
Grand Stand, Santa Mesa, where the Pony Races are run 276
At the National Sport; Just Before the Contest 278
A Wayside Restaurant 281
A Native Servant-Girl 282
Buffalo Transporting Lumber in Pampanga 285
Enterprising Sugar Refineries, Tanduay 287
La Bella Filipina in Troubadour Costume 290
Foreigners at Tiffin in Manila 292
Dr José Rizal, Martyred Leader of the Present Insurrection 295
An Execution of Insurgent Chiefs on the Luneta 296
Entrance of the River Pasig, Manila 299
The President of the United States and His War-Cabinet 300
Andres Bonifacio, sometime Rebel President of so-called Tagal
Republic 303
Emilio Aguinaldo 305
Native Women: their Upper Garment—Pañuelo—of Piña 306
Types of the Tagbanua Tribe 308
A Battery at the Corner of the Old Fortifications, Manila; Facing
the Bay 313
The Spanish Fleet as it Appeared in the Philippine Waters 315
The Hot Springs of Luzon Province 317
The Reina Cristina, Flagship of Admiral Montojo 318
The Isla de Cuba; To it the Spanish Flag was Transferred 322
The Olympia; Admiral Dewey’s Flagship 324
Admiral Montojo, Commander of Spanish Fleet at Manila 327
Cavité; a Rebel Stronghold, Noted for its Arsenal 328
Alfonzo XIII., the Boy King of Spain 330
The Queen-Regent of Spain 333
Rear-Admiral George Dewey 334
Don Basilo Augustine, Spanish Captain-General of the Philippine
Islands 338
General Wesley Merritt, American Commander of Military Forces
at Manila 340

Maps 343
Introduction.
The absolute present necessity for accurate information by the people of the
United States respecting the Philippines has been met in no more satisfactory
manner than by this book.

The author, Mr. Ramon Reyes Lala, is a Filipino and was born in Manila. His
collegiate education was completed in England and Switzerland. A long sojourn
in Europe has instructed him in European thought, tendencies, and methods. He
has lived in the United States for many years, and has become, by naturalization,
a citizen of this country.

He collected the historical material for this work largely from the Spanish
archives in Manila before the last rising of the people of Luzon in rebellion
against Spain. His mastery of the English language is that of the thorough
scholar. His qualifications for his work are those of the student, trained by many
studies. He possesses by nativity the gift, incommunicable to any alien, of giving
a true color and duly proportioned form to his delineations of his own people.
These endowments have enabled him to produce a work of striking and
permanent value.

The most meritorious feature of Mr. Lala’s book is unquestionably its

impartiality of statement and judgment. This is particularly apparent in his
descriptions of the moral and intellectual character of his countrymen. No defect
is extenuated, nor is there any patriotic exaggeration of merits. The capacities
and limitations of the Filipinos are plainly and photographically depicted. The
difficulties and the facilities of their political control by the United States are
weighed in a just balance by the reader himself in considering these portrayals of
national character.

This colorless truth of statement appears not alone in Mr. Lala’s special
descriptions of the character of his people. It is also manifest, as it is incidentally
displayed, in his many expositions of the systems and methods of labor, of social
usages, of domestic life, of civil administration, of military capacity, of popular
amusements and of religious faith. The result is that he has communicated to the
reader an unusually distinct conception of national and ethnic character. This is
always a very difficult task. The most graphic portrayal in this respect most
commonly enables the reader merely to perceive indistinctly, but not clearly to
see.

The book is of a most practical character. Its statements of commercial history

and methods, and of past and present business and industrial conditions, are
most satisfactory. Such an exposition is at this time most indispensably needed.
Everybody knows, in a general way, that the Philippine Islands produce sugar,
rice, hemp, tobacco, coffee, and many other agricultural staples, and that they
are rich in minerals and valuable woods. But heretofore it has been very difficult
to obtain specific information upon these subjects. Mr. Lala has given this
information. The practical man, the farmer, the manufacturer, the merchant, the
miner is here informed concerning resources, methods, prices, labor, wages,
profits, and roads. While this information is not technical, it is instructively full
and is evidently reliable.

The descriptions of the processes of cultivating and preparing hemp, sugar,

coffee, rice, and tobacco, and the suggestions of the ways by which these
methods can be easily improved, and the products made more profitable, are, in
every way, most satisfactory.

The Philippines began to come under European control with the administration
of Legaspi, the first Governor-General, in 1565, long before the English had
colonized any portion of North America.

For about three hundred and fifty years the Spanish system has been in contrast
with that of every other colonizing nation. It has been worse than the worst of
any of these. While there is no elaborate contrast of these systems in Mr. Lala’s
book, he nevertheless depicts so thoroughly the manifold and inveterate rapacity,
cruelty, corruption, and imbecility of Spanish colonial administration, that he
also discloses the vast possibilities of the better contrasted systems.

No war was ever yet waged in the interests of humanity, as the war against Spain
unquestionably was, that did not produce consequences entirely unforeseen at its
beginning. This truth was never more convincingly confirmed than by the war
just ended. The United States demanded the evacuation by Spain of Cuba and
Cuban waters. Compliance by Spain would have limited the consequences to the
evacuation. She did not comply. She chose the arbitrament of war, and the result
was her extirpation from her insular possessions in the West Indies and the
Philippines.

This providential and revolutionary event imposed upon the United States duties
unforeseen, but none the less imperious. As to the Philippines, those duties are
complicated by the irresistible tendencies which seem to make certain the
dismemberment of China, and the subjection of that immemorial empire to all
the influences of Western civilization. This is an event not inferior in importance
to the discovery of America by Columbus, and the interest of the United States
in its consequences is of incalculable importance. With this interest its relations
to the Philippines is inseparably connected, and those relations present for
consideration policies which disenchant the situation of all idealism and make it
intensely practical. To this possible result the war waged against the United
States by Aguinaldo and his followers has decisively contributed.

But, in any event, whatever the relations of the United States to the Philippines
may finally become, the book of Mr. Lala will undoubtedly influence and assist
the considerate judgment of those whose duty shall call them to determine the
momentous questions which are now enforcing themselves for solution upon the
attention of the American people.

Washington, March 22d, 1899.

[Cushman Kellogg Davis, U. S. Senate, Minnesota, 1887 to ——; Chairman Committee on

Foreign Relations; Member of the Commission that met at Paris, September 1898, to arrange
terms of peace between the United States and Spain.]
Preface.
About twenty years ago, when a student at St. John’s College, London, I was
frequently asked by people I met in society for information regarding the
Philippines and the Filipinos. Many also, who showed considerable interest, and
who wished, for various reasons, to carry their investigations further,
complained that there was in English no good book on the subject. Afterward,
when I continued my studies at a French college in Neûchatel, Switzerland, I
met with many similar inquiries, and here too in America I found demand for a
comprehensive, reliable work upon my country.

But it was not until I had traveled considerably through Europe, studying the
history of the various States and peoples, that the idea of writing a history of my
own fatherland occurred to me. It was mortifying then to think that the glories of
my native land were no better known. Accordingly, I resolved to become the
chronicler, and I began at once to collect material for a work on the Philippines,
that should, I trusted, be deemed a permanent contribution to historical literature.

Upon my return to Manila from Europe, I immediately began a study of the

Colonial archives in the office of the Governor-General. From these I gathered
many valuable data about the early history of the colony, and also much
information that would be locked to the curious traveler. And on account of my
knowledge of Spanish, and because of my friendship with the Governor-General
Moriones, I was enabled to do this thoroughly. Thus I gradually laid the
foundation for the present work.

When, a few years later,—in 1887,—because of my sympathy with the rising

cause of the insurgents, Spanish tyrants banished me from my country and my
kindred, I carried away all the manuscripts I had already written, resolved to
finish the task I had set before me amid a more congenial environment.

I came to the United States. Of this country I, in due time, became a citizen.
However, I kept up my relations with friends in Manila; for I still felt an interest
in the fate of my native land. Though I have since revisited the Orient, I
preferred to retain my American citizenship, rather than again put myself under
the iron yoke of Spain. I have, nevertheless, kept pace with the march of events
in the colony, and had, indeed, about completed my history when Dewey’s grand
victory denoted a new era for the Filipinos, and, hence, made the addition of
several chapters necessary. I have thus added much of supreme interest to
Americans; bringing the book to the capture of Manila by the American forces.

My acquaintance with the leading insurgents,—Rizal, Aguinaldo, Agoncillo, the

Lunas, and others,—has also enabled me to speak with authority about them and
the cause for which they have fought.

In writing this work I have consulted all previous historians, the old Spanish
chroniclers, Gaspar de San Agustin, Juan de la Concepcion, Martinez Zuñiga,
Bowring, Foreman, and various treatises, anthropological and historical, in
French, Spanish, and English.

To all these writers I am indebted for many valuable facts.

It has been my aim to give—rather than a long, detailed account—a concise, but
true, comprehensive, and interesting history of the Philippine Islands; one, too,
covering every phase of the subject, and giving also every important fact.

And my animating spirit of loyalty for my own countrymen makes me feel that I
cannot more clearly and fully manifest my affection for them and my native land
than by writing this book.

Many of the pictures are photographs taken by myself. The rest were selected
from a great number of others, that were accessible, as being most typical of
Philippine life and scenery.

The student of history, and he that would learn something about the customs of
the people, and the natural resources of the country, may, I trust, find the perusal
of this work not without profit and interest.

I desire to attest here my gratitude for the many courtesies shown me, and for the
hearty manner in which I have been received, in this great, free country.

Everywhere it was the same.

And I would say to all loyal, ardent Filipinos, that I believe that they eventually
will not regret the day when Commodore Dewey sundered the galling chains of
Spanish dominance, and when General Merritt, later, hoisted the Stars and
Stripes over the Archipelago.

They will, rather, most surely live to recognize and appreciate the unsullied
manifold advantages and benefits incident to American occupation and to a close
contact with this honest, vigorous type of manhood.

The Author.

New York December, 1898.

Early History of the Islands.

Discovery and Conquest.

When Magellan in the spring of 1521 took formal possession of Mindanao, one of the
largest of the Philippine group, he was surrounded by crowds of the curious brown-
skinned natives of that island; with sensations of awe, they watched their strange white
visitors, believing them to be angels of light. It was Easter-week, and the Spanish
discoverers, with all the ritualistic splendor of the mass, dedicated the newly-found
islands to God and the Church.

The natives, too, manifested great friendliness to the tempest-tossed mariners. Indeed,
one of their most prominent chieftains himself piloted the exploring party to Cebú,
where thousands of natives, arrayed in all the barbarous paraphernalia of savagery, stood
on the beach, and, with their spears and shields, menaced the strangers.

The Mindanao chieftain, who had acted as pilot, thereupon went on shore and
volunteered an explanation: these strange voyagers were seeking rest and provisions,
having been many weary months away from their own country.

A treaty of amity was then ratified according to their native custom, each party thereto
simultaneously drawing and drinking blood from the breast of the other. Magellan then
caused a rude chapel to be built on this new and hospitable shore, and here the natives
witnessed the first rites of that Church that, within a century, extended its oppressive
sway from one end of the Archipelago to the other.

The King and Queen of the natives were soon persuaded to accept the rite of baptism.
This they seemed to enjoy greatly. To persuade the good-natured savages to take the oath
of allegiance to the King of far-away Spain was but a step farther. One ceremony was
probably as intelligible to them as the other; and thus the first two links in the fetters of
the Filipinos had been forged.
 The Fortifications of Old Manila.

With characteristic arrogance the Spaniards henceforth conducted themselves as the

rightful masters of both the confiding natives and their opulent country.

It appears, now, that the natives of Cebú were engaged in war with another tribe on the
island of Magtan. The adventurous Magellan, beholding an opportunity for conquest,
and, perhaps, for profit, accompanied his allies into battle, where he was mortally
wounded by an arrow.

Thus perished the brave and brilliant discoverer, in the very bloom of life, when both
fame and fortune seemed to have laid their most precious offerings at his feet.

Posterity has erected a monument on the very spot where this hero was slain. Cebú also
boasts an obelisk that commemorates the discovery; while on the left bank of the Pasig
river, Manila, stands another testimonial to the splendid achievements of the intrepid
Magellan.

Duarte de Barbosa was now chosen leader of the expedition, and he, with twenty-six
companions, was invited to a banquet by Hamabar, the King of the island. In the midst
of the royal festivities the Spaniards were treacherously murdered. Juan Serrano alone—
so the old chronicles relate—was spared. He had, in some way, secured the favor of the
natives, and now, stripped of his clothing and his armor, he was made to walk up and
down the beach, in full view of his companions on board the ships.

For his person the natives shrewdly demanded a ransom of two of the Spanish cannon. A
consultation was held among the Spaniards, and it was decided that it was better that one
should perish than that the lives of all be jeoparded. And so Serrano was left to his fate.

Adventures of Juan Sebastian Elcano.

Reduced, at last, to about 100 men and two ships, the Spaniards decided to return home.
The captain of one of these—of the Victoria—was Juan Sebastian Elcano. This gallant
sailor, after losing many brave companions and meeting many thrilling adventures, at
last brought his ship safely to a Spanish port—three years after he had embarked, en
route to the Moluccas, under his first commander, the unfortunate Magellan.

When Elcano and his seventeen companions landed in Spain, they were mere skeletons,
so reduced were they by hunger and disease. Everywhere they were received with
acclamations of joy, and upon their arrival in Seville they straightway proceeded to the
Cathedral, where, amid grand Te Deums, they gave thanks to God for their return.

It must, indeed, have been a strange sight to see this remnant, these gaunt survivors of
the splendid company of adventurers that had left that city but three years before,—
flaming with zeal for the spread of the Church, and glowing in the desire of conquest,—
these few half-starved wretches, now walking barefooted, with lighted candles, through
the streets,—all that was left of that eager throng.

And yet, pitiable as they were, they must have been conscious of an achievement that
meant glory for their country and immortality for themselves.

Nor were they unrewarded. All received food and money, and Elcano, the leader, was
voted a life-pension of 500 ducats; and, in token of his great accomplishment in having
first circumnavigated the globe, the King knighted him, awarding him, as his
escutcheon, a globe with the motto: “Primus circundedit me.”

The cargo of the Victoria consisted of 26½ tons of cloves and other spices: cinnamon,
sandalwood, nutmegs, and so forth. It is said that one of the Tidor islanders, brought
back with the expedition, who was presented to the King, was never permitted to return
to his home, because he had committed the blunder of making inquiry regarding the
value of spices in the Spanish markets.

The Trinidad, the other vessel of this remarkable expedition, after many terrible
hardships, fell into the hands of the Portuguese, who sent the survivors to Lisbon. They
reached that port five years after their departure with Magellan.

The enthusiasm of the Spanish monarch and his subjects on account of these remarkable
discoveries was unbounded. Other expeditions to the islands were soon fitted out. One,
under the leadership of Ruy Lopez de Villalobos, gave to them the name of the
Philippine Islands. This was in honor of Philip, Prince of Austria, the son of King
Charles I., heir-apparent to the throne of Castile; to which, in 1555, upon the abdication
of his father, he succeeded as Philip II.

This bigot, convinced by his religious advisers of the importance of winning the newly-
discovered islands for the Church, caused another expedition to be fitted out from
Navidad, in the South Sea.

Legaspi, the First Governor-General.

Accordingly, Miguel Lopez de Legaspi, a well-known Basque navigator, of great piety,
and with a reputation for probity and ability, set out with four ships and one frigate, all
well armed and carrying 800 soldiers and sailors. Six priests also accompanied them.
One was Urdaneta, who had formerly sailed as a captain to the Moluccas. The avowed
object of the expedition was to subjugate and to Christianize the benighted natives of
those islands.

After a propitious voyage, not without incident, General Legaspi resolved to cast anchor
at Cebú, a safe port. On the way the ships stopped at the port of Dapitan, on the island of
Mindanao. Prince Pagbuaya, the ruler of this island, was so astonished at the sight of
these large ships off the coast of his country, that he commanded one of his subjects,
who had some reputation for boldness, to observe their movements and to report his
observations.

He did. They were manned, he said, by enormous men with long, pointed noses; that
these strange beings were dressed in fine robes, and actually ate stones (hard sea-
biscuits); most wonderful of all, they drank fire, and blew smoke out of their mouths and
through their nostrils—referring, of course, to their drinking and smoking. He also said
that they could command the thunder and the lightning—meaning their fire-arms;—that
their proud bearing, their bearded faces, and splendid attire, moreover, surely proclaimed
them to be gods.

Having heard this report, the Prince, accordingly, thought it not unwise to treat with
these wonderful beings. Legaspi not only succeeded in obtaining provisions—in barter
for European wares—from this chief, but he also obtained much useful information
about his destination, Cebú. He learnt that it was considered a powerful kingdom, whose
greatness was much feared by other States, and that its port was not only safe, but also
favorably situated.

The General, therefore, determined to annex it to the Crown of Castile at the earliest
opportunity. He landed at Cebú April 27th, 1565, and immediately began negotiations
with the natives.

These, however, remembering their successful resistance to Magellan’s party but a

generation before, opposed every advance of the Spaniards. The latter, notwithstanding,
finally took possession of the town, and sacked it; but for months they were so harassed
by the chief and his subjects that they were several times on the point of retiring.
Legaspi, however, decided to remain, and the natives, growing accustomed to their
presence, gradually yielded to the new order of things; and thus the first step in the
conquest of the islands was made. The people were declared Spanish subjects. Happy at
his success, Legaspi determined to send the news at once to Spain. Urdaneta was
therefore commissioned to bear the despatches. In due time he arrived at his destination.

Legaspi, meanwhile, steadily and successfully pursued the conquest of Cebú and
surrounding islands. He succeeded most admirably also in winning the confidence of the
natives. Their dethroned King Tupas was baptized, and his daughter married one of the
Spaniards. Other alliances also were made, which bound the two races together.

The Portuguese, the natural enemies of Spanish exploration and conquest, now appeared
on the scene and attempted, in vain, to dispute the possession of the successful invaders.
The Spaniards then built a fort, and plots of land were marked out for the building of
houses for the colonists. In 1570 Cebú was declared a city, and Legaspi, by special grant
from the King, received the title of Governor-General of all the lands that he might be so
fortunate as to conquer.
 A Glimpse of the Old Canal.

Soon afterward, Captain Juan Saicedo, Legaspi’s grandson, was sent to the island of
Luzon to reconnoiter the territory and to bring it into subjection to Spain. Martin de
Goiti and a few soldiers accompanied him. They were well received by the various
chiefs they visited. Among these were King Lacandola, the Rajah of Tondo, and his
nephew, the stern young Rajah Soliman, of Manila. Intimidated by the countenances of
the warlike-looking foreigners, and awed by the mysterious symbols of their priests,
these superstitious chiefs agreed forever, for no consideration, and without reservation,
to yield up their independence, to pay tribute, and to aid in the subjugation of their own
countrymen. A treaty of peace having been made, the Spaniards acted as if they were the
natural owners of the soil.

Young Soliman, however, soon found occasion to demonstrate that he, at least, had no
intention of carrying out his part of this enforced contract. He sowed the seeds of
insurrection broadcast among the various surrounding tribes, and not only carried on an
offensive warfare against the invaders, but set fire to his capital, Manila, that it might not
become the spoil of the invaders. Soliman and his little army were put to flight by
Salcedo, who generously pardoned the young chief upon his again swearing fealty to the
King of Spain. Then, while Goiti with his forces remained in the vicinity of Manila,
Salcedo pursued his adventurous way as far as the Taal district. All the country of the
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