I am currently working on my own research for a Masters program I’m completing. I am looking and second generation women from a particular Indian Christian community who attend a mono-ethnic congregation. From the interviews   conducted so far it has made me really feel a connection to these women. So many of their experiences mimic my own, yet some of their perspectives on these experiences are so different from my own. I’m so curious as to what causes this difference. Is it because of a difference in personalities, or upbringing, or even our different Christian communities? How has attending a mono-ethnic church differ from attending a multi-ethnic church?

Ever since I’ve been with my partner I have wondered what it would have been like if I had closer contact with others from my ethno-religious community. Unlike his family who attended a mono-ethnic church, my family attended a multi-ethnic church and had a less emphasis on the integration of religion and culture. For many of my participants it was the opposite. I wonder what I would have been like attending one of their churches. Would I be the person I am today? Would I have even thought about being with my fiance, who is of Taiwanese descent? And now, do I want to pursue relationships with members of my community? Would I be better off or should I stop thinking that I am lacking something in my life? I’m not sure if I am being petty or if this growing desire is something worth addressing.

I’m going to India next month with my family. It will be ten years since the last time I went for a visit and I’m sure much has changed. This time I will actually have an appreciation for the visit. I was a teenager the last time I was there and I was still going through my denial stage. I saw myself as completely Canadian and didn’t recognize the importance of my ethnic, linguistic and ancestral background. I’m quite excited to visit this time because I truly want to go.

I am disappointed though that I still cannot speak Kannada. I understand simple conversation but I cannot articulate myself. The limited words and phrases that I do know also comes out with an unappealing Western accept that just makes me never want to try. I’m sure I will still get lectured by some of my older relatives for not understanding. At least I will have the satisfaction of knowing that I will have to be the translator for my younger sister. She knows more Japanese, French, and Korean than Kannada, but who can really blame her or myself. Other than my parents, we didn’t know anyone else that spoke Kannada.

That’s why I really envy my fiance. His family is Taiwanese and they speak Mandarin to each other. Although he has told me that as he gets older he keeps forgetting more and more Mandarin, he has the opportunity to prevent that. The Mandarin-speaking population in Southern Ontario is far greater than the Kannada-speaking population, and if we have children, they will be able to attend a Mandarin church or Mandarin school. But as far as Kannada goes all they would have is my parents, and judging from the outcome of myself and my sister, that doesn’t give me much hope. I really wish I could learn more Kannada, but I just don’t see it as being feasible.

I read a sentence in an article that stated,

“As John Y. Fenton (1988, 232) postulates, Asian Indian Christians lose touch with their ethnic culture more quickly than do those of other traditions because culture is deemphasized” (Park, 2001).

I first questioned if this statement was an over-generalization of “Asian Indians” Christians, or “East Indian” Christians as they are termed in Canada. Can Asian Indian/ East Indian Christians all follow the same assimilation pattern? And if so, is it really because they place less emphasis on their culture?

This was definitely the case in my situation. My parents are firm believers that when you come to the U.S. or Canada you should try to fit in. We attend a multiethnic/multicultural church, we’ve moved away from a predominately Indian diet to a mixture of quick and easy foods that fill you up and last a while in the fridge, and we converse in English. My parents definitely have held onto some Indian things and have had to let go of many due to the assimilation that my sister and I underwent. For the most part, it was a losing battle for them. The church we attend wasn’t always multicultural – it used to be predominantly white and over time became more mixed. Another case of white flux (I think that’s what the term is). Anyway, in comparison to other Indians I have definitely noticed that my family is more accommodating of Canadian (read: white culture) practices than some other groups. But I wonder – is this because we’re Christian in a post-Christian society?

When I look at my cousins’ families, I can see how they have held onto certain Indian-Christian elements while also accommodating to Western-Christian and Canadian/American elements as well. But it’s interesting to see the mentality that these parents have in comparison to my non-Christian Indian friends’ parents. I guess the interpretation of religious doctrine and the historical ancestral context would influence the way one assimilates into North America. But I still wonder, why don’t we value our culture more?

REFERENCES
Park, Soyoung. “The Intersection of Religion, Race, Ethnicity, and Gender in the Identity Formation of Korean American Evangelical Women.” Korean Americans and Their Religions. Ed. Ho-Youn Kwon et. al. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001. 201.