This book's descriptive richness makes it an excellent resource for anyone interested in the place of religion in the lives of new American immigrants and for those engaged in general discussions about the importance of religion in shaping people's group identities in modernity.

Slavica Jakelic, (Boston College), Religious Studies Review

This is a strong contribution to our understanding of the dynamics of American religion. Ebaugh and Chafetz and their colleagues have boldly tackled the puzzling complexity of new immigrant religions-and managed to make sense of them. Their secret is combining close-up observations in a dozen congregations with a comparative focus that sorts out dominant themes and trends. Students of immigration will want to read this book to see what they have missed by ignoring religion. Scholars interested in religion will find it must-reading for their own teaching and research.

Robert Wuthnow, professor emeritus, Princeton University

Religion and the New Immigrants is a fascinating comparative ethnography, across nationalities and religious faiths, of the diversity and dilemmas of immigrant religious social life. It examines the functions of immigrant congregations for the reproduction of ethnicity. It also looks at the conflicts and contradictions these congregations engender as they seek to 'pass it on' to an Americanized second generation-who are more often alienated than attracted by the very features that fulfill their parents' needs. This unique and illuminating study will become a standard reference for future research in this field.

Rubén G. Rumbaut, (Michigan State University)

The Immigration and Reform Act of 1965 created a wave of immigration similar to the waves of the 19th and early 20th Century. Unlike those earlier waves, which were overwhelmingly from Europe, immigrants since 1965 are largely from Asia, Latin America, and the Arab world. Ebaugh and Chafetz, both Professors of Sociology at the University of Houston, have capitalized on their location in one of the major gateway cities for these recent immigrants to make this fascinating study of new immigrant religions. This is done in two ways, each valuable in itself, but the whole is greater than the sum of the parts: The parts are thirteen case studies of immigrant congregations plus thematic chapters that analyze and compare. The result is thus richly descriptive but also theoretically fulfilling, a valuable contribution to the religion-and-immigration literature.

Phillip Hammond, (University of California, Santa Barbara)

[Its] arrangement makes for easy comparisons of congregations... The book provides illuminating insight into the inner workings of immigrant congregations, revealing the challenges they face as well as the communal support they provide. Recommended for undergraduates and above.

C. R. Pair, (California State University, Long Beach), Choice Reviews

It is impossible to understand the place of religions in the U.S. today if we ignore the role of the many and diverse congregations of recent immigrants. Taking advantage of a "natural laboratory" in the city of Houston, where nearly a quarter of the populace is foreign-born, Ebaugh, Chafetz and their research team provide us with informative vignettes of congregations of immigrant Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, and Zoroastrians, among others. This book is rich in comparative description, giving us a glimpse into the vitality of ethnic religiosity. Interpretive chapters add analysis of such important themes as women's roles, language conflicts, socializing the second generation, and the reproduction of ethnicity. This book is required reading for an appreciation of the enormous religious diversity that already exists in the United States.

Meredith McGuire, (Trinity University)