The Relationship between Culture and Religion and its Effects on Identity by Thao Hoang

The Relationship between Culture and Religion and its Effects on Identity

Thao Hoang

The connection of culture and religion creates conflict of identity because the world outside the church vastly changes. The clashing culture of different ideas, especially by generations, causes identity confusion within the individuals of the community. Ebaugh and Chafetz (2000) noted that “congregations that focus most strongly on recreating ethnic ambiance of the old country are most likely to alienate the youth” (p. 447). Standards and practices revered in the Vietnamese Catholic community are dismissed or become spectacles such as the various forms of Vietnamese honorifics. On a greater scale, older generations typically have more conservative views on some issues and raised their children with these views. The children then learn more about the subject through the western culture and form an opposing idea. The different ideas, from the one the individual are raised upon based on the faith and culture of their community, and the one they learned outside of it, often diverge. These differences raises question of their culture which then lead to an evaluation of how they view their identity. The different cultures of the Vietnamese Catholic community and of the American produce different ideas that conflict and create tension between the members, often by generation, as well as force the individual to examine their identity.

For immigrants of this country, maintaining their culture becomes crucial in how they view their identity. In the midst of exposure of this western society, everything changes. Unfamiliar things exist behind every corner – different language, food and utensils, dress, music. Immigrants cling to their cultural identity and seek out or form a community as a way to maintain the practices of their homeland. The Vietnamese Catholic community in Cincinnati is no different. The community operates as a church, called the Lady of Lavang, but becomes something greater than just an area for worship. It can be argued that all churches are communities in their own ways, but particularly, the Vietnamese Catholic church strives to form a little niche where the people are able to worship freely in their language. More so, in this way they are able to communicate their culture. The church preserves traditional Vietnamese culture through a variety of different methods. This causes the religious and cultural part of one’s identity to intertwine. There are both benefits and trade-offs to this relationship. A benefit is that it brings an individual closer to the community. However, there is always an obvious awareness that they no longer live in Vietnam. Although the culture of Vietnam is preserved by many means, there exists a clashing culture of the western society beyond the doors of the Lady of Lavang church. The communication of culture in religion creates an intimate discourse community that allows the members to feel closer to one another of similar background, but also then produce turmoil in how an individual view their identity and can isolate them from the Vietnamese Catholic community as well as other different communities.

Before settling in Ohio, my family has previously lived in Louisiana and California because either my mother or father had family members who had lived there and helped us transitioned into living in the new country. The move to Ohio was also motivated because of family. However, the decision to stay was greatly influenced by the Vietnamese Catholic community in the Cincinnati area (see Figure 1 and 2), because, according to Thompson and Gurney (2003), who conducted a study of various immigrant youths’ relationship with their faith, religions “provide a strong connection to one’s familial and cultural identity” (p. 84). The Lady of Lavang creates an atmosphere where individuals of a common background worship freely in their own language. Ebaugh and Chafetz (2000) note in their study of immigrant congregations that “language commonality is central to the development of such networks, to the reproduction of customs in a new and different socio-cultural milieu, and to the feelings of personal comfort” (p. 437). My interview with L.P. also acknowledges this point. She is an older woman who feels more comfortable going to the Lady of Lavang as oppose to a nearer English church. The mass services are essentially the same, only one is in Vietnamese, but that makes all the difference in her understanding and participation in the service. An example is the Our Father, recited in all Catholic masses but here in Vietnamese:

Our Father

Vietnamese are also able express the customs and traditions of Vietnam here. The Lady of Lavang forms an environment specifically for Vietnamese Catholics, and the culture of the country can be easily perceived. I observed an instance of this last weekend when the church celebrated May Crowning. During the procession, which took place in the church’s parking lot, I saw right away various forms of Vietnamese culture such as instruments (see Figure 3 and 4). These instruments can also be faintly heard in the beginning and throughout the procession outside (Note that the sounds are not as powerful as there were no nearby microphones):

Instruments Sounds During Procession

In Figure 5 and 6, a dance was performed by girls in the church’s youth group. These pictures also show the ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese dress. These dresses are usually worn during special masses, but some women, typically of older generation, wear the ao dai every Sunday. The members also meet in the basement of Church after all mass services, special occasion or not. During these times, Vietnamese food are set up and sold. There is not extra prayer service here; people just come together at the various tables to talk and enjoy a meal together. This community also celebrates non-religious holidays of Vietnam such Tet, the Vietnamese lunar new year. These communications of culture all takes place within the church property. The ao dai will never be seen at the local Target, and Tet will never be celebrated or recognized like the New Year at the beginning of January. The Vietnamese Catholic community in Cincinnati intertwines and communicates culture literacy with relation to religion. The relationship of the two is strong within the community because the church becomes the sole environment of Vietnamese culture.

The Vietnamese Catholic church provides a close-knit community but also isolates their members from other communities in this manner. The discourse community is for a very specific group of people. As a place where culture is so freely expressed, it becomes very important to its member. However, according to Ebauch and Chafetz (2000), immigrants of religious congregations often feel “too isolated in their parish” (p. 442). This is because the members spend the majority of their time away from this community. Sometimes, they need to hold meetings and plan for special services like the May Crowning. Mostly though, their life is immersed in American culture and society. Those who are part of the discourse community understand that their Vietnamese and American lives will never really mix. In an interview with T.O., he said that he keeps his activities with the Vietnamese Catholic church separated from his other communities in school and work. While he never outright said that it made him uncomfortable, it is something that he just did not and would not do. Yet religion and culture are such significant part of his and other members’ identity. To have these parts of identity so detached from the majority of their life creates conflicting feelings in how they view themselves in the world. Because the cultures never mix, they see their identity as divided. The Vietnamese Catholic community binds the member through a common background but also isolate them from other communities.

The connection of culture and religion creates conflict of identity because the world outside the church vastly changes. The clashing culture of different ideas, especially by generations, causes identity confusion within the individuals of the community. Ebaugh and Chafetz (2000) noted that “congregations that focus most strongly on recreating ethnic ambiance of the old country are most likely to alienate the youth” (p. 447). Standards and practices revered in the Vietnamese Catholic community are dismissed or become spectacles such as the various forms of Vietnamese honorifics. On a greater scale, older generations typically have more conservative views on some issues and raised their children with these views. The children then learn more about the subject through the western culture and form an opposing idea. The different ideas, from the one the individual are raised upon based on the faith and culture of their community, and the one they learned outside of it, often diverge. These differences raises question of their culture which then lead to an evaluation of how they view their identity. The different cultures of the Vietnamese Catholic community and of the American produce different ideas that conflict and create tension between the members, often by generation, as well as force the individual to examine their identity.

The Vietnamese Catholic community in Cincinnati allows member to worship freely in their language and unit members under the same ethnic background. The expressions of culture through dress, food, music, and instruments connect culture with faith. This relationship further unifies members but also paradoxically isolate them from one another as well as from other communities. It should be noted that there are varying levels of how an individual may feel this distance which depends greatly on their greater understanding of the ideas in their cultural literacy. The concepts learned from the different cultures clashed and force the individual to greater understanding of the limitation of wholly accepting all beliefs of one culture. While this discourse community provides a way to unite Vietnamese to their culture, it also creates conflict of identity because of the presences of other ideas of other cultures.

Figures

Figure 1- Church Building Figure 2- Sign on Church

Figure 3- Vietnamese Instrument 1 Figure 4- Vietnamese Instrument 2

Figure 5- Youth Group Dance 1 Figure 6- Youth Group Dance 2

References

Ebaugh, H., & Chafetz, J. (2000). Dilemmas of Language in Immigrant

Congregation: The Tie that Binds or The Tower of Babel?. Religious

Research Association, 41(4), 432-452.

Thompson, N. E., & Gurney, A. G. (2003). “He is Everything”: Religion's Role in

the Lives of Immigrant Youth. New Directions for Youth Development,

2003(100), 75-90.