In today’s WaPo Tyler Cowen and Daniel M. Rothschild provide data showing that Latino immigrants are assimilating:
Beneath the surface of the immigration debate is a debate about shared values. If we look at just three of those values -- the English language, family and hard work -- we see a higher level of Latino assimilation than is often presumed.
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The family has long been the core social unit in America, and immigrants share that value. Census data show that 62 percent of immigrants over age 15 are married, compared to 52 percent of natives. Only 6 percent of Latino adults are divorced, compared with 10 percent of whites and 12 percent of African Americans. Latino immigrants are more likely to live in multigenerational households rather than just visiting grandparents a couple of times a year.
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Immigrants from Central and South America share the American predilection for hard work and economic advancement. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that Hispanic men are more likely than white men to be in the labor force. While immigrant Latinas initially lag behind native women, Francine Blau and Lawrence Kahn of the National Bureau of Economic Research have shown that, despite initial inclinations to be stay-at-home moms, immigrant women quickly assimilate into the American workforce.
Cowen and Rothschild make no mention of another significant variable – rates of church attendance. My parish now has a well-attended mass in Spanish. I’m often impressed by the numbers of young Latin males walking to church, even for Ash Wednesday mass on a cold rainy night. My guess is that Latinos attend Mass at an above average rate and that the rate for men is also higher.
There is a good story here. Would some journalist care to explore the relationships among church attendance, work ethic and assimilation? How does this compare to previous immigrant populations? As the folks over at GetReligion would say: there is a ghost here – a religious image lurking behind the story. Properly reported, it could add real depth to questions of assimilation and the role of local churches in ministering to this population.
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