Hispanic Work Faith & Identity Shows Diverse Attitudes Behaviors

Barna Group looks at Family Heritage Language Fluency & Vocational Values Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Its the middle of another election year and predictably immigration is once again a hot-button issue ... with parties promoting sharply divided views on the right approach. But all sides share a common concern when it comes to what happens after immigration. What does successful integration into American society look like? For most success includes two key areas:  

1. Language and
2. Work

In this groundbreaking research Barna Group looks at 3 critical factors within this significant and growing demographic:

1. Family Heritage
2. Language Fluency and the
3. Vocational Values

While midterms historically draw a smaller crowd of voters they bring to the forefront of political conversation a variety of issues intended to energize voter bases and solidify party candidates. As the largest ethnic minority in the U.S. Hispanic Americans in particular are a critical part of any discussion about immigration. With roughly 53 million Latinos living in America they are now the nations largest ethnic or race minority making them an important voting demographic for any candidate. However Hispanic Americans on the whole show up to vote at midterms less than other groups. Some candidates are hoping to change that by focusing on an issue that hits close to home. Immigration of course is a hot-button topic and parties promote sharply divided views on the right approach. The Barna Group partnered with the American Bible Society the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and OneHope for a groundbreaking study called Barna: Hispanics. Not all Americans of Hispanic origin or otherwise agree on the specifics of successful integration but they can agree on the desire to see immigrants thrive in their new home. But first a look at some immigration demographics. Demographics: Heritage Birthplace & Residency While much immigration policy is focused on those who have very recently immigrated most people of Hispanic origin living in the US have been here for a while. On average Hispanic Americans have lived in the US for 25 years. Most of them about seven in 10 are legal residents or citizens of the United States. More than half of all U.S. Hispanics did not immigrate but were born in the United States. Of those who did immigrate about 30 were born in Mexico. All other Latin and South American countries including Puerto Rico Cuba El Salvador the Dominican Republic and other countries have contributed less than 5 each to US Hispanic immigrants. Similarly the heritage of a majority of Hispanic Americans is Mexican (64). One in 10 Hispanic Americans is of Puerto Rican descent and one in 20 is Cuban. Other family heritages include Spanish (3) Dominican (2) and Salvadoran (2). Other groups contribute less than 1 to the Hispanic American population. Language Fluency Language barriers are a challenge most immigrants have to navigate. While there are many Spanish-speaking services and establishments in the US learning to speak English is still a critical component of long-term success for Hispanic American immigrants. Participants in our survey had the option to take it in English or Spanish. Most chose English more than double the number who chose Spanish. Of those who chose to take the survey in English:

• Nearly half (48) said they are also very fluent in Spanish and
• an additional three in 10 (28) said they speak Spanish pretty well."
• Only 9 said they cannot speak Spanish at all and
• About one in six (16) said they only speak Spanish a little."

Among those who opted into the Spanish survey the numbers tell a different story. This is a group that is much less bilingual.

• Only one in five respondents said they speak English very well";
• an additional three in 10 (30) can speak English pretty well."
• Nearly half of respondents (47) said they speak English just a little."
• Only 3 said they cant speak English at all.

Church is one institution that offers Latinos an opportunity to participate in their first language; many faith communities host Spanish-speaking worship services. Perhaps surprisingly however:

• More Hispanic Americans say they would prefer to attend an English-only service (32)
• than a Spanish-only service (25).
• Similarly more Hispanic Americans currently attend an English-only service (32)
• than a Spanish-only service (18).

Bilingual services though are what many Hispanic Americans are looking for. More than two-fifths (43) of respondents expressed a desire to attend a bilingual service while half (50) said they attend a bilingual service now. The Hispanic Work Ethic Finding meaningful and fairly compensated work in their new home country is a significant aspect of successful integration for immigrants. Hispanic Americans are proud of their work ethic and see it as a key facet of their identity. In fact:

• One in four (24) named it as the second-greatest contribution of the Hispanic community to American society;
• Only commitment to family" received more votes (36).
• One in five Hispanic Americans (20) said cultural heritage" is the most important contribution
• while 7 said enjoyment of life"
• 6 said commitment to faith"
• and 8 chose none of the options

As a rule Hispanics see social value in their work. A strong majoritymore than two-thirds (69)agree their work helps make the world a better place while less than one in five disagree (16). This number is slightly higher (72) among Catholics and significantly lower (58) among those who claim no faith or a faith other than Christianity. Similarly when asked if they find personal meaning and fulfillment in the work they do Catholics (89) and Protestants (86) were slightly more likely than average (85) to agree and much more likely than Hispanic Americans of no faith or faiths other than Christianity (64). However even while Christian Hispanic Americans are more likely to find personal meaning and fulfillment in their work and to believe its creating a better world they dont necessarily see a connection between their work and their faith. In fact:

• Eight in 10 Catholics (79)
• and half of Protestants (50) say their faith and their work are two separate parts of their life
• with those of no/other faith falling between the two Christian segments (63)

What the Research Means Clint Jenkin Vice President of Research at Barna Group says

There are a lot of groups political religious commercial who are working hard to connect with a Hispanic audience. But reaching Latinos effectively requires an understanding of diversity among Hispanic Americans. Its tempting to think of Hispanic as a single culture when really its convenient shorthand for a complex group of cultures. When we dig into the data we find diverse attitudes and behaviors that reflect this complexity. Factors such as language of preference nation of origin (including the US) and level of acculturation all influence how Hispanics engage with broader American culture. Anyone who wants to connect with Hispanic Americans including faith leaders needs to do their homework to appreciate these engagement factors.

On the religious front we see similar hard-to-pigeonhole complexity. The charismatic movement has in many ways redefined both Catholic and Protestant Hispanics creating a third category that blurs the lines of this historic divide. And it has even more personal implications: a persons self-identification as charismatic is strongly correlated with how deeply she integrates faith with other aspects of her life. Hispanic Americans rightly take pride in their strong work ethic and in the contribution their work makes to the country as a whole. In some ways this ethic of hard work is more integrated with Hispanic identity than is religious persuasion and it presents an opportunity to pastors and other faith leaders invested in discipleship among Latinos. Helping Hispanic Christians make the connection between their faith and their vocationtheir callingis a promising path toward sustainable faith formation." READ THE NEW BARNA GROUP RESEARCH >