Transnationalism Bibliography

Question(s) addressed by the author and working arguments

Research on Asian Indian and Pakistani Religions in the United States. American religion is the product of immigration, and the change made in the U.S. immigration law in 1965 continues to affect American society, culture and religion. Immigrants from India and Pakistan were admitted in significant numbers for the first time as a result of that change. Adherents of all the religions of the Indian subcontinent are now in America, creating a new religious landscape. New modes of rapid communication and modern mobility create transnational communities and networks that intimately link the United States with India and Pakistan and instigate transformations in all three countries.

Conceptual references to transnational – transnationalism

i) In the new transnational context, South Asian religions are becoming world religions in new ways, resulting in significant changes in India and Pakistan.

ii) In this transnational context, religions of the Indian subcontinent have become world religions in new ways that call into question rubrics of analyses developed in relation to earlier immigrant groups. “Ethnicity” and “nationality” are categories of social description that require some revision to account for the current transnational reality.

iii) Transnational networks make it increasingly possible for the United States to receive religious leaders and religious messages from India and Pakistan.

Conclusions or Final Remarks

Few people recognized the profound effects that post-1965 immigration would have on American religion and society. Immigration from India and Pakistan will continue for the foreseeable future. Asian Indians and Pakistanis will continue to establish religious organizations and to build temples, mosques, gurdwaras, and churches. Their religions will gain increasing visibility, and some will become more active in attracting participation and support from the society at large.