This dissertation examines the influence of religious affiliation on the ethnic identity construction of Mexican immigrants in the U.S. The intersection of Latino ethnicity and

religion presents a timely topic given that significant segments of the Latino population

have shifted from Catholic to Evangelical adherence. These shifts in religious affiliation are being experienced in salient fashion in Santa Ana, CA, the research site for this project. Santa Ana is a dense urban center that counts a majority population that is of Mexican origin. The city continues to experience a diversification of its religious landscape. I argue that the social boundaries tied to these differing religiosities result in diverging and reconfigured ethnic identity projects. Catholics and Evangelicals both make claims to authentic ethnic identities, but they live out their ethnicity in notably different ways.

Three key differences emerge in how Catholics and Evangelicals conceptualize their ethnic identities. The manner in which both groups engage the ethnic enclave differs markedly; Catholics frame the ethnic enclave as a source of resources and a site to be sacralized while Evangelicals cast the ethnic enclave as a place to be reformed. Secondly, both groups employ differing discursive strategies in terms of how they identify themselves ethnically. Catholics are more confident in asserting themselves as Mexican, while Evangelicals argue for their legitimacy as members of the ethnic community via additional designations such as legal status, regional status, and panethnicity. Finally, Catholics and Evangelicals are engaged in a type of social policing wherein both groups contest the boundaries of ethnic membership. Catholics question the authenticity of Evangelicals as ethnics, while Evangelicals assert for themselves a moral identity as a means by which to elevate their place in the ethnic community. Beyond the religious sphere, my research carries broad implications for understanding Latino experiences of assimilation, civic engagement, and racialization. Ultimately, this work on first generation Mexican immigrants lays the groundwork for understanding the experience of subsequent generations, as well as that of other Latino groups in the U.S.

In 1978, the Chinese government implemented the policy of “reform and opening-up” to partially liberalize the country. Capitalizing on the emerging spaces, religions, which were severely repressed in the previous decade, began to revive and expand. However, the ruling Communist Party vowed to maintain its monopoly on power, and thus continued to keep religious groups and activities contained. In such an authoritarian situation, Catholics in post-reform China often face challenges when it comes to practicing their faith. For example, Church leaders are under constant pressure to comply with government orders. On the other hand, as Catholics, these practitioners have an obligation to uphold the teachings of the Church. In other words, there are at least two institutions, the state and the Church, which impose upon those Catholics different sets of ethical demands. When the demands are conflicting, the practitioners are “propelled into making a choice” (Das 2015:84). The question is: How do they navigate through this complex situation? This dissertation aims at addressing the following research question: How do people make ethical evaluations (i.e. judgments, justifications, and decisions) when plunged into a situation characterized by conflicting ethical demands? Examining the question, I draw upon theoretical resources from sociology of culture and anthropology of ethics. To navigate in our daily lives and to cope with moments that demand making an ethical evaluation, we rely on ethical affordance, defined as “any aspects of people’s experience and perceptions that they might draw on in the process of making ethical evaluations and decisions” (Keane 2016:27). Combined with Ann Swidler’s (1986; 2001) conceptualization of culture as a tool kit, I argue that as reflexive agents, we are able to selectively utilize cultural resources to orient ourselves. Our choices are however constrained by institutions, which create different sets of public culture (Lizardo 2017). This study is based mainly on 47 semi-structured in-depth interviews, supported by archival research on Church documents and governmental publication. The interviewees include Catholics who were born and received education in mainland China, as well as Hong Kong Catholics and foreign missionaries who had the repeated experiences in engaging with the Church in the mainland. Based on the data, I conclude that in the face of conflicting sets of public culture, the teachings of the strongly institutionalized Church laid the foundation for the interviewees to make ethical evaluations. On top of that, they also deployed and hybridized a wide range of cultural resources, such as the Chinese culture, the history of the country, popular cultural products, exemplars, one’s own conscience, personal experiences, and the transcendental God. In addition, several patterns can be observed. First, when recalling conflicts, the interviewees overwhelmingly defended the stance of the Church. This shows the powerfulness of the public culture promoted by the institutional Church over the state. Second, interviewees who had access to more diverse cultural resources were more likely to adopt a stance that was less dichotomized. Third, the findings illustrate the overlap between declarative and nondeclarative culture, as personal experiences could be transformed into narratives to become important resources for making ethical evaluations. Finally, in response to complicated cases and challenges, some interviewees chose to suspend their judgment, resorting to the inability of human reason in understanding God’s mysterious plan. This study challenges simplistic accounts that dichotomize Catholics in China as either uncompromising warriors or governmental puppets. It also complicates the prevailing perception of the Chinese government’s effectiveness in socializing its subjects. The existence of an alternative set of public culture, promoted by a strong institution like the Church, potentially disrupts the state’s ideological propagation.

This dissertation explores the dynamics of racial classification in contemporary Brazil, as state and social movement actors have recently come together to implement anti-racist legislation and policies. Brazil is an important site for study of race because until early in this century laws and official policies largely treated it as irrelevant. More recently, policies such as affirmative action have been implemented to combat racial inequality, however the meaning of race and the categories for the new policies are being created and the categories are contested. Two primary questions guide this dissertation: How are official categories being constructed for new race- targeted affirmative action policies in Brazil? And how are these new categories negotiated by Brazilians who are being asked to self-identify for inclusion in these policies? The first question addresses the dynamics of racial classification and categorization in contemporary Brazilian affirmative action policy, and the other the possible consequences these practices may have for boundary dynamics in the population.

The first question draws on a qualitative case study - semi-structured interviews; documentary research; and participant-observation – of affirmative action policy in higher

education in Brazil. Scholars of ethno-racial politics in Latin America argue that states more readily consider claims based on the recognition and protection of cultural difference as legitimate, but are resistant to calls for the remedy of racial discrimination. As a counterexample, I show how issues of racial exclusion and discrimination gained traction in public policy in Brazil. I show how race came to be only one component of that policy; instead, race was combined with class to establish a new type of beneficiary status for affirmative action: poor black students. In the process quotas for public school student have also become widespread.

The second question draws on sixteen months of participant-observation and forty-two semi-structured interviews with Brazilians connected to Black movement organized college prep courses. I discuss how Brazilians striving to enter the university negotiate the use of new policies. I find that the unique way affirmative action policies have been designed and implemented in Brazil, targeting poor students as well as poor black students, contributes to produce a new population, one that doesn’t view color in oppositional terms but feels solidarity along class lines that are racially inclusive.