In recent years much has been written about new immigrants to the us, and how they
are adapting and adjusting to life within their new context. In the majority of these
studies, attention has been given to examining residential patterns, employment trends,
and the “coming of age” experiences of the second generation. What is noticeably
absent however, has been the role that home life and religious institutions play within
this process of adjustment/adaptation of the immigrants, especially for youth. In this
paper, I will address this oversight by arguing that because the home and church contexts
are constructed within a migration framework that also governs the lives of immigrants,
they provide us with an important lens through which to examine the adaptation
process. By analyzing qualitative research data collected amongst West Indian immigrant
immigrants in New York City, I will propose that the home and religious contexts
assist immigrants and the second generation in constructing and articulating matters of
gender, while simultaneously shaping the way in which they live out their Christian
faith and conduct mission in the wider society