Multi-sited Faith: Chinese Canadian, Young Adult Evangelicals and the Negotiation of Ethno-Religious Identity in the Greater Toronto Area

Abstract

In 2016, Census Canada found that more than 1.5 million of Toronto, Ontario’s roughly 5.4 million total population were second-generation immigrants. As part of this significant cohort, Chinese Canadian young adults are coming of age in a diverse, multicultural landscape. This project investigates the experience of my 18-35 year-old Chinese Canadian participants as they negotiate their connection to both their Chinese heritage and their sense of being evangelical Christians. Drawing on 51 formal interviews, 18 months of participant observation using multi-site ethnographic methods, and analysis of material culture, I argue that Chinese Canadian, young adult evangelicals form a variety of identity combinations in order to build and maintain attachment to ethno-religious communities. I found that while some explore and use multi-ethnic congregations and ministries to form these combinations, a far larger contingent of Chinese Canadian young adult evangelicals are drawing from a network of institutions and organizations rooted in the Chinese evangelical community. This network constitutes one of the chief findings of the study and illustrates how the unique second-generation religious forms that it fosters and allows for may help sustain and strengthen continued involvement in immigrant congregations for years to come.