Latino Research @ ND

What Can Seminaries Do to Prepare Their Students for Ministry in the Latino Community? (340KB)
Edwin I Hernández, Milagros Peña, Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner, Jeffrey Smith, Kari Jo Verhulst
October, 2008
As custodians of the next generation of pastors and lay religious leaders, seminaries and graduate schools of theology must constantly adapt their programming to keep up with the changing needs of the churches and communities their students will go on to serve. The ongoing growth of the Hispanic population in both Catholic and Protestant congregations has spurred such institutions to evaluate their curricula and general academic cultures to identify how to best prepare ministers for service to and with Latinos/as. This final report in this series investigating the experiences of Latino/a seminarians explores which institutional practices and programs help ensure that these future ministers are prepared to be effective leaders in the church.
Keywords: Education, Religion - Ecumenical

Latino/a Seminarians’ Evaluations of Their Institutions’ Quality and Commitment (1.1MB)
Edwin I. Hernández, Milagros Peña, Caroline Viernes Sotello Turner, Jeffrey Smith, Kari Jo Verhulst
July, 2008
This fifth report in a series of Latino Research@ND reports on Latinos/as and theological education investigates how Latino/a seminarians assess their schools on a variety of social, cultural, and academic factors and what this reveals about how effectively seminaries and graduate schools of theology are meeting the needs of their Latino/a students. We find that Latino/a seminarians offer positive assessments of the general climate toward diversity at their schools but are more negative about how adeptly their schools have integrated and incorporated Latino perspectives into the curriculum and academic environment. The presence of attentive, available faculty members who are sensitive and receptive to Latino theology, culture, and perspectives makes a substantial difference in Latinos/as’ experience of seminary, as does the inclusion of minority perspectives into the curriculum.
Keywords: Education, Religion - Ecumenical

Finding the Right Seminary: Influences on Institutional Choice, Expectations, and Satisfaction among Latino/a Seminarians (304KB)
Edwin I. Hernández, Milagros Peña, Caroline Viernes Sotello Turner, Jeffrey Smith, Kari Jo Verhulst
May, 2008
This fourth report in a series of Latino Research@ND reports on Latinos/as and theological education identifies the key factors that influence Latino/a seminarians’ choice of educational institution and examines whether these students’ institutional expectations are being met. We find that Latino/a seminarians share many of the same concerns as their white and especially African American counterparts for a theologically compatible, quality education without undue financial burden. Though they are generally satisfied with the institutions they choose to attend, there is a pronounced gap between the importance ascribed to finances in choosing one’s seminary and the adequacy of the financial aid one’s institution offers.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Education

Latino/a Seminarians’ Vocational Motivations and Views about the Church’s Role in Society (704KB)
Edwin I. Hernández, Milagros Peña, Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner, Jeffery Smith, Kari Jo Verhulst
September, 2007
This report examines the vocational motivations and aspirations of Latino/a seminarians and analyzes their views about the role that churches should play in society. We find that Latinos/as pursue theological education out of a desire to serve others and express strong support for religious congregations taking an active role around issues such as poverty, racism, and the environment and they favor collaborating with government agencies, public officials, and people of other faiths to do so. This is the third in a series of Latino Research@ND reports focusing on Latinos/as and theological education.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Activism, Community, Social Services, Education

What Do Black And White Residents of Metropolitan Chicago Think about Latin American and Mexican Immigrants? Findings from the Chicago-Area Survey (1.0MB)
Gia Elise Barboza, Roger Knight, Timothy Ready
July, 2007
In a recent research brief we reported that white and black residents of Chicago have generally positive views of immigrants, regardless of their national origin. In this issue we turn our attention to perceptions of Latin American immigrants, the largest immigrant group in Chicago.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Immigration

An Educational and Ministerial Profile of Latino/a Seminarians (1.2MB)
Edwin I. Hernández, Milagros Peña, Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner, Jeffrey Smith, Kari Jo Verhulst
June, 2007
This is the second of a series of Latino Research@ND reports focusing on Latinos/as and theological education. It analyzes what a quantitative survey of Latino/a theological students reveals about the educational and ministerial backgrounds of Latino/a seminarians. We find that Latinos/as arrive at seminary with considerable community and religious leadership experience. They also come from comparatively less formally educated families than their white non-Hispanic peers—a reality that might complicate their social and academic acclimation to graduate school. We conclude that seminaries need both to recognize the challenges that their Latino/a students face and to welcome the experiences and perspectives that they bring to the seminary community.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Education

Attitudes toward Immigration: Findings from the Chicago-Area Survey (1.1MB)
Roger Knight, Timothy Ready, Gia Elise Barboza
June, 2007
Throughout its history Chicago has been a prime destination for new immigrants to the United States. Nearly one in five residents of metropolitan Chicago (18 percent) is an immigrant, compared to only 11 percent nationwide. Just under half (47 percent) of all immigrants in the Chicago area are from Latin America—principally Mexico. This paper examines the attitudes of Latino and non- Latino white and black Chicagoans towards immigration, in general, and the perceived impact on the country of immigrants from Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, and various countries in Asia and Europe.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Immigration

A Demographic Profile of Latino/a Seminarians (792KB)
Edwin I. Hernández, Milagros Peña, Caroline Sotello Viernes Turner, Jeffrey Smith, Kari Jo Verhulst
March, 2007
This is the first of a series of Latino Research@ND reports focusing on Latinos/as and theological education. While the rapid growth of the Latino population in the United States has led to a concomitant rise in the Latino presence in both Catholic and Protestant congregations, Latinos/as remain underrepresented among the religious leadership of most Christian denominations. Cultivating a well-trained cadre of Latino/a religious leaders is critical for the vitality of the US Latino community. The experiences of Latino/a seminarians highlighted in this report provide an important window into the future of Latino religious leadership.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical, Demographics, Education

Preliminary Explorations of Latinos and Politics: Findings from the Chicago-Area Survey (1.7MB)
John A. Garcia, Rodney E. Hero
March, 2007
The 2004 elections underscored the current and future significance of Latinos in US politics at local, state, and national levels. Although this phenomenon has been the focus of considerable research among scholars of the American political system, how partisan and electoral patterns vary among Latinos by national origin, region, and socioeconomic status remains undefined, and a number of claims regarding the extent of participation and voting and the partisan leanings among Latinos remain under dispute.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Politics

Variations in Political Involvement and Attitudes among Latinos by Place of Birth and Citizenship: Findings from the Chicago-Area Survey (3.2MB)
Timothy Ready, Roger Knight
March, 2007
This paper elaborates on “Preliminary Explorations of Latinos and Politics” (Latino Research @ ND, Vol. 4, No. 1, March 2007) by John Garcia and Rodney Hero, based on the Chicago-Area Survey (CAS).1 Here we further examine the findings discussed in that paper by differentiating the behavior and attitudes of US-born Latinos from those of the foreign born and those of citizens from those of noncitizens.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Politics, Activism

The Naturalization Trail: Mexican Nationality and US Citizenship (1.0MB)
D. Garth Taylor, María de los Angeles Torres, Rob Paral
December, 2006
The average span of time between obtaining legal permanent residence and becoming a citizen is 8 years, but for Mexicans and other North American immigrants it is 11 years. Many Mexicans are undocumented and therefore not eligible to apply. But what about those who are eligible? How do they view the road to citizenship? The purpose of this report is to examine the reasons why Mexican immigrants to the Chicago region choose to seek, or not seek, naturalization as US citizens.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Immigration, Identity

Latino Civic and Community Involvement: Findings from the Chicago-Area Survey (1.1MB)
Timothy Ready, Roger Knight, Sung Chun
December, 2006
Nearly half of Chicago-area Latinos are involved in one or more community organizations. Church membership is by far the most commonly cited type of involvement. The foreign born are twice as likely as the US born to be church members. More than 60 percent of survey respondents believe they could have a positive impact on their community. Only 14 percent of Chicago Latinos reported working with neighbors to improve their community in the past two years, compared with 26 percent of Latinos nationally. Well over half said that they would be likely to cooperate with neighbors under certain circumstances.

Overall, survey respondents reported a slight decline in level of community involvement in recent years, more pronounced among the US born than the foreign born.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Activism, Community

Emerging Markets and Financial Services in the Latino Community: Problems and Strategies (1.1MB)
D. Garth Taylor, Mari Gallagher, Francisco Menchaca, and Robin Newberger. Produced in partnership with the Metro Chicago Information Center (MCIC)
June, 2006
Latinos are the fastest growing consumer market in the United States, with a purchasing power of $700 billion that is expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2010. However, they typically use fewer banking services than most Americans. Many financial institutions are seeking to initiate banking relationships with Latino immigrants that eventually lead to full-service customer accounts. US government policies also encourage outreach activities to the Latino market.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Economics, Social Services

Anti-Castro Political Ideology among Cuban Americans in the Miami Area: Cohort and Generational Differences (1.0MB)  Versión en Español (120KB)
Sung Chun and Guillermo J. Grenier
February, 2006
Even though the Florida Cuban American community varies according to generation and the ‘wave’ of immigration that brought immigrants to the United States, social scientists and the public tend to take the community’s monolithic political profile for granted and assume that it remains unchanged over time. Yet careful analysis of recent data reveals that while most Cuban Americans in South Florida are anti-Castro, the level of their fervor varies greatly among generational and wave cohorts.
Keywords: Religion - Ecumenical

Electoral Engagement among Latinos (176KB)
Mark Hugo Lopez
November, 2004
This report highlights differences in voter turnout and registrationrates within the Latino community and in comparison to other groups, with a special emphasis on young voters who constitute a larger proportion of the Latino electorate than in other communities. It also examines recent findings about other measures of electoral engagement as revealed in a recent large national survey.
Keywords: Politics, Activism, Demographics

Latino Population in Illinois and Metropolitan Chicago: Young and Growing Fast! (222KB)
Martha Zurita
December, 2003
This edition of Latino Research @ ND highlights major demographic changes taking place in Metropolitan Chicago and Illinois, which have profound implications for the delivery of quality educational, health, and social services to the young people of the region and of the state.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Education, Public Policy, Demographics

School Segregation by Race and Poverty in Metropolitan Chicago (176KB)
Martha Zurita and Timothy Ready
December, 2003
The continued segregation of low-income and minority students from more affluent White students is a serious obstacle to the elimination of race - and class - related gaps in student achievement.
Keywords: Chicago Area/Illinois, Education, Public Policy, Demographics

The Research Challenges Posed by the Latino Experience (1.8MB)
Roberto Suro
Which statement in the following pairs is true?
Latinos have experienced big job growth.
Latinos have big unemployment problems.
Latinos are deeply concerned that their kids do not always get the best education.
Latinos give their schools very high marks.
Latinos are assimilating to American ways.
Latinos are holding on to distinct expressions of Hispanic identities.
Latinos’ beliefs align more with the Democratic Party.
Latinos’ hold some beliefs very much in line with the Republican Party.
Latinos are highly concentrated geographically.
Latinos are dispersing geographically.
Keywords: Demographics, Immigration, Identity

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