Ó Copyright by Mark Edward Pfeifer (1999)

Abstract/Acknowledgements/Table of Contents - [ Chapters - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 ] -  Appendices - References Cited

Scholars writing about the ethnic associations established by different generations of immigrant groups have long debated the functional significance and impact of these institutions. One school of thought has held that ethnic mutual assistance organizations and religious institutions for the most part serve as agencies of integration with the host society, and in the long run, primarily provide support for the processes of cultural assimilation. Many scholars have argued that ethnic associations have a predominantly positive impact upon social integration. Proponents of this point of view claim that ethnic organizations play a role similar to that of other intermediary social institutions. They provide the means to satisfy the special needs of immigrants while serving as a bridge between the ethnic population and host society institutions (Schoeneberg, 1985). Ward (1989) summarizes the findings from a wide range of studies of primarily "white ethnic" immigrant groups in U.S. cities in the 19^th and early 20^th century centuries. Many ethnic historians have utilized data sources such as personal interviews, newspaper articles, census data, city directories and archival evidence (such as records from ethnic associations and congregations) to construct accounts of ethnic community life among given groups within particular metropolitan areas. A central theme of many of these studies is the primarily integrative function served by ethnic institutions. While immigrant associations such as fraternal organizations, mutual benefit societies, and churches may have helped promote co-ethnic ties and maintenance of the ancestral mother tongue, they also served to encourage their members to learn the English language, participate in the American electoral system, and aspire to jobs and neighbourhoods associated with an improved status in the host society (Ward, 1989).

Other theorists have argued that ethnic associations primarily serve to facilitate the maintenance of ethnic identity as they help promote interaction within group social networks (Smith, 1978). The existence of "institutionally complete" sub-systems makes it viable to limit most primary relationships to fellow immigrant compatriots. A small group of contemporary Canadian scholars have utilized qualitative methodologies including semi-structured interviews with organizational leaders and membership as well as participant observation at given institutions to examine the role of ethnic associations in the adaptation process. Nagata (1987) looked at Filipino, Indonesian, and Chinese-Malaysian congregations in the Toronto area. McClellan (1987) assessed both Tibetan Buddhists in Lindsay, Ontario and a Vietnamese Buddhist congregation in Toronto (1992). Winland (1992) researched Hmong Mennonite and evangelical Christian congregations in the Kitchener-Waterloo area, while Lao Buddhists in Toronto were the focus of Van Esterik’s (1992) study. All of these scholars primarily emphasize the ethnic identity maintenance functions of immigrant congregations in their findings.

Yet another group of scholars has focused attention on both the integrative and identity maintenance roles associated with ethnic institutions. Rutledge (1985) and Dorais (1989) utilized semi-structured interviews and participant observation to study Vietnamese congregations in Oklahoma City and Montreal respectively. Rutledge notes Vietnamese Catholic and Buddhist congregations serve to reinforce ethnic cohesion and identity among their members. However, at the same time, he argues the Catholics and Buddhists utilized their institutions as part of a strategy to encourage tolerance in the host society. Particularly striking in this regard are Rutledge’s anecdotes in regard to a Vietnamese Buddhist congregation. The temple was identified as a "church" in the telephone directory, the monk was called a "priest", pews were present at the site of worship (though they were moved out of the way and members sat on the floor during the service), and a martial arts class was organized for non-Vietnamese neighbourhood youth.

Dorais (1989) observes that Vietnamese Cao Dai and Buddhist congregations provide to many older faithful an opportunity to live in a largely closed sociocultural world in which their basic identity, as well as their values and cultural habits remain completely Vietnamese. He sees this as a primarily positive contribution to the adaptation of individual worshippers. Dorais argues that these religious institutions provide their members with an ethnic milieu in which their life in Canada makes sense, in spite of their lack of economic, social, and linguistic integration with the larger society. Interestingly, he also argues, though, that for many worshippers, particularly younger people, these congregations also provide an integrative function as members occasionally interact with non-Vietnamese and introduce the larger Canadian public to eastern philosophy.

In a related vein, Shoeneberg (1985) directs attention to both the ethnic identity reinforcing and integrating roles of Turkish immigrant institutions in the former West Germany. This scholar administered questionnaires to a statistical sample of Greek, Italian, and Turkish organizational participants and non-participants. Schoeneberg observes that the connections between organizational participation and measures of cultural assimilation including friendships with Germans and fluency in the German language are complex and somewhat dependent upon the goals and activities of the particular ethnic organization. Among Greeks and Italians, participants in ethnic associations were actually more likely to have extensive contacts with Germans and fluency in the host society language compared to non-participants. The same general relationship was found among Turkish participants in ethnic political groups. However, those Turks participating in Islamic religious institutions had notably few contacts with Germans.

The arguments surrounding the functional impact of ethnic associations parallel the tension between assimilation and cultural pluralism theorists in the broader ethnic studies literature. This chapter will make reference to this larger debate as it addresses the role of co-ethnic mutual assistance associations and temples and churches in the lives of Vietnamese residing in the Toronto area. The following research questions will guide the analysis in the chapter: To what degree do the ethnic institutions of Vietnamese residing in Toronto seem to facilitate the integration of members with the host society? By what means, if any, have the leaders of Vietnamese ethnic institutions attempted to further cultural integration among their members? To what extent do Vietnamese ethnic institutions serve to promote the maintenance of a "Vietnamese" ethnic identity among their participants? In what specific ways, if any, do the leaders of ethnic associations attempt to stimulate and/or reinforce a Vietnamese ethnic identity on behalf of their members?

The findings reported in this chapter were derived from two main sources of data collection. Key informant interviews were conducted with the leadership of several Vietnamese ethnic institutions based in the Toronto area. Among the topics discussed in these semi-structured interviews were the activities and programs, membership composition, as well as informal interactions occurring among the membership belonging to given ethnic organizations and temples and churches. The semi-structured interviews were supplemented by personal visits I paid to a number of ethnic associations and religious institutions. During the course of these visits I observed and sometimes took part in formal and informal activities and also spoke to individual members about their participation in the institution’s programs and their interpersonal relationships with fellow members. My findings are primarily derived from interviews conducted and observations made at eight ethnic associations and eighteen religious institutions based in Southern Ontario. To illustrate the functional significance of ethnic institutions in the lives of Vietnamese I present brief case studies of three ethnic associations and nine temples and churches in the chapter.

Several fraternal and social service organizations serve as settings for social interaction among Vietnamese residing in the Toronto area. Among these groups are those which are oriented to serving clienteles of Vietnam-origin professionals and ethnic Chinese from Vietnam. The following are case studies of a few such ethnic associations which I visited as part of my fieldwork.

Vietnamese Professional Societies – There are several professional associations active in Toronto. While it has focused much of its attention upon social justice issues including improving the relationships of the Vietnamese population with the mainstream media and the criminal justice system, the Society of Vietnamese Professionals has also sponsored workshops to assist its members – particularly engineers – in passing the exams of Ontario professional accreditation associations. The organization has lobbied accreditation organizations with the goal of improving access of Vietnam-born individuals to the professions in Ontario. The Society of Professionals has also held joint workshops with Vietnamese student societies at area universities with the goal of improving the skills of Vietnamese students in job interviews, resume writing, and preparing for accreditation exams. The Vietnamese Physicians’ Association of Toronto provides a somewhat similar array of programs to its members on both a formal and informal basis. This organization consists of about 100 Vietnamese medical professionals who provide one another with a considerable degree of personal assistance in preparing for certification exams. The association has organized tutoring sessions and seminars to help its members review items for certification tests. The physicians organization co-sponsors occasional joint activities with Vietnamese Dentists’ and Pharmacists’ Associations also based in the Toronto area.

Vietnam-Cambodia-Lao-Chinese Service Organization of Ontario – Based in Toronto’s downtown Chinatown, this ethnic Chinese association was organized in 1979. The organization’s membership and service population consists primarily of Vietnam-born ethnic Chinese. Most of the participants in the agency’s activities appear to be middle-aged to elderly men. Initially, the agency provided a wide range of settlement services to "boat people" refugees from Indochina. In the mid-1980s, the organization lost almost all of its provincial and federal funding and refocused itself to the provision of cultural and recreational programs. The only outside funding received by the organization comes from the Toronto Board of Education which sponsors a weekly ESL class for elderly ethnic Chinese. Members come throughout the week, but especially on weekends, to read Chinese-language newspapers, socialize, play mah-jong, and sing karoake. Every month the organization holds a birthday party for members celebrating birthdays within a given four week period. Field trips are also organized to area attractions such as the Botanical Gardens in Hamilton and Niagara Falls. The association also helps its members fill out tax forms in April and annual cultural celebrations are organized for members and the general public at the time of the Chinese New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival, Christmas, and the Canadian New Year.

Buddhist Associations - In addition to participating in the Buddhist service itself, many members of Vietnamese Buddhist groups in the Toronto area also engage in extensive informal activities with one another. Two case studies of Buddhist groups will illustrate this. Xa Loi is a Vietnamese Buddhist temple located in the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto’s west end. Most of the members of this temple have come to Canada relatively recently – in the past five to ten years – though a few families arrived longer ago and more recently as well. After the Buddhist service each Sunday afternoon, members eat a vegetarian dinner (in accord with Buddhist guidelines) and socialize. The weekly communal dinner is in fact a characteristic of all Vietnamese Buddhist temples in the Toronto area. It is a time for members to gossip, tell jokes, and catch up on events going on in one another’s lives. Middle-aged and elderly members may spend an hour or more eating, drinking tea, and engaging in discussion at these weekly gatherings. On Sunday morning, several female members of the congregation, mostly older women, arrive early to make food for the dinner. Considerable socializing also occurs among these women as the food is prepared.

After the dinner at Xa Loi temple, young members engage in the activities of the temple’s Buddhist youth group. The youth organization has about 100 members. The membership of the youth organization as a whole is subdivided by age into four separate subgroups, the groups are also subdivided by gender. The ages of members range from under five years to the late twenties. The members of the group wear uniforms similar to that of a scout troop. The group teaches its participants about Buddhism and Vietnamese culture. Members of the group learn the key principles of Buddhism (the dharma). Participants also read and write Vietnamese poetry and sing traditional songs. The youth group has its own dance troupe, which has performed traditional Vietnamese dances at multicultural festivals. The group also engages in many outdoor activities, including camping trips. Members of the group have set up an internet homepage, which provides information about the youth group and Xa Loi temple in the Vietnamese language. Despite the fact that some of the younger members may be more comfortable speaking English, all of the activities of the youth group are conducted in Vietnamese.

Strong friendship networks exist among many members of the Xa Loi youth group. Outside of its organized activities on Sunday afternoons, members have engaged in other informal social activities on a periodic basis including the provision of mutual assistance in regard to such matters as automobile repair. A few other Vietnamese Buddhist temples in the Toronto area have organized youth groups which are intended to promote the survival of the Buddhist religion and the Vietnamese language among the younger generation and also to facilitate the interest and participation of Vietnamese youth in the activities of a given temple. Vietnamese temples which do not have organized youth groups also offer similar activities to younger members on a more informal basis.

The Vietnamese Zen Meditation Group does not have its own temple but instead meets on a rotating basis at members’ homes and at a Chinese temple located in the City of North York. Members of the Vietnamese meditation group study and practice the teachings of Vietnamese Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh. In total, the association has about 100 active members. The larger group is broken down into four subsections – a youth group, an adult group, a group of professionals, and an English language group. The personal characteristics of the members differ significantly from those of other Vietnamese Buddhist associations in the Toronto area. While most Vietnamese Buddhist groups generally possess a membership that has resided in Canada for about five to fifteen years, the majority of the participants in the meditation group have lived in Canada for twenty years or more. Only a few members have come to Canada relatively recently. Also unusual is the fact that the majority of the members originate from the Central section of Vietnam as opposed to the South or North. A leader of the group explained that many of the participants are friends of one another and these friendship groups happen to consist of well-established Vietnamese-Canadians who originate from Central Vietnam.

Given the role of friendship networks in the Zen Meditation congregation’s formation, it is not surprising that significant interpersonal relationships of mutual assistance and exchange exist among the organization’s active participants. A leader of the group stated that many members perceive themselves as belonging to "one big family" with members treating one another as fictive brothers and sisters. Participants in the meditation group frequently meet informally for meals and recreational activities. They have provided advice to one another in regard to managing personal and family-related problems. Members have also assisted one another with matters such as moving, home renovation, and auto repair. Participants also commonly invite one another to important family events including birth celebrations and funerals.

Cao Dai Temple – Several members of the only Cao Dai temple in the Toronto area possess especially strong friendship networks with one another. This may be partially attributed to the history of persecution of Cao Dai followers in Vietnam as well as the minority status and low visibility of the Cao Dai religion among the Vietnamese population in the Toronto area. Participants at the temple do possess several of the characteristics of an extended family. Temple members generally arrive at their storefront place of worship in Toronto’s west end between 10 and 11 on a given Sunday morning. They greet one another and prepare for the service. After the worship ceremony, a vegetarian meal is served in the temple basement. Many middle-aged and elderly male and female worshippers engage in extended conversation for an hour or two at this lunchtime gathering. The atmosphere is relaxed and punctuated with outbursts of laughter as members poke fun at one another or tell humorous stories. While older members talk downstairs, upstairs a group of young members in their teens and early twenties engage in conversation and assist children with activities including dancing, singing Vietnamese songs, as well as reading and writing Vietnamese poetry and drawing and colouring pictures of Vietnamese cultural artifacts. All of these activities are conducted in the Vietnamese language.

Important cultural celebrations such as the Vietnamese New Year and important days on the Cao Dai Lunar Calendar attract large numbers of Cao Dai adherents to the temple. On these occasions, the small Dundas Street West storefront temple becomes very crowded. Many families come from surrounding regions of Southern Ontario including Hamilton, Guelph, and Kitchener for these special days. These celebrations present an opportunity for a larger number of Cao Dai followers to become acquainted or reacquainted with one another. At a Vietnamese New Year’s celebration I attended, a "family" atmosphere was particularly visible. During the service itself, pauses were filled with conversation between middle-aged and elderly members, and the leaders had to regain the attention of the congregation at numerous intervals in order to carry on with the Cao Dai rituals. In addition to the scheduled activities at the temple, some members occasionally meet for dinner and prayer at each other’s homes. During the warmer months, some worshippers also gather together in area parks for get-togethers.

Vietnamese Catholic Associations – Many Vietnamese Catholics in the Toronto area possess close bonds with one another. These relationships may be traced to the legacy of Catholicism in Vietnam. Most Vietnamese Catholics share similar life histories. Many families migrated from North Vietnam to the South immediately following the Communist takeover of the North in 1954. In the South Vietnam of the 1960s and early 1970s, Catholics occupied prominent positions in the government and the military. Large numbers of Catholics resided in enclaves, particularly in Saigon, in which they developed their own institutional substructures of schools, hospitals, and social services. Given their vehement opposition to Communism in previous decades, Catholics confronted a significant degree of state persecution after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Many middle-class Catholic men were sent to reeducation camps and their children were denied opportunities in the education system. Freedom of worship was curtailed and closely monitored. Under these circumstances, it was not surprising that Vietnamese Catholics constituted a more sizable percentage of the migration flow to North America than their proportion of Vietnam’s total population would suggest.

In areas of significant resettlement including Southern Ontario, many Vietnamese Catholics have developed strong social networks centred within local congregations. By far the largest Vietnamese congregation in the Toronto region is affiliated with St. Cecelia church located in the City of Toronto’s west end. At least 1,200 Vietnamese Catholics participate in the activities of this congregation which is the only Vietnamese language parish in Metropolitan Toronto officially recognized by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese. The parish sponsors a range of programs in addition to several masses offered on weekends. A youth group meets once a month. Members of the youth organization are taught from the bible and also come together for recreational outings including camping trips in the summer. The parish also co-sponsors Vietnamese language classes for each of twelve grade levels. This program has had as many as 250 students enrolled in a given year. The educational program receives funding from the Heritage Language Program of the Toronto Catholic Separate School Board and meets at a school located near Jane and Annette Streets. The classes involve not only instruction in the Vietnamese language but also the reading of Vietnamese literature and poetry writing as well as the teaching of catechism. Students participating in this program have published a collection of Vietnamese language poems. The church also possesses three choirs in which young people are actively involved. In addition, the parish has organized a Catholic womens’ group whose members arrange assistance and visits to families in which a member is sick or has recently died.

Perhaps the most active of social networks exist among senior members of the St. Cecelia parish. Many of these older men and women take an active role in church affairs – women preparing food for sale at special church gatherings such as the Vietnamese New Year and men ushering, and arranging wakes for the recently deceased. Many middle-aged to elderly members also engage in informal social activities including dinners at one another’s homes.

While all of the above activities would seem to facilitate the maintenance of a Vietnamese Catholic identity and the Vietnamese language and culture more generally, the leadership of the parish has also attempted to organize programs designed to promote integration with the Canadian host society. A Vietnamese priest has promoted common activities between the parish youth group and youth organizations from other parishes in the Toronto area. However, this priest noted many of the young people in his parish were somewhat reluctant to participate in this program. General interaction between members of the Vietnamese Catholic parish and the congregation of primarily Irish-origin worshippers it shares its church building with is limited.

A Vietnamese Catholic congregation has also formed at St. Jane Frances Church in the Downsview area of the City of North York. A group of about 200 Vietnamese meet monthly for a Vietnamese language mass at this church which is demographically a predominantly Italian parish. Most of the participants in the Downsview Vietnamese Catholic group also attend services at St. Cecelia church in the City of Toronto. The membership of the Vietnamese Catholic group at St. Jane Frances reflects the general characteristics of the Vietnamese population in Downsview. Many worshippers are relative newcomers to Canada, having arrived in the past five to ten years. An impressive amount of social interaction exists among the membership of this congregation in spite of the fact that worship only occurs on a monthly basis. A Vietnamese choir made up predominantly of young people practices weekly and sings at most services. Several female members of the choir in their teens and early twenties possess notably strong friendship networks, frequently visiting one another’s homes, engaging in social outings, and studying together. A number of male congregation members in their twenties and early thirties also engage in informal relationships of reciprocal exchange. These young men commonly visit each other’s homes, gathering for recreational activities such as playing cards and visiting karaoke bars, as well as providing one another with assistance repairing automobiles and electronics equipment.

Again, however, it may be the late middle age to elderly members who participate in the most frequent informal networking with one another in the Downsview congregation. In fact, several elderly churchgoers have pressed their adult children to purchase homes or rent apartments in the vicinity of the church in order to facilitate daily attendance at church services and frequent contact with other congregation members. In addition to their lifelong Catholicism, many of the older men share a common life history of employment in the South Vietnamese bureaucracy and persecution at the hands of the Communist government after 1975. Older congregation members often invite one another to dinner at their family’s homes, and many of the older male worshippers are also involved in ushering for the church as well as planning observances for recently deceased members of the congregation.

Protestant Churches – Informal interactions are also notable among the membership of several evangelical Protestant Vietnamese congregations based in Southern Ontario. The small size of these groups (50 to 150 members each), the minority status of evangelical Christians within the larger Vietnamese population, and the means by which these congregations organize social activities are all factors which promote the development of intensive social networks among many worshippers. Each of the evangelical churches has organized fellowship groups which meet on a weekly basis apart from the Sunday service itself. Many of the Vietnamese churches divide their fellowship groups into geographic subareas. Members residing within each of these subareas typically meet on a rotating basis at other lay participants’ homes. At these gatherings, which usually take place on Friday or Saturday nights, members pray, study the bible, engage in group discussion, provide advice to one another in regard to domestic and personal issues, and share dinner. Most churches also possess youth organizations. These groups of teenagers and young adults study the bible, sing Christian songs, discuss social issues, and participate in recreational activities including camping. Every church also provides Sunday school religious instruction to members. In addition, several of the evangelical churches also offer Vietnamese language instruction to the youngest children.

The provision of mutual aid and personal assistance is commonplace among the participants of the evangelical congregations as case studies of individual churches will show. The Vietnamese Alliance Church of Downsview is a congregation of around 100 members based in a rented church building. One lay member is a hairdresser who has provided services at a reduced rate to other congregation participants. Another worshipper employed in computer service work and repair has helped member families with technical matters pertaining to computers. Several lay worshippers have also provided tutoring assistance with homework to children of congregation members.

The Kitchener-Waterloo Alliance Church is a congregation of about 70 members, the vast majority of whom originate from North Vietnam, in contrast to the other Vietnamese evangelical congregations where South Vietnamese predominate. Worshippers of this particular church also provide one another with a considerable degree of interpersonal assistance and social support. One lay member owns an auto repair shop and has helped other participants who have experienced problems with their vehicles. Another member works with computers and has provided technical help at a low rate to fellow worshippers. Some members also volunteer their babysitting labour to worshippers with young children. Participants in a youth fellowship group are involved in a variety of informal activities with one another including car washes, barbecues, and camping.

The Vietnamese Alliance Church of Hamilton consists of about 140 worshippers. Many members commonly provide one another with mutual assistance and interpersonal support. One congregation member experiencing familial problems and subsequent psychological difficulties was given a place to stay by some lay members. On several occasions, members have informed one another of job openings at their places of work. This process of job introduction has led a number of worshippers to become employed in certain Hamilton-area factories.

The Vietnamese Olive Baptist Church is a congregation of about 50 members which meets at a church building in the City of Toronto’s west end. Worshippers of this church engage in many informal exchanges with one another, especially in their small, geographically based fellowship groups. According to the pastor, on past occasions members have helped one another financially, with translation and interpretation, and moving and babysitting, among other activities. The pastor stated that he encourages worshippers to think of themselves as a "big family" and to meet with and provide interpersonal assistance to one another outside of the church setting itself.

The Olive Baptist congregation is also notable for its administrative organization, which is quite different from that of the other Vietnamese evangelical groups. Most of the Vietnamese evangelical churches share buildings with predominantly White Canadian congregations of the same Christian Missionary Alliance denomination. Despite sharing common space, these Vietnamese churches are run independently, with their own board of directors responsible for administration and raising funds for operating expenses. By contrast, the Vietnamese Olive Baptist Ministry is a participating member of a larger church which includes a predominantly White group of "mainstream" Canadians and a Portuguese language ministry. The three ministries are equal participants on an administrative board and share financial resources. The pastor of the Vietnamese ministry believes there are advantages to this model of ethnic congregation organization. He notes that on one hand the ethnic group can maintain aspects of its own culture as it worships in its own language but it may also intermingle with individuals from other ethnic groups and backgrounds, facilitating improvement among members in the English language. The pastor also believes this interaction between ministries also serves to promote integration of individual Vietnamese worshippers with the larger Canadian host society, a process he clearly perceives as positive and desirable. Unlike most Vietnamese congregations of all denominations whose members generally possess only limited contact with non-Vietnamese worshippers, the Olive Baptist congregation promotes such interaction through a joint monthly service with the Portuguese and "mainstream" English language ministries, as well as a shared English language Sunday school for young people. At the same time, the Vietnamese ministry promotes cultural maintenance through its weekly Vietnamese language service and Vietnamese classes for children.

It seems apparent that in certain important ways, Vietnamese ethnic institutions in the Toronto region help promote integration among their members and service populations with the mainstream society. Many of the ethnic associations – both secular and religious - provide formal or informal English language instruction, interpretation, and other means of interpersonal assistance for dealing with mainstream institutions to their members. Some of the churches have attempted to liaise with the religious institutions of "mainstream" Canadians and have encouraged their memberships to interact with those of other ethnic backgrounds belonging to the same denomination. Most of the Buddhist temples have on occasion joined together with non-Vietnamese Buddhist associations for joint activities, especially on the occasion of Wesak – Buddha’s birthday celebrated in early June of each year. The religion of Buddhism holds increasing appeal to westernized young people and some of the Buddhist temples occasionally welcome non-Vietnamese to observe and participate in services. Such interactions with non-Vietnamese possessing an interest in Buddhism are limited however by the fact that almost all of the Buddhist services at area temples are conducted exclusively in Vietnamese. In addition, the clergy of many temples speak very little, if any English. The Cao Dai followers also warmly welcome non-Vietnamese interested in visiting their temple and learning more about the religion. Such visits are not terribly common though, which is not surprising given the very low public visibility of the Cao Dai religion.

It may be stated that the Vietnamese mutual assistance organizations and temples and churches promote in-group interaction and the maintenance of ethnic identity to a far more substantive degree. The above case studies have demonstrated that many institutions serve as settings for co-ethnic friendship networks from which members provide and receive interpersonal assistance and social support. At all temples and churches, weekly services are conducted exclusively in the Vietnamese language. Activities of auxiliary groups including youth, women’s, and elderly societies are usually conducted exclusively in Vietnamese. Leaders of several temples and churches emphasized in interviews that the weekly service is intended, in part, as a vehicle to facilitate maintenance of the Vietnamese language among children and teenagers who have come of age in Canada. Spokespersons for religious groups also observed another function of their institutions. Social activities at temples and churches apart form the religious itself serve as opportunities for Vietnamese young people to meet other Vietnamese of the opposite gender possessing the same religious persuasion.

In her case study of several Vietnamese Buddhist temples in Toronto, McClellan (1992; 1993) argues that ethnic Buddhist congregations are more likely to facilitate cultural maintenance among the Vietnamese as opposed to Catholic or Protestant groups. Very little evidence collected in the course of this study supports this author’s conclusions which seem to be based upon little more than cognition of the obvious fact that Buddhism is the traditional form of organized religion practiced in Vietnam. I have observed strong social networks existing among the memberships of many Vietnamese religious institutions including Buddhist and Cao Dai groups, Catholic parishes, as well as Protestant churches. If anything, some of the closer bonds appear to exist among the memberships of the Catholic and Protestant congregations. Of course this may be related in part to the differences between the prescribed norms of the religions. Most Vietnamese Catholic and Protestant worshippers attend church on a far more regular basis than most Buddhists. However, the minority status of Vietnamese Catholics and Protestants within the larger Vietnamese population may also serve to strengthen their respective identities and intensify interactions with fellow ethnic co-religionists. Given the history of persecution within their own country, Vietnamese Catholics have long been compelled to develop especially strong social networks and institutional substructures amongst themselves.

While many Vietnamese ethnic associations in Toronto clearly serve to facilitate the maintenance of group identity among their members, it would be wrong to suggest these organizations represent mere "transplants of traditional institutions" in the words of historian Timothy Smith (1978). Rather, most of these organizations are actually "arenas of change" (p. 1178), which Smith argues is a common characteristic of ethnic associations and religious groups in particular. One only needs to look closely at the example of the Vietnamese Buddhist temples. Organized services are not a part of traditional Buddhism as practiced in Vietnam. Temples in Toronto have adopted organized Sunday services to meet the challenge of retaining members in a predominantly Christian society. The youth groups which most Buddhist temples and Catholic and Protestant congregations have organized is another innovation intended as a response to the challenges of the North American setting. These youth groups may be interpreted as an attempt by congregations to keep organized religion relevant to Vietnamese young people in a society where less than one-quarter of the population attends religious services on a regular basis. The youth organizations mix catechism with a wide variety of recreational activities in order to engage and maintain the interest of participants.

In this regard, it might in fact be argued that the Protestant churches are the most innovative of all the Vietnamese religious groups. The vast majority of the participants in the Protestant churches converted either in refugee camps or after coming to Canada. For most Vietnamese Protestants, the concept of the fellowship group is a means of interpersonal assistance and social support first utilized within a Canadian context. These congregations have taken the small fellowship groups common to evangelical denominations and made them the basis for intensive co-ethnic social networks among many members.

In sum, for certain subgroups of the Vietnamese population in Toronto, ethnic associations have served as important sources of mutual assistance and reciprocal exchange of resources among members. Certain Vietnamese ethnic institutions (in particular the professional associations), have served as bases for collective action and mediation with host society institutions intended to further the mobility of persons of Vietnamese origin in Canadian society. As posited by contemporary scholars who argue that ethnic group members form institutions in response to a situation of disadvantage experienced in the host society, many Vietnamese have chosen to utilize ethnic institutions for the instrumental functions they provide. However, one should not downplay the expressive needs that these institutions meet. For example, the opportunity to worship in the ancestral mother tongue, and socialize with co-ethnics possessing similar life histories in Vietnam are key influences stimulating Vietnamese participation in churches and temples. The Vietnamese ethnic institutions presented in this chapter as case studies provide their members with considerable resources for meeting both instrumental and expressive needs.

To Chapter 9

Abstract/Acknowledgements/Table of Contents - [ Chapters - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 ] -  Appendices - References Cited

		Updated February 09, 2004