Places of Worship as Spaces of Integration for Immigrants: The Example of Sherbrooke
Contrary to what occurs in the Montreal area, immigrants who settle in Sherbrooke are unlikely to join religious groups where migrants are in majority. Rather, most of them join religious groups composed of a majority of native members of Christian tradition, though transforming these groups into intercultural spaces. From preliminary data collected as part of an ethnographic survey of religious diversity in Sherbrooke, we present here some background for a better understanding of how these groups can or cannot allow newcomers to maintain and express their identity and cultural characteristics and how they contribute or not to their broader integration among the Sherbrooke population.