Religion News Service
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 2, 2003: Nearly two-thirds of new immigrants to the United States are Christian, fueled mostly by Catholics coming from Latin America, according to research sponsored by several government agencies. Forty-two percent of immigrants are Catholic, 19 percent are Protestant and 4 percent are Eastern Orthodox, according to a study of almost 1,000 adult immigrants in 1996. Eight percent are Muslim, 4 percent are Buddhist, 3 percent are Jewish, 3 percent are Hindu, and 1 percent claim other religions. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the National Science Foundation and was conducted by Guillermina Jasso of New York University, Douglas Massey and Mark Rosenzweig of the University of Pennsylvania and James Smith of the Rand Corporation.