Well said – secular institutions certainly can learn from churches in this regard …

Most Christian denominations offer a socially conservative moral framework that espouses traditional family values, woven from a cohesive fabric of community identity. This sense of belonging to something greater than oneself and adherence to (comparatively) stricter social norms may prove familiar to like-minded Chinese migrants.

But should religion be a secular person’s first port of call? Multilingual language support in the education system in the form of published materials, seminars, and hired staff would certainly address some of these issues. Having a child in the education system affords L1 English-speaking parents with opportunities to socialize in school-sanctioned activities; can mixing and mingling events that cater specifically to L2 parents not be similarly arranged?

All too often, non-native speakers of English are rendered invisible in Anglo society. It is the responsibility of this society to lower the barriers to entry and make concerted efforts to reach out and welcome L2 speakers into it more fully.

With the sharp increase in the number of Chinese immigrants in Australia, and a large number of Chinese and other Chinese-speaking areas studying abroad in Australia, in response to this huge evangelistic need, the church established Chinese-language worship in 1992. They believe that God has chosen them for their salvation, and called them to follow Him and become His disciples, in order that they obey the greatest commandment and the greatest mission commanded by the Lord Jesus, namely, to do with all hearts, and with all their souls, and with all strength. Love the Lord and love neighbors, lead them to Jesus Christ, nurture their spiritual growth, train them to serve God, serve people, and preach the gospel to the unheard.

Great research topic, Alexander! Maybe an MRes project? ☺️

Thank you, Nguyen, for providing another important perspective!

Thank you, Siyao, for the additional perspective!

Thank you, Ness! You are making such an important point that is frequently overlooked: a class of outsiders is not only detrimental to the outsiders but the whole of society!

Christian life in Ukraine itself is quite complex. Ukrainian Catholicism is the religion of the Western Ukrainian region of Galicia. It is theologically Catholic, and affirms the authority of the Pope, yet its rites are Eastern. This is because the church used to be Orthodox, but entered a communion with Rome in the 17th century. The rest of Ukraine still is Eastern Orthodox. Until very recently, Ukrainian Orthodoxy was largely a branch of The Russian Orthodox Church. It was only in 2018 that the independent Orthodox Church of Ukraine was recognised by the Patriarch of Constantinople, which was a culmination of a slow process of many congregations switching allegiance to several then-unrecognised Ukrainian Orthodox Churches.

Considering this, I wonder if many Ukrainian migrants with a non-Catholic background have decided to join the Ukrainian Catholic church once in Australia. Such a phenomenon could be possible both due to the stronger Ukrainian identity of the Catholic Church, and the higher piety of Western Ukraine, and thus more vibrant church life and stronger support networks in the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Catholicism, even with Eastern rites, is also implicitly more “Western” than Orthodoxy, and could act as bridge between a migrant’s native culture and the Australian culture, in a similar way to the golden-middle image of Christian morality for Chinese migrants discussed in the article. This could be aiding integration without the migrant having to abruptly adopt completely alien church identity. Western Ukraine is also the most solidly Ukrainian-speaking part of the country, so interesting linguistic developments could also be happening with such migrants.

This would be an interesting multidisciplinary topic to explore.

Thank you for sharing this wonderful article. I learned several reasons why the first generation of Chinese immigrants in Australia believed in Christianity. This phenomenon also occurs in the United States. Many first-generation Chinese immigrants in the United States may face special pressures in adapting to American culture. In order to satisfy their spiritual and psychological needs, many non-religious Chinese become Christians, and some Chinese Buddhists also convert to Christianity after they come to the United States.

Chinese culture attaches great importance to traditional marriage and family life. Immigrant Chinese parents rely on the Christian Church to carry out meaningful and attractive youth activities, aiming to keep immigrant youths away from the potential impacts of American society, which are considered to have an impact on the destruction of traditional marriage and family values. Research found that there is a strong relationship between religious devotion and marital satisfaction. Religious beliefs, common religious rituals and values seem to have a positive impact on marriage and family relationships in Chinese immigrant communities.

Reference:
https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1515&context=gradschool_theses