Sanctuary in Southern Appalachia: Faith and Hispanic Immigrant Integration Into Appalachian Communities

In recent years, the Hispanic population of Appalachia has exploded. This area, which in the national narrative is a white, homogenous space, has sustained much change in a place that, racially, has not seen such rapid change in a while. I examine how churches help shape the response of the community in integrating newcomers. Through ethnographic research in Western North Carolina, I examine what life is like for a group of Hispanic immigrants affiliated with a Southern Baptist Church; what services the church offers to ease their transition and help with their daily lives, why the church offers it, and how the Anglo members of the church see this outreach.I engage contemporary scholarship, outline my own research process, present and evaluate my results, and look towards the future of Hispanics in Appalachia. I demonstrate through each of these elements how the religious culture of a place affects its reception to immigrants, and how in a place where religion is foundational to culture, churches are more likely to welcome immigrants. I show that reciprocally, church affiliation allows immigrants to interact with and integrate into a community in ways that they otherwise could not, if they were not affiliated.