“This is an Italian Church with a Large Hispanic Population”: Factors and Strategies in White Ethno–Religious Place Making

This paper examines how a group of white ethnic, mostly Italian American, Catholics participate in ethno–religious place making in a predominantly Latino church. In light of a growing number of Latino parishioners, white ethnic church members engage in place making activities to ascribe a white ethno–religious identity to place. Drawing on participant observations, interviews, and archival documents, I examine the impetus behind, and strategies used, in making ethno–religious place. I find that place attachment and group threat drive white ethnics to make place. They do so by employing strategies of place making, place marking, and place marketing. The findings point to the importance of using place as a focal point of social analysis and understanding how people make place.