Bayanihan and Belonging: Filipinos and Religion in Canada

Filipinos make up one of the largest immigrant groups in Canada and the majority continue to retain their Roman Catholic faith long after migrating. Drawing on archival and ethnographic research in Canada and the Philippines from 1880 to 2017, Bayanihan and Belonging aims to understand the role of religion within present-day Filipino Canadian communities.

With a focus on Winnipeg, home to Canada’s oldest and largest Filipino Canadian community, Alison R. Marshall showcases current church-based and domestic religious routines of migrant Filipinos. From St. Edward the Confessor Church, the principal site of worship for Filipino Catholics in Manitoba, to home chapels, and healing traditions, Marshall explores the day-to-day celebrations of bayanihan, or communal spirit. Drawing on experiences from Manitoba’s Filipino population, Bayanihan and Belonging reveals that religious practise fulfills not only a need for spiritual guidance, but also for community.