Several reasons have been suggested for ethnic differences in religiosity. One is the idea that most minority ethnic groups originate from poorer countries with traditional cultures, both of which produce higher levels of religious belief and practice. On arrival in the UK, they and their children maintain the pattern they brought with them from their country of origin. However, this disregards the impact of their experiences as immigrants and as minorities in a new society, and how this may give religion a new role as cultural defence and cultural transition, as Bruce argues.
