Religions in Asian America

Building Faith Communities

Edited by Pyong Gap Min, Jung Ha Kim

Publication date:

18 December 2001

Length of book:

224 pages

Publisher

AltaMira Press

ISBN-13: 9780759100831

The flux of Asian immigration over the last 35 years has deeply altered the United States' religious landscape. But neither social scientists nor religious scholars have fully appreciated the impact of these growing communities. And Asian immigrant religious communities are significant to the study of American religion not only because there are more than ten million Asian Americans. Asian American religions differ substantially from models drawn from European religions, pushing for new wider understandings. Religions in Asian America provides a comprehensive overview of the religious practices of Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian Americans. How these new communities work through issues of gender, race, transnationalism, income disparities and social service, and the passing along an ethnic identity to the next generation make up the common themes that reach across essays about the varying communities. The first sociological overview of Asian American religions, Religions in Asian America is necessary reading for those interested in Asians, ethnicity, immigration or religion in the United States.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 Theoretical Frameworks: Ethnicity, Social Services, Race, Gender, Generation, and Transnational Ties
Chapter 3 Religious Diversity among the Chinese in America
Chapter 4 Filipino Religion and Spirituality: Traditional Roots and Immigrant Transformations
Chapter 5 "We Are Better Hindu Here": Religion and Ethnicity among Indian Americans
Chapter 6 Cartography of Korean American Protestant Faith Communities in the U.S.
Chapter 7 Religious History of Japanese Americans in California
Chapter 8 Rebuilding Spiritual Lives in the New Land: Religious Practices among Southeast Asian Refugees in the United States
Chapter 9 Asian-American Pan-Ethnic Formation and Congregational Culture by Russel Cheung

This collection of articles illustrates how the function and form of Asian religions in the United States is being modified to help ethnic groups adapt to a new environment. It also demonstrates that, over generation, increased assimilation into the general culture and mastery of the English language have changed these Asian immigrants and thereby changed the forms and functions of the religions themselves.