Faithful Generations: Race and New Asian American Churches (Paperback)

~ (Author), Robert N. Bellah (Foreword) "While China and Japan were at war, Chinese and Japanese in the United States found themselves to be enemies of one another as well..." (more)
Key Phrases: symbolic racial identity, mainline ministers, panethnic solidarity, Asian American, Japanese American, Chinese American (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

An indispensable resource for the understanding of Asian American churches and their status in society today -- Fumitaka Matsuoka, professor of theology and executive director, PANA Institute, Pacific School of Religion

This book will be important reading for scholars of religion, ethnicity, and the Asian American experience -- Nazli Kibria, Department of Sociology, Boston University

Product Description

"What Jeung has told us is a story very much in progress of unfolding. It gives us a window into salient features of American religion, a window into which it will be worth looking again as time goes on."—From the foreword by Robert N. Bellah, Elliott Professor of Sociology Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, and winner of a National Humanities Medal in 2000

"A rich and insightful study, Faithful Generations brings much needed perspective to current discussions of pan-Asian American identity. This book will be important reading for scholars of religion, ethnicity, and the Asian American experience."—Nazli Kibria, Department of Sociology, Boston University

"An indispensable resource for the understanding of Asian American churches and their status in society today."—Fumitaka Matsuoka, professor of theology and executive director, PANA Institute, Pacific School of Religion

Religion—both personal faith and institutional tradition—plays a central role in the lives of the 12.5 million Asians in the United States. It provides comfort and meaning, shapes ethical and political beliefs, and influences culture and arts. Faithful Generations details the significance of religion in the construction of Asian American identity. As an institutional base for the movement toward Asian American panethnicity, churches provide a space for theological and political reflection and ethnic reinvention.

With rich description and insightful interviews, Russell Jeung uncovers why and how Chinese and Japanese American Christians are building new, pan-Asian organizations. Detailed surveys of over fifty Chinese and Japanese American congregations in the San Francisco Bay area show how symbolic racial identities structure Asian American congregational life and ministries. The book concludes with a look at Asian American–led multiethnic churches.

This engaging study of the shifting relationship between religion and ethnicity is an ideal text for classes in ethnicity, religion, and Asian American studies.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (October 4, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813535034
• ISBN-13: 978-0813535036
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #865,678 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars forward the panAsians!, December 9, 2005

By	Walter G. Fitzsimons - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book relates how the body of Christ is now manefesting itself with Asian- Americans as Asian. As a white who was over the last several decades trained to be sensistive to the different types of Asian heritages, this new panAsian church is something strange to me. The book is extremely useful in detailing new trends