Religions in Asian America: Building Faith Communities

The flux of Asian immigration over the last 35 years of the 20th century has deeply altered the United States’ religious landscape. But neither social scientists nor religious scholars have fully appreciated the impact of these growing communities. Asian immigrant religious communities are significant to the study of American religion 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 communities work through issues of gender, race, transnationalism, income disparities and social service, and the passing along of an ethnic identity to the next generation make up the common themes that reach across essays about the varying communities. This sociological overview of Asian American religions, Religions in Asian America should be useful reading for those interested in Asians, ethnicity, immigration or religion in the United States.