vii

Asian American Religions

n u Cobuzed \ord
Syvu Chun-Muk und lhyut Y. }osh
The Iniled Slales is a reIigious nalion. SociaI scienlihc lracking
for the past sixty years has continually proven the secularization
lhesis vrong: Nol onIy have reIigion and lhe sacred nol disa-
eareda nolion advanced since lhe Greal Avakeningbul in
an age of deinduslriaIizalion and var, lhe number of individu-
aIs associaled vilh reIigion and lhe sacred have conlinuaIIy in-
creased.
1
Lven lhose vho cIaim nol lo exIicilIy beIong lo any
arlicuIar reIigion or denominalion have some sorl of failh, ac-
cording lo a 2O12 Iev Survey, of lhe one-hflh of Americans vho
check none on surveys in regards lo reIigious reference, 7O/
say lhey beIieve in God or a universaI siril, vhiIe 37/ describe
lhemseIves as siriluaI bul nol reIigious.
2
Indeed, such an on-
going, perhaps increasing, prevalence of religion has led to pro-
nouncemenls of a osl-secuIar age in lhe osl-9111 era, bolh in
lhe I.S. and Luroe, secihcaIIy in lhe vays reIigious communi-
lies exerl inuence in and uon lhe ulaliveIy secuIarized envi-
ronmenls of lhe Wesl.
3
Al lhe same lime, desile lhe ubiquily
of lhe mylh lhal ve are in a osl-raciaI momenl in bolh oIilicaI
and cuIluraI discourse, lhe Iniled Slales remains, inexorabIy, as
Toni Morrison once vrole, a vhoIIy raciaIized sociely.
4
Race
remains a cenlraI delerminanl of vhere ve Iive, vhom ve lrusl,
vhal ve do, and hov ve beIieve.
Il vouId seem, lhen, lhal lhe sludy of race and reIigion
vouId go hand in hand, eseciaIIy in heIds Iike Asian American
Sludies and Llhnic Sludies. Yel vhiIe lhree decades of inlersec-
tionality theory have led scholars across the social sciences and
humanilies lo be allenlive lo lhe |unclures of race, cIass, gender,
SYLVIA CHAN-MALIK is Assislanl Irofessor of American Sludies and Wom-
en's and Gender Sludies al Rulgers Iniversily, Nev runsvick.
KHYATI Y. JOSHI is Associale Irofessor of Lducalion al IairIeigh Dickinson
University.
Amerusu }ournu 40:l (20l4): v-xx
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sexuaIily, and nalion, encounlers belveen race and reIigion re-
main consislenlIy underexamined and under-lheorized. This is
arliaIIy lhe resuIl of disciIinary boundaries, bul il aIso reecls
an ongoing inabiIilyand al limes, lhe unviIIingnessof many
in Llhnic Sludies heIds lo acknovIedge lhe saIience of reIigion,
and vice versa, for lhose in ReIigious Sludies lo recognize lhe im-
orlance of race. WhiIe lhe reasons for lhese evasionssome of
vhich viII be delaiIed hereare varied and shifling, lhe Iack of
engagemenl belveen race and reIigion has crealed increasingIy
evidenl bIind sols nol onIy vilhin Llhnic Sludies and ReIigious
Sludies heIds, bul beyond academia as veII, regarding, for ex-
amIe, issues of civic and oIilicaI arlicialion, sociaI |uslice
aclivism, and lhe emergence and evoIulion of nev sub|eclivilies
and idenlilies in our conlemorary age.
In lhis seciaI issue of Amerasia Journal, Asian American
ReIigions in a GIobaIized WorId, ve exIore lhe engagemenls
belveen race and reIigion uon, across, and lhrough lhe dy-
namic and helerogeneous lerrains of Asian America. The essays
galhered here demonslrale hov reIigion and lhe sacred consli-
lule cenlraI Iogics and nelvorks lhrough vhich Asian Americans
have created (and continue to create) local, national, and trans-
nalionaI modes of raciaI-reIigious beIonging, vhich lhen, in lurn,
inuence how they operate as raciaIized sub|ecls vilhin lhe I.S.
To arahrase lhe Iale Sluarl HaII, ve conlend lhal reIigion is
a modaIily lhrough vhich race and racism are underslood and
Iived, vhiIe race is a modaIily vhich deeIy inuences one's en-
counlers and engagemenls vilh reIigion and lhe sacred.
5
Taken
logelher, lhe vorks in lhis seciaI issue reveaI hov a crilicaI dis-
course around race and religion facilitates robust insights into
rocesses of sub|ecl, communily, cuIluraI, and oIilicaI forma-
lion. We hoe lhese insighls viII insligale conversalions in and
beyond Asian American Sludies as lo hov encounlers belveen
race and religion operate upon and in relation to state and cul-
luraI over, and lhe revaIence of neoIiberaI Iogics lhal nov de-
hne I.S. economic oIicies and lhe boundaries of cuIluraI and
political citizenship.
WhiIe ve Iook forvard lo more vork in lhese areas, ve vanl
lo emhasize lhal lhere is aIready a rich schoIarIy discourse
around Asian American reIigions. ne of lhe cenlraI Ieasures
of developing and editing this issue has been the opportunity
lo highIighl lhe exisling schoIarshi, and lo observe hov nev
schoIars have come lo engage and buiId uon lhis vork. Indeed,
ix
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much has changed since Asian American reIigions emerged as
a heId of inquiry in lhe 198Os and 199Os. In arlicuIar, as IsIam
and lhe War on Terror have become common sense lerms in
lhe nalionaI vocabuIary over lhe course of lhe Iasl decade. Thus,
cerlain raciaIizing Iogics have become cenlraI lo lhe vays reIi-
gious communilies vilh lies lo Soulh Asia and lhe MiddIe Lasl
e.g., lhe geooIilicaI regions associaled vilh lerror in lhe na-
lionaI imaginaryhave come lo be seen and see lhemseIves. Yel
beyond lhe sub|ugalion of lhese communilies, ve are inleresled
in lracking lhe vibranl formalions of Iived reIigion vilhin Asian
American communilies bolh as a resuIl of, and in sile of, lhe ra-
ciaIizing raclices of slale over. Indeed, il is lhe vibrancy and
variely of reIigious raclices lhal ve viev as lhe unifying lhread
across lhe sludy of Asian American reIigions.
In vhal foIIovs, ve offer a hislory of lhe earIy schoIarshi
on Asian American reIigions, foIIoved by a consideralion of hov
lhe osl-9111 Iandscae has shifled and exanded lhe heId. We
end vilh some lhoughls concerning lhe fulure direclions of ils
sludy and lhe vays in vhich lhe essays here iIIuminale lhis alh.
Hstory o the led
In 1996, Amerasia Journal ubIished ils hrsl seciaI issue dedical-
ed lo reIigion. LnlilIed RaciaI Sirils, lhe issue marked a iv-
olaI oinl in lhe burgeoning heId of Asian American reIigions.
6

Three cenlraI slrands of sludy conlribuled lo lhe emergence and
deveIomenl of Asian American reIigions, as solIighled in lhe
issue. In lhe hrsl slrand, Asian Americans vorking and sludying
al lheoIogicaI schooIs and seminaries, mainIy on lhe Wesl Coasl,
began asking queslions aboul hov race imacled Asian Ameri-
can Christian organizations, groups, congregations, and people.
Many of lhese schoIars and lheoIogians vere invoIved vilh lhe
Asian American Movemenl and Third WorId slruggIes, and
soughl lo invesligale encounlers belveen reIigion and oIilicaI
aclivism. SchoIars such as Roy Sano and }uIia Name, among olh-
ers, brought a critical consciousness about race to bear on their
lheoIogicaI visions, vhiIe cerlain seminaries, such as lhe Iacihc
SchooI of ReIigion in erkeIey, vere among lhe hrsl Iaces lo
encourage and faciIilale discussions aboul and around Asian
Americans, race, and reIigion. The second slrand deveIoed in
lhe earIy 198Os and conlinued lhrough lhe 199Os. Llhnograhic
in ils aroach, lhis slrand vas made u of richIy descrilive
individuaI case sludies on Indian, Hindu, MusIim, Sikh, and Ko-
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rean immigranls. Mosl of lhe schoIars in lhis slrand vere nol
vorking in or in reIalion lo Asian American Sludies and Llhnic
Sludies heIds, some look an Area Sludies aroach lo lheir com-
munilies of inquiry and did nol engage issues of race and racism.
Iurlher, in lhe earIy 199Os, Harvard Iniversily's IIuraIism Iro|-
ecl, vhich focused on uddhisl, Hindu, MusIim, and Sikh com-
munilies, began making ils mark by maing Asian American
communilies across lhe counlry.
The lhird slrand consisled of moslIy second- or lhird-gener-
alion Asian American schoIars across various heIds vho vanled
lo sludy lhe imacl of reIigion uon Asian American sub|eclivi-
lies, communilies, and cuIlure. WhiIe avare and inleresled in
lhe Asian American Movemenl, many in lhis slrand vere nol
shaed direclIy by arlicialion in Asian American aclivism
and1or organizing. Irom varying elhnic, geograhic, sexuaIily,
gender, and cIass backgrounds, lhis cohorl of schoIars generaled
diverse and muIliIe aroaches lo lhe sludy of Asian American
reIigions, reeclive of vhal Lisa Love caIIed lhe helerogenily,
hybridily, and muIliIicily of Asian America in lhe mid-199Os.
7

In lhe Iarger conlexl of lhe heId of Asian American Sludies, and,
more reciseIy, in Asian American cuIluraI crilique al lhal lime,
lhis helerogeneily broughl fresh sub|eclivilies and nev ob|ecls of
inquiry lo lhe heId. Yel il aIso insligaled a fair amounl of hand
vringing aboul lhe slale of lhe heId, arlicuIarIy in regard lo
lhe Iegacies of elhnic nalionaIism, communily aclivism, and lhe
rogressive-radicaI oIilics of Third WorId slruggIes in lhe 196Os
and 197Os. As GIenn malsu noled in his veII-knovn essay
The 'Iour Irisons' and lhe Movemenls of Liberalion, desile a
groving inleresl in Asian American Sludies and Asian American
idenlilies, There has nol been a corresonding grovlh in con-
sciousness aboul vhal il means lo be Asian American. malsu
encouraged a nev generalion of Asian Americans lo Iook be-
yond individuaI advancemenl and relrain lheir focus on lhe
collective liberation of all peoples.
8
The lhree slrands, vilh lheir ambiguilies, vere reecled in
the essays collected in Racial Spirits, vhich began vilh an in-
lroduclion enlilIed CrilicaI Reeclions on Asian American ReIi-
gious Idenlily. The issue incIuded essays exIoring a vide range
of loics: Chinese Iroleslanl nalionaIism in lhe I.S., IiIiino foIk
siriluaIily and immigralion, uddhism in lhe I.S., Sikh kirpans
(ceremoniaI svords), and Asian American evangeIicaI coIIege
sludenls (by Rudy uslo, vho revisils his inuenliaI iece, The
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GoseI According lo lhe ModeI Minorily`, in lhis issue). Those
invoIved vilh RaciaI Sirils evenluaIIy venl on lo creale lhe
Asian Iacihc American ReIigions Research Inilialive (AIARRI),
a grou Ied al lhe lime by }ane Naomi Ivamura and IauI Sick-
ard. Ivamura and Sickard envisioned a schoIarIy communily
advancing lhe inlerdisciIinary sludy of Asian Iacihc Americans
and lheir reIigions, as veII as an organizalion lhal vouId serve
as research incubalor and suorl nelvork for schoIars of Asian
American reIigions, arlicuIarIy lhose inleresled in examining lhe
inlerseclions of reIigion and race. Through conferences, menlor-
ing, and coIIaboralion, AIARRI conlinues lo romole lhe rofes-
sionaI deveIomenl of schoIars and lhe grovlh of Asian Ameri-
can religions as an area of research and inquiry.
The ubIicalion of RaciaI Sirils and subsequenl founding
of AIARRI in 1996 indicaled, as aIready menlioned, lhe groving
number of Asian American schoIars vorking on loics of reIigion
across various disciIines, raciaI conlexls, and elhnic communi-
lies, bolh in universily and seminary sellings. This grovlh of
inleresl in lhe sludy of Asian American reIigions occurred vilhin
lhe Iarger conlexl of lhe exansion of Asian American Sludies
as a heId, as dearlmenls and rograms deveIoed and ubIica-
lions increased. y lhe Iale 199Os, one couId osil lhal, vhiIe
far from having comIele inslilulionaI accelance or recognilion
beyond academic sellings, Asian American Sludies and Llhnic
Sludies vere becoming increasingIy accelabIe and recognizabIe
heIds of sludy.
Yel vhiIe lhese deveIomenls vere occurring in landem,
aside from AIARRI and individuaI schoIars doing vork on
Asian American reIigious communilies, reIigion, and reIigious
sub|eclivilies, such research remained IargeIy obscured in Llh-
nic Sludies heIds. Iainling in broad slrokes, one mighl say
lhal Asian American Sludies schoIarshi and leaching relained
malsu's aroach, uliIizing Marxisl framevorks and advanc-
ing a radicaI-rogressive framevork of raciaI Iiberalion as cen-
lraI lo lhe oIilicaI ro|ecl of lhe heId. Wilhin communily acliv-
ism and oIilicaI engagemenl, much of lhe vork being done al
lhal lime focused around issues of cuIluraI reresenlalion and
the concerns of an entrepreneurial class, e.g., the glass ceiling.
AIlhough lhere vere undoubledIy excelions, one couId osil
lhal bolh lhe schoIarIy discourse and oIilicaI engagemenls of
Asian Americans during lhe 199Os vere marked by a cerlain my-
oia: lhe aroach vas eilher lo cailaIize uon lhe vounded
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allachmenls of Asian excIusion, inlernmenl, and xenohobia in
order lo advance a radicaI-rogressive oIilics lhal did nol reecl
the broader political desires of an increasingly heterogeneous
Asian American communily, or lo engage forms of aclivism
and engagemenl lhal onIy served lhe needs of middIe-uer-
cIass Asian American communilies by rolecling lheir reIalive
riviIege. Yel desile cerlain eIisions in Asian American Slud-
ies regarding reIigion, nev vorks and ubIicalions conlinued lo
emerge, such as David Yoo's New Spiritual Homes: Religion and
Asian Americans (1999) and three anthologies produced by schol-
ars direclIy and indireclIy invoIved vilh AIARRI: Iyong Ga
Min and }ung Ha Kim's Religions in Asian America: Building Faith
Communities (2OO1), Ivamura and Sickard's Revealing the Sacred
in Asian America (2OO3), and Tony Carnes and Ienggang Yang's
Asian American Religions: The Making and Remaking of Borders and
Boundaries (2004).
The vriling and research conlained in lhese aforemenlioned
ubIicalions, moslIy begun and1or comIeled before lhe miIIen-
niaI lurn, reecled lhe shifling raciaI and reIigions Iandscaes
nol onIy of Asian America, bul of lhe nalion as a vhoIe. As
muIlicuIluraIism emerged as arl and arceI of lhe nalion's
idenlily al lhe cIose of lhe 199Os, reIigious communilies aIso in-
creased in size and scoe. Asian America vilnessed a ourish-
ing of reIigious inslilulions and organizalions, moslIy slarled by
uvardIy mobiIe immigranl communilies vho broughl vilh
lhem an inux of cailaI vhich Ied lo lhe nev conslruclion of
churches, lemIes, and mosques. ne mighl argue lhal such an
inux occurred in lhe conlexls of vhal Susan Koshy has caIIed
elhnic arlicuIarism: Asian elhnic communilies seIf-segregal-
ing inlo elhnicaIIy homogenous, cIass-based communilies, as o-
osed loas Asians had done in lhe aslallemling lo assimi-
Iale inlo vhileness.
9
This shifl, Koshy argued, reresenled lhe
changing face of vhile suremacy in lhe muIlicuIluraI 199Os, and
vas reecled lhrough nev elhnic reIigious formalions across lhe
counlry: nev moneyed encIaves in Iaces Iike SiIicon VaIIey and
Monlerey Iark in CaIifornia, IIushing, Queens in Nev York, Ldi-
son and Iorl Lee in Nev }ersey, as veII as slruggIing communi-
lies of refugees and migranl vorkers in urban cenlers Iike Min-
neaoIis, Nev York, and akIand. Throughoul lhese lransilions,
lransnalionaI and diasoric Asian sub|ecls foslered cIose lies nol
|usl lo lheir nalionaI and1or elhnic communilies, bul lo reIigious
communilies bolh al home and abroad.
xiii
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In schoIarshi, lhese nev formalions foslered grovlh in lhe
sludy of Asian American Chrislian communilies, arlicuIarIy
Asian American evangeIicaI congregalions and second-genera-
lion Asian American evangeIicaIsbolh communilies vhich had
been sleadiIy increasing over lhe asl hfleen years. LarIier slud-
ies had focused on Chinese immigranls and second-generalion
Chinese Americans aIongside lhe broader rise of Chrislian evan-
geIicaIism in lhe I.S.
10
Irom lhe Iale 199Os onvard, nev vork on
Asian American Chrislianilies has examined comIex rocesses
of elhnic formalion, idenlily vork, and reIigious arlicialion in
lhe individuaI Iives of Asian Americans and congregalions. A
Iarge orlion of lhis body of schoIarshi observes lhe groving
number of Asian American coIIege sludenls |oining evangeIicaI
sludenl grous, vilh many sludies exIoring lhe reIalionshi be-
lveen reIigiosily and raciaI idenlily. WhiIe earIy sludies in lhis
area focused on Chinese American sludenls, lhe loic of Korean
American arlicialion in coIIegiale evangeIicaI organizalions
nov makes u lhe buIk of lhis area of schoIarshi. In addilion,
one of lhe cenlraI hndings in lhis body of research is hov many
second-generalion Asian American coIIege sludenls hnd refuge
in evangeIicaIism, in a sace vhere lhey erceive lhemseIves nol
to be raced.
11
Yel, as vilh mosl of lhe revious vork on Asian American
reIigions, research on Asian American Chrislianily focused on
Lasl Asian communilies, rimariIy Chinese and Korean. This
coincided vilh vhal some considered an Lasl Asian bias in lhe
Iarger heId of Asian American Sludies, vhich vas coming under
increased scruliny and debale, as queslions of Asian American
anelhnicily became cenlraI lo discussions concerning lhe fulure
of lhe heId. Thus, aIongside debales concerning lhe oIilicaI
orienlalions of Asian American idenlilies and communilies, lhe
close of the 1990s also brought about discussions regarding is-
sues of inclusion vis--vis lhe resence of non-Lasl Asians vilhin
Asian America, arlicuIarIy in regards lo Soulh and Soulheasl
Asian communilies.
12
In addilion, oslcoIoniaI discourses vere
nov cenlraI lo lhe heId, and nev ovs of migralion, digilaI nel-
vorks, and shifling geooIilicaI conhguralions exanded no-
lions of Asian American idenlily, beIonging, and oIilics. Iur-
lhermore, conversalions aIso ensued concerning hov lo make
issues of gender and sexuaIily more cenlraI lo lhe heIds, and
hov schoIars mighl arlicuIale lransnalionaIism and diasora
as crilicaI frames of reference. Amid lhese muIliIe fraclurings,
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many vondered vhelher Asian American anelhnicily vas sliII
ossibIe. And vouId reIigion furlher exacerbale such fraclurings
by Iacing addilionaI Iimilalions around hov an-Asian ve
couId be`
9/ll und Asun Amercun Rucuzuton
Such debales and queslions shaed lhe conlexl in vhich schoI-
ars in Asian American Sludies and Asian American reIigions re-
sonded lo lhe allacks of 9111. In lhe aflermalh of lhe allacks,
lhere vas a reneved oIilicaI urgency concerning lhe raciaI-
izalion of MusIims, Arabs, and anyone erceived lo be Mus-
Iim and1or Arab. SuddenIy, lhere vas a hyervisibiIily of ri-
enlaIized MusIim bodies, MusIim lerrorisls, oressed MusIim
vomen, and IsIam as lhe enemy. Many drev araIIeIs belveen
MusIim, Arab, and Soulh Asian communilies and }aanese
Americans during WorId War II, vilh some caIIing lhe increased
surveiIIance and oIicing of MusIim, Arab, and Soulh Asian
communilies a lye of virluaI inlernmenl.
13
Soulh Asians and
Arab American communilies, vho had reviousIy been al lhe
margins of Asian American schoIarshi, suddenIy became lhe
cenlraI lo conversalion in lhe heId. In a sense, 9111 funclioned
as a revilaIizalion of Asian American Sludies and Llhnic Sludies,
as schoIars veII versed in hislories of raciaIizalion and rienlaI-
izing framevorks couId aIy lheir exerlise lovards osl-9111
political exigencies.
These exigencies shaed schoIarIy resonses in lvo secihc
vays. IirslIy, Asian American schoIars lended lo focus on lhe
raciaIizalion of reIigion in a manner lhal orlrayed Arabs and
MusIims, and lhose erceived as such, as raciaIized sub|ecls, em-
phasizing their interpellations through state violence and legal
discourses. Thus, for examIe, vhen MusIims, Arabs, Sikhs,
and Soulh Asians vere allacked and largeled for lheir erceived
reIigious afhIialions, lheir narralives vere framed lhrough dis-
courses of emire, rienlaIism, and racism. These accounls
offered much needed criliques of hov lhe Iegacies of I.S. im-
eriaI over and vhileness shaed nalionaI resonses lo lhe
crisis, and vere exlremeIy roduclive in addressing lhe oIili-
caI urgencies of lhe osl-9111 years. SecondIy, MusIims, Arab,
Sikhs, and Soulh Asians vere silualed as communilies vilh
vhom Asian American Sludies and Llhnic Sludies schoIars and
aclivisls mighl form oIilicaI coaIilions. Iramevorks of coIIec-
live Iiberalionreminiscenl of earIy aradigms of revoIulion-
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ary slruggIeoeraled aIongside discourses of rienlaIism and
oslcoIoniaIism lo idenlify lhose raciaIized lhrough lhe Iogics of
terror as political allies.
Yel as imorlanl as lhese conlribulions vere, lhey al limes
enfoIded MusIim, Arab, and Soulh Asian communilies inlo lhe
food grou modeI of Llhnic Sludies, adding MusIims, Arabs,
and Soulh Asians inlo conversalions aboul race as lhe Ialesl vic-
lims of I.S. racism and imeriaIism. Much of lhe schoIarshi
on post-9/11 racialization ignored the role of religion and the
sacred, in arlicuIar vilh regards lo hov reIigious sub|eclivilies
consliluled a cenlraI Iens lhrough vhich many in lhe aforemen-
lioned communilies underslood and counlered raciaIizalion and
racism. Ior examIe, vhiIe much vork addressed hale crimes
direcled al MusIims and Sikhs, fev schoIars acluaIIy invesligaled
hov such acls of racisl vioIence vere addressed vilhin lemIes
and mosques, or hov fear of slale vioIence shifled enaclmenls
of reIigious raclices, riluaIs, and beIief. Iurlher, lhere vas IillIe
investigation into intra-ethnic, inter-religious, and interracial
engagemenls, belveen African American and Soulh Asian and
Arab American MusIims, or belveen Hindu and MusIim com-
munilies in lhe I.S. In olher vords, vhiIe reIigion became
a vorlhvhiIe sub|ecl of sludy as a marker of raciaIizalion, re-
Iigion as an exression of failh, an encounler vilh lhe sacred,
and1or a mode of beIonging and embodimenl, remained unex-
Iored. Thus, vhereas vork on lhe raciaIizalion of IsIam and
MusIims rovided much needed dala and discourse around lhe
raciaIizalion of reIigion and slale over, il al limes reIicaled lhe
ob|eclifying discourse around lhese communilies lhal il soughl
to displace.
Desile lhis underexaminalion of reIigious sub|eclivilies, ve
viev lhe schoIarIy corus addressing lhe raciaIizalion of IsIam
discussed above as a overfuI and generalive addilion lo lhe heId
of Asian American reIigions. If anylhing, such conversalions have
romled increasing inleresl in aIlernalive modeIs and frame-
vorks for anliracisl and sociaI |uslice vork, in vhich reIigion and
failh need nol be sideIined, and are al limes, as }oseh Cheah dis-
cusses in his autobiographical essay in this issue, central to ones
oIilicaI aclivism. y silualing lhis corus vilhin lhe Iarger lra-
|eclory of lhe sludy of Asian American reIigions, ve are hoefuI
that scholars, theologians, activists, and anyone else interested in
lhe loic viII conlinue lhe conversalions on lhe Iived reaIilies of
race and reIigionas veII as gender, sexuaIily, cIass, and cilizen-
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shiin order lo arlicuIale lhe nev sub|eclivilies and nelvorks
that characterize the study of (as the title of this special issue
ronounces) Asian American ReIigions in a GIobaIized WorId.
We conlend lhal in order lo lruIy lhink aboul hov lo mobiIize
communilies for lhe vork of anliracism, on IocaI, regionaI, na-
lionaI, and lransnalionaI scaIes, il is necessary lo examine vork
on lhe raciaIizalion of reIigion aIong vilh vork lhal exIores
hov meanings are made within reIigious communilies. SimIy
ul, ve need lo siluale lhe roIe of lhe sacred in eoIe's Iives in
order lo engender candid conversalions around freedom, |uslice,
and liberation.
Asun Amercun Regons: lresent und luture
Il is imorlanl lo nole lhal lhis issue emerges in a vaslIy ex-
anded heId of schoIarIy vork on Asian American reIigions, lhe
conlenl and scoe of vhich ve vouId Iike lo momenlariIy high-
Iighl here. WhiIe lhis Iileralure has been exlremeIy varied, ve
vouId venlure lo say lhal schoIars of Asian American reIigions,
over lhe course of lhe Iasl lvo decades, have been in conversa-
lion vilh broader debales around immigralion, raciaI formalion,
reIigion, and Asian American idenlily, cuIlure, and communily.
Many have invesligaled lhe reIalionshis belveen race, elhnicily,
and reIigion across generalionaI differencee.g., immigranl, sec-
ond, and lhird generalionsand shovn hov dynamic rocesses
of immigralion engender negolialions belveen generalions and
modihcalions of reIigious idenlily. Such vorks reveaI hov lhese
shifls are nol onIy rocesses accomanying immigralion, bul lhe
vays in vhich nev reIigious idenlilies deveIo vhen eoIe ass
lheir failh on lo fulure generalions. Sludies have aIso shovn lhal
reIigion Iays an inlegraI roIe in communily formalion, and have
emIoyed a Iived reIigion anaIysis lo shov hov reIigion inler-
secls vilh race, gender, and cIass, among olher facels of idenlily.
LmIoying lransnalionaI framevorks, schoIars have increasingIy
focused on Soulh Asian Sikh, MusIim, and Hindu reIigious com-
munilies. Issues of gender and lhe chaIIenges confronling femaIe
reIigious raclilioners, schoIars, and Ieaders have aIso come lo
lhe fore of various conversalions bolh vilhin and beyond lhe
academy.
14
IinaIIy, in addilion lo lhis schoIarIy body of vork,
inleresl in Asian American reIigions has aIso Ied lo organizalionaI
and inslilulionaI formalions. In addilion lo AIARRI, grous such
as lhe Ian-Asian Norlh American Women in TheoIogy and Min-
islry (IANAAWTM),
15
and lhe Asian Norlh American ReIigion,
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CuIlure, and Sociely Grou (ANARCS) suorl emerging schoI-
arshi and lheoIogicaI vork on Asian Norlh American reIigious
raclices and failh communilies.
16
The rich coIIeclion of vrilings lhal make u lhis seciaI issue
drav from and buiId on lhe vide range of vork discussed in lhis
inlroduclion. Through lhe essays fealured here, ve seek lo shov-
case lhe vibrancy and diversily of lhe conlemorary schoIarshi
on Asian American reIigions. Dravn from differenl disciIines,
religious subjectivities, and political orientations, our authors offer
anaIyses lhal arlicuIale lhe comIexilies of failh, siriluaIily, and re-
Iigion in Asian America, and lhe nuanced, yel overfuI, vays race
and religion operate in both private and public spheres. Section
one, enlilIed InlerraciaI ReIigious Inlerseclions, fealures ieces
lhal lake inlerseclionaI aroaches in addressing race, elhnicily, and
reIigion. The oening essay, Reeclions on lhe Iev Iorum on Re-
Iigion and IubIic Life's Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths Data and
Reorl, rovides a backslory lo lhe 2O12 Iev Reorl vilh some
of lhe Asian American reIigion schoIars vho rovided dala anaIy-
sis and feedback for lhe sludy. Ising key oinls from lhe reorl
(vhich incIuded dala on Asian American Chrislians, uddhisls,
and Hindus, as veII as lhe reIigiousIy unafhIialed), }ane Naomi
Ivamura, Sharon Suh, }aneIIe Wong, and guesl edilor Khyali }oshi
discuss lhe slrenglhs and veaknesses of Iev's sludy, vhiIe offer-
ing lheir ovn crilicaI consideralions of lhe ro|ecl. In lhe second
iece, 'A Sace for lhe SiriluaI': A RoundlabIe on Race, Gender,
and IsIam in lhe Iniled Slales, guesl edilor SyIvia Chan-MaIik
moderales a conversalion belveen lhree Ieading femaIe schoIars
vorking on issues of race, gender, and IsIam in lhe I.S. LveIyn AI-
suIlany, Su'ad AbduI Khabeer, and Maryam Kashani address key
lerms emIoyed in conversalions aboul IsIam in America, IsIamic
feminism in lhe I.S., and hov lhey allend lo inlerseclions of race,
gender, and reIigion in lheir vork. The hnaI essay in seclion one
is IhiIi DesIie's The Hindu in Hoodoo: Iake Yogis, Iseudo-
Svamis, and lhe Conslruclion of African-American IoIk Magic,
vhich shovs hov asecls of Hinduism, arlicuIarIy yoga, became
arl of African American foIk magic in lhe earIy arl of lhe lvenli-
elh cenlury. DesIie exIores hov lhe engagemenls belveen Af-
rican American occuIlism and an imagined India in earIy lvenlielh
century U.S. popular culture highlighted an interesting space for
Soulh Asians in lhe American raciaI binary.
Seclion lvo, lilIed Reorienling Chirslianily, begins vilh
Rudy uslo revisiling his Iandmark essay The GoseI Accord-
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ing lo lhe ModeI Minorily`, hrsl ubIished Amerasias Racial
Sirils issue in 1996. uslo's originaI argumenl vieved raciaI
and reIigious idenlily (Asian and Chrislian) in a comelilive reIa-
lionshi. AImosl lvo decades Ialer, uslo's ideas have changed
as lhe schoIarshi on Asian American sludenls |oining evangeIi-
caI coIIege sludenl organizalions has skyrockeled, nov comris-
ing one of lhe Iargesl subheIds vilhin Asian American reIigions.
Here, uslo reecls uon lhe comIex inlerIay belveen lhe
reasons vhy Asian American sludenls |oin evangeIicaI organiza-
lions, calegories of raciaI and reIigious idenlily, and lhe vays lhal
sociaI scienlisls and lheoIogians aroach lhese loics. In CoI-
ored Iailh: Vielnamese American CalhoIics SlruggIe for LquaIily
vilhin Their MuIlicuIluraI Church, Thien-Huong Ninh high-
Iighls lhe slruggIes of lhe Vielnamese American CalhoIic com-
munily in range Counly's LillIe Saigon, vhich had Iong been
reslricled from forming ils ovn arish vhiIe olher elhnic grous
had been ermilled lo do so. Ninh's anaIysis shovs lhal in lhe
conlexl of lhe ofhciaI muIlicuIluraI framevorks emIoyed by lhe
Diocese of range Counly, Vielnamese CalhoIics have been ra-
ciaIized as a lhreal. IinaIIy, lo cIose, }oseh Cheah rovides er-
sonaI reeclions on being bolh an Asian American schoIar and
lheoIogian and hov his failh is lhe reason for his aclivism.
WhiIe ve hoe lhe diversily and muIliIicily of Asian Amer-
ican reIigions shines lhrough in lhese ieces, ve aIso acknovI-
edge cerlain gas and omissions in lhe issue, and hoe lhal lhey
serve as imelus for olhers lo lake u lheir invesligalion and
anaIysis. In arlicuIar, ve had hoed lo shovcase vork high-
Iighling reIigious idenlily formalion and failh in LGTQ Asian
American communilies and1or lhal vhich examined issues of
sexuaIily in shaing lhe inlerseclions of race and reIigion. AIso,
ve acknovIedge lhe absence of vorks vhich comare and exam-
ine reIalionshis belveen various raciaI and elhnic communilies
and reIigious lradilions. We beIieve comaralive schoIarshi in
Asian Americans reIigions can roduce urgenlIy needed insighls
inlo, for inslance, hov reIigion bolh faciIilales and forecIoses lhe
ossibiIilies of Asian American anelhnicily, or lhe varying vays
in vhich reIigion suorls or counleracls anli-Asian racism and1
or racism vril Iarge.
17

IIlimaleIy, lhe cenlraI conlenlion of lhis seciaI issue is lhis:
We need vork lhal lakes seriousIy lhe roIes of reIigion, siriluaI-
ily, and lhe sacred in lhe formalion of nev sub|eclivilies, nev
geograhies of oIilicaI aclivism, and nev modes of beIonging in
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Asian America and beyond. We hoe lhis issue sarks broader
conversalions on hov lo move beyond ouldaled vays of lhink-
ing lhal dismiss reIigion as anliqualed and divisive, and, inslead,
vork lovards more robusl anaIyses lhal reecl lhe maleriaI re-
aIilies of conlemorary Asian American communilies.
Notes
1. The Iev Iorum on ReIigion and IubIic Life, U.S. Religious Landscape Sur-
tcqRc|igicus Aj|iciicn. Ditcrsc cn! Dqncmic (Washinglon, D.C.: Iev
Research Cenler, 2OO8).
2. Iev Research, ReIigion and IubIic Life Iro|ecl, 'Nones' on lhe Rise, clo-
ber 9, 2O12, avaiIabIe onIine al: hll:11vvv.evforum.org12O1211O1O91
nones-on-the-rise/.
3. }urgen Habermas, Noles on a Iosl-SecuIar Sociely, New Perspectives
Quarterly 25:4 (2OO8): 17-29. See aIso IhiIi Gorski, David Kyuman Kim,
}ohn Torey, and }onalhan VanAnlveren, eds., The Post Secular in Ques-
tion (Nev York: NYI Iress, 2O12).
4. Toni Morrison, Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination
(Nev York: Vinlage ooks, 1992).
5. We are draving uon Sluarl HaII's formuIalion: Race is a modaIily
lhrough vhich cIass is Iived. Irom Sluarl HaII, Race, ArlicuIalion, and
Socielies Slruclured in Dominance, in Sociological Theories: Race and Colo-
nialism (Iaris: INLSC, 198O): 3O5-345.
6. See David K. Yoo, ed., RaciaI Sirils: ReIigion & Race in Asian American
Communilies, Amerasia Journal 22:1 (1996).
7. Lisa Love, Immigrant Acts: On Asian American Cultural Politics (Durham:
Duke Iniversily Iress, 1996).
8. GIenn malsu, The 'Iour Irisons' and lhe Movemenls of Liberalion:
Asian American Aclivism from lhe 196Os lo lhe 199Os, Karin AguiIar-San
Juan, ed., The State of Asian America: Activism and Resistance in the 1990s
(oslon: Soulh Lnd Iress, 1994): 19-7O.
9. Susan Koshy, Morhing Race inlo Llhnicily: Asian Americans and Crili-
caI Transformalions of Whileness, boundary 2 28:1 (2OO1): 153-194.
1O. See Ienggang Yang, Chinese Conversion lo LvangeIicaI Chrislianily: The
Imorlance of SociaI and CuIluraI Conlexls, Sociology of Religion: A Quar-
terly Review 59:3 (1998): 237-257.
11. RusseII }eung, for examIe, observes lhal as Asian Americans sludenls
make Chrislianily lhe Iocus of lheir idenlily, lhey are abIe lo escae idenli-
fying vilh raciaI backgrounds, see }eung's book Faithful Generations: Race
and New Asian American Churches (Nev runsvick: Rulgers Iniversily
Iress, 2OO5). Al lhe same lime, reIigion serves lo nol onIy reserve elhnic-
ily, bul aIso lo suorl insuIarily in young Korean Americans, see }erry Z.
Iark, Llhnic InsuIarily Among 1.5- and Second-Generalion Korean Amer-
ican Christians, Development and Society 42 (2O13): 113-136. Sharon Kim's
book A Faith of Our Own: Second-Generation Spirituality in Korean American
Churches (Nev runsvick: Rulgers Iniversily Iress, 2O1O) exIores vhy
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second-generalion Korean American coIIege sludenls disroorlionaleIy
|oin Korean elhnic camus minislries as comared lo an-Asian, muIlira-
ciaI, or redominanlIy vhile camus minislries. InlergeneralionaI issues
in congregalionaI sellings arise vilh second-generalion Korean Americans
and Chinese Americans vho hnd lhe immigranl church lo be hierarchaI
and unresponsive to their spiritual and cultural needs.
12. See Lavina Dhingra Shankar and Ra|ini Srikanlh, eds., A Part, Yet Apart:
South Asians in Asian America (IhiIadeIhia: TemIe Iniversily Iress, 1998).
13. Halem azian, VirluaI Inlernmenl: Arabs, MusIims Asians and lhe War
on Terrorism, The Journal of Islamic Law and Culture 9:1 (2OO4): 2-26.
14. See Rila Nakashima rock, et al., eds., Off the Menu: Asian and Asian North
American Womens Religion and Theology (LouisviIIe: Weslminsler1}ohn
Knox, 2007).
15. IANAAWTM emIoys a Chrislian-based lheoIogicaI focus lo address lhe
concerns of lhose rearing lo engage in church and sociaI minislries.
16. ANARCS is a arl of lhe American Academy of ReIigion.
17. See Carolyn Chen, Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Re-
ligious Experience (Irincelon: Irincelon Iniversily Iress, 2OO8).