Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America

Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America

Author: Jane Iwamura

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-10-11

Total Pages: 388

ISBN-13: 1136712801

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Asian and Pacific Islander Americans constitute the fastest-growing racial group in the United States. They are also one of the most religiously diverse. Through them Asian traditions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Confucianism, and Buddhism have been introduced into every major city and across a wide swath of Middle America. The contributors to this volume provide an essential inter-disciplinary resource for the study of Asian and Pacific Islander American religion.


Book Synopsis Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America by : Jane Iwamura

Download or read book Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America written by Jane Iwamura and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-11 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Asian and Pacific Islander Americans constitute the fastest-growing racial group in the United States. They are also one of the most religiously diverse. Through them Asian traditions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Confucianism, and Buddhism have been introduced into every major city and across a wide swath of Middle America. The contributors to this volume provide an essential inter-disciplinary resource for the study of Asian and Pacific Islander American religion.


Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America

Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America

Author: Jane Iwamura

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-10-11

Total Pages: 361

ISBN-13: 1136712739

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Asian and Pacific Islander Americans constitute the fastest-growing racial group in the United States. They are also one of the most religiously diverse. Through them Asian traditions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Confucianism, and Buddhism have been introduced into every major city and across a wide swath of Middle America. The contributors to this volume provide an essential inter-disciplinary resource for the study of Asian and Pacific Islander American religion.


Book Synopsis Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America by : Jane Iwamura

Download or read book Revealing the Sacred in Asian and Pacific America written by Jane Iwamura and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-11 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Asian and Pacific Islander Americans constitute the fastest-growing racial group in the United States. They are also one of the most religiously diverse. Through them Asian traditions such as Hinduism, Sikhism, Confucianism, and Buddhism have been introduced into every major city and across a wide swath of Middle America. The contributors to this volume provide an essential inter-disciplinary resource for the study of Asian and Pacific Islander American religion.


Virtual Orientalism

Virtual Orientalism

Author: Jane Iwamura

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-01-14

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 9780199792856

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Saffron-robed monks and long-haired gurus have become familiar characters on the American popular culture scene. Jane Iwamura examines the contemporary fascination with Eastern spirituality and provides a cultural history of the representation of Asian religions in American mass media. Encounters with monks, gurus, bhikkhus, sages, sifus, healers, and masters from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and religious traditions provided initial engagements with Asian spiritual traditions. Virtual Orientalism shows the evolution of these interactions, from direct engagements with specific individuals to mediated relations with a conventionalized icon: the Oriental Monk. Visually and psychically compelling, the Oriental Monk becomes for Americans a ''figure of translation''--a convenient symbol for alternative spiritualities and modes of being. Through the figure of the solitary Monk, who generously and purposefully shares his wisdom with the West, Asian religiosity is made manageable-psychologically, socially, and politically--for popular culture consumption. Iwamura's insightful study shows that though popular engagement with Asian religions in the United States has increased, the fact that much of this has taken virtual form makes stereotypical constructions of "the spiritual East" obdurate and especially difficult to challenge.


Book Synopsis Virtual Orientalism by : Jane Iwamura

Download or read book Virtual Orientalism written by Jane Iwamura and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2011-01-14 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Saffron-robed monks and long-haired gurus have become familiar characters on the American popular culture scene. Jane Iwamura examines the contemporary fascination with Eastern spirituality and provides a cultural history of the representation of Asian religions in American mass media. Encounters with monks, gurus, bhikkhus, sages, sifus, healers, and masters from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and religious traditions provided initial engagements with Asian spiritual traditions. Virtual Orientalism shows the evolution of these interactions, from direct engagements with specific individuals to mediated relations with a conventionalized icon: the Oriental Monk. Visually and psychically compelling, the Oriental Monk becomes for Americans a ''figure of translation''--a convenient symbol for alternative spiritualities and modes of being. Through the figure of the solitary Monk, who generously and purposefully shares his wisdom with the West, Asian religiosity is made manageable-psychologically, socially, and politically--for popular culture consumption. Iwamura's insightful study shows that though popular engagement with Asian religions in the United States has increased, the fact that much of this has taken virtual form makes stereotypical constructions of "the spiritual East" obdurate and especially difficult to challenge.


Learning to Speak a New Tongue

Learning to Speak a New Tongue

Author: Fumitaka Matsuoka

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2011-09-14

Total Pages: 154

ISBN-13: 1608998282

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Learning to Speak a New Tongue attempts to respond to a timely question facing America today: What holds people together in a fragmented world? The response comes from a religious community that has not been very visible: Asian Americans. The author employs the threefold epistemological scaffold familiar to Asian Americans: (1) translocal value orientation embedded in the experiences of racialization, (2) a heightened sensitivity to pathos arising out of our dissonance with the societal norms and values, and (3) amphibolous spirituality, that is, a co-existence of multiple religious traditions without any resolution of their differences. The angle of vision embedded in this epistemological framework of Asian Americans' lives may well provide a clue to an alternate architectural paradigm in building a new peoplehood and to redefine democratic freedom as the historical paradigm of American peoplehood.


Book Synopsis Learning to Speak a New Tongue by : Fumitaka Matsuoka

Download or read book Learning to Speak a New Tongue written by Fumitaka Matsuoka and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-09-14 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learning to Speak a New Tongue attempts to respond to a timely question facing America today: What holds people together in a fragmented world? The response comes from a religious community that has not been very visible: Asian Americans. The author employs the threefold epistemological scaffold familiar to Asian Americans: (1) translocal value orientation embedded in the experiences of racialization, (2) a heightened sensitivity to pathos arising out of our dissonance with the societal norms and values, and (3) amphibolous spirituality, that is, a co-existence of multiple religious traditions without any resolution of their differences. The angle of vision embedded in this epistemological framework of Asian Americans' lives may well provide a clue to an alternate architectural paradigm in building a new peoplehood and to redefine democratic freedom as the historical paradigm of American peoplehood.


Cambodian Buddhism in the United States

Cambodian Buddhism in the United States

Author: Carol A. Mortland

Publisher: State University of New York Press

Published: 2017-07-25

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 143846665X

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The first comprehensive anthropological description of the Khmer Buddhism practiced by Cambodian refugees in the United States over the past four decades. Cambodian Buddhism in the United States is the first comprehensive anthropological study of Khmer Buddhism as practiced by Khmer refugees in the United States. Based on research conducted at Khmer temples and sites throughout the country over a period of three and a half decades, Carol A. Mortland uses participant observation, open-ended interviews, life histories, and dialogues with Khmer monks and laypeople to explore the everyday practice of Khmer religion, including spirit beliefs and healing rituals. This ethnography is enriched and supplemented by the use of historical accounts, reports, memoirs, unpublished life histories, and family memorabilia painstakingly preserved by refugees. Mortland also traces the changes that Cambodians have made to religion as they struggle with the challenges of living in a new country, learning English, and supporting themselves. The beliefs and practices of Khmer Muslims and Khmer Christians in the United States are also reviewed. Carol A. Mortland is a retired professor and the coeditor (with David W. Haines) of Manifest Destinies: Americanizing Immigrants and Internationalizing Americans, and (with May M. Ebihara and Judy Ledgerwood) Cambodian Culture Since 1975: Homeland and Exile.


Book Synopsis Cambodian Buddhism in the United States by : Carol A. Mortland

Download or read book Cambodian Buddhism in the United States written by Carol A. Mortland and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first comprehensive anthropological description of the Khmer Buddhism practiced by Cambodian refugees in the United States over the past four decades. Cambodian Buddhism in the United States is the first comprehensive anthropological study of Khmer Buddhism as practiced by Khmer refugees in the United States. Based on research conducted at Khmer temples and sites throughout the country over a period of three and a half decades, Carol A. Mortland uses participant observation, open-ended interviews, life histories, and dialogues with Khmer monks and laypeople to explore the everyday practice of Khmer religion, including spirit beliefs and healing rituals. This ethnography is enriched and supplemented by the use of historical accounts, reports, memoirs, unpublished life histories, and family memorabilia painstakingly preserved by refugees. Mortland also traces the changes that Cambodians have made to religion as they struggle with the challenges of living in a new country, learning English, and supporting themselves. The beliefs and practices of Khmer Muslims and Khmer Christians in the United States are also reviewed. Carol A. Mortland is a retired professor and the coeditor (with David W. Haines) of Manifest Destinies: Americanizing Immigrants and Internationalizing Americans, and (with May M. Ebihara and Judy Ledgerwood) Cambodian Culture Since 1975: Homeland and Exile.


The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America

The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America

Author: Philip Goff

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2010-03-25

Total Pages: 752

ISBN-13: 9781444324099

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This authoritative and cutting edge companion brings togethera team of leading scholars to document the rich diversity andunique viewpoints that have formed the religious history of theUnited States. A groundbreaking new volume which represents the firstsustained effort to fully explain the development of Americanreligious history and its creation within evolving political andsocial frameworks Spans a wide range of traditions and movements, from theBaptists and Methodists, to Buddhists and Mormons Explores topics ranging from religion and the media,immigration, and piety, though to politics and social reform Considers how American religion has influenced and beeninterpreted in literature and popular culture Provides insights into the historiography of religion, butpresents the subject as a story in motion rather than a snapshot ofwhere the field is at a given moment


Book Synopsis The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America by : Philip Goff

Download or read book The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America written by Philip Goff and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-03-25 with total page 752 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This authoritative and cutting edge companion brings togethera team of leading scholars to document the rich diversity andunique viewpoints that have formed the religious history of theUnited States. A groundbreaking new volume which represents the firstsustained effort to fully explain the development of Americanreligious history and its creation within evolving political andsocial frameworks Spans a wide range of traditions and movements, from theBaptists and Methodists, to Buddhists and Mormons Explores topics ranging from religion and the media,immigration, and piety, though to politics and social reform Considers how American religion has influenced and beeninterpreted in literature and popular culture Provides insights into the historiography of religion, butpresents the subject as a story in motion rather than a snapshot ofwhere the field is at a given moment


Religion and Spirituality for Diverse Women

Religion and Spirituality for Diverse Women

Author: Thema Bryant-Davis

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2014-09-30

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 1440833303

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This collection of essays considers the role of spirituality and religion in the lives of American women from various ethnic backgrounds, showing how faith empowers those in populations often marginalized in the United States. Religion and spirituality are sources of strength and resilience for many women, particularly ethnically diverse women. This thought-provoking text examines this psychological trend, exploring the specific ways in which women from diverse backgrounds have benefited from their faith traditions, the various spiritual pathways they have chosen, and the impact of those choices on their lives. Essays in this informative compilation show how women from African American, Latina, American Indian, Asian American, and Caucasian backgrounds recover from difficulties and traumas with the help of their faith. Contributors consider why women are more likely to endorse religious engagement than men; why ethnically marginalized women tap into spirituality for comfort more than any other population; and why many believers embrace religion as a coping mechanism throughout their lives—from adolescence to older adulthood. The work suggests ways for counselors, leaders, and religious figures to utilize this knowledge to bolster the well-being of those they serve.


Book Synopsis Religion and Spirituality for Diverse Women by : Thema Bryant-Davis

Download or read book Religion and Spirituality for Diverse Women written by Thema Bryant-Davis and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2014-09-30 with total page 353 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays considers the role of spirituality and religion in the lives of American women from various ethnic backgrounds, showing how faith empowers those in populations often marginalized in the United States. Religion and spirituality are sources of strength and resilience for many women, particularly ethnically diverse women. This thought-provoking text examines this psychological trend, exploring the specific ways in which women from diverse backgrounds have benefited from their faith traditions, the various spiritual pathways they have chosen, and the impact of those choices on their lives. Essays in this informative compilation show how women from African American, Latina, American Indian, Asian American, and Caucasian backgrounds recover from difficulties and traumas with the help of their faith. Contributors consider why women are more likely to endorse religious engagement than men; why ethnically marginalized women tap into spirituality for comfort more than any other population; and why many believers embrace religion as a coping mechanism throughout their lives—from adolescence to older adulthood. The work suggests ways for counselors, leaders, and religious figures to utilize this knowledge to bolster the well-being of those they serve.


Asian and Asian American Women in Theology and Religion

Asian and Asian American Women in Theology and Religion

Author: Kwok Pui-lan

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-02-25

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 3030368181

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This book presents personal narratives and collective ethnography of the emergence and development of Asian and Asian American women’s scholarship in theology and religious studies. It demonstrates how the authors’ religious scholarship is based on an embodied epistemology influenced by their social locations. Contributors reflect on their understanding of their identity and how this changed over time, the contribution of Asian and Asian American women to the scholarship work that they do, and their hopes for the future of their fields of study. The volume is multireligious and intergenerational, and is divided into four parts: identities and intellectual journeys, expanding knowledge, integrating knowledge and practice, and dialogue across generations.


Book Synopsis Asian and Asian American Women in Theology and Religion by : Kwok Pui-lan

Download or read book Asian and Asian American Women in Theology and Religion written by Kwok Pui-lan and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents personal narratives and collective ethnography of the emergence and development of Asian and Asian American women’s scholarship in theology and religious studies. It demonstrates how the authors’ religious scholarship is based on an embodied epistemology influenced by their social locations. Contributors reflect on their understanding of their identity and how this changed over time, the contribution of Asian and Asian American women to the scholarship work that they do, and their hopes for the future of their fields of study. The volume is multireligious and intergenerational, and is divided into four parts: identities and intellectual journeys, expanding knowledge, integrating knowledge and practice, and dialogue across generations.


Immigrant Faiths

Immigrant Faiths

Author: Karen Isaksen Leonard

Publisher: Rowman Altamira

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 9780759108165

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Recent immigrants are creating their own unique religious communities within existing denominations or developing hybrid identities that combine strands of several faiths or traditions. These changes call for new thinking among both scholars of religion and scholars of migration. Immigrant Faiths responds to these changes with fresh thinking from new and established scholars from a wide range of disciplines. Covering groups from across the U.S. and a range of religious traditions, Immigrant Faiths provides a needed overview to this expanding subfield.


Book Synopsis Immigrant Faiths by : Karen Isaksen Leonard

Download or read book Immigrant Faiths written by Karen Isaksen Leonard and published by Rowman Altamira. This book was released on 2005 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent immigrants are creating their own unique religious communities within existing denominations or developing hybrid identities that combine strands of several faiths or traditions. These changes call for new thinking among both scholars of religion and scholars of migration. Immigrant Faiths responds to these changes with fresh thinking from new and established scholars from a wide range of disciplines. Covering groups from across the U.S. and a range of religious traditions, Immigrant Faiths provides a needed overview to this expanding subfield.


Asian American Political Participation

Asian American Political Participation

Author: Janelle S. Wong

Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation

Published: 2011-10-01

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 1610447557

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Asian Americans are a small percentage of the U.S. population, but their numbers are steadily rising—from less than a million in 1960 to more than 15 million today. They are also a remarkably diverse population—representing several ethnicities, religions, and languages—and they enjoy higher levels of education and income than any other U.S. racial group. Historically, socioeconomic status has been a reliable predictor of political behavior. So why has this fast-growing American population, which is doing so well economically, been so little engaged in the U.S. political system? Asian American Political Participation is the most comprehensive study to date of Asian American political behavior, including such key measures as voting, political donations, community organizing, and political protests. The book examines why some groups participate while others do not, why certain civic activities are deemed preferable to others, and why Asian socioeconomic advantage has so far not led to increased political clout. Asian American Political Participation is based on data from the authors’ groundbreaking 2008 National Asian American Survey of more than 5,000 Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, and Japanese Americans. The book shows that the motivations for and impediments to political participation are as diverse as the Asian American population. For example, native-born Asians have higher rates of political participation than their immigrant counterparts, particularly recent adult arrivals who were socialized outside of the United States. Protest activity is the exception, which tends to be higher among immigrants who maintain connections abroad and who engaged in such activity in their country of origin. Surprisingly, factors such as living in a new immigrant destination or in a city with an Asian American elected official do not seem to motivate political behavior—neither does ethnic group solidarity. Instead, hate crimes and racial victimization are the factors that most motivate Asian Americans to participate politically. Involvement in non-political activities such as civic and religious groups also bolsters political participation. Even among Asian groups, socioeconomic advantage does not necessarily translate into high levels of political participation. Chinese Americans, for example, have significantly higher levels of educational attainment than Japanese Americans, but Japanese Americans are far more likely to vote and make political contributions. And Vietnamese Americans, with the lowest levels of education and income, vote and engage in protest politics more than any other group. Lawmakers tend to favor the interests of groups who actively engage the political system, and groups who do not participate at high levels are likely to suffer political consequences in the future. Asian American Political Participation demonstrates that understanding Asian political behavior today can have significant repercussions for Asian American political influence tomorrow.


Book Synopsis Asian American Political Participation by : Janelle S. Wong

Download or read book Asian American Political Participation written by Janelle S. Wong and published by Russell Sage Foundation. This book was released on 2011-10-01 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Asian Americans are a small percentage of the U.S. population, but their numbers are steadily rising—from less than a million in 1960 to more than 15 million today. They are also a remarkably diverse population—representing several ethnicities, religions, and languages—and they enjoy higher levels of education and income than any other U.S. racial group. Historically, socioeconomic status has been a reliable predictor of political behavior. So why has this fast-growing American population, which is doing so well economically, been so little engaged in the U.S. political system? Asian American Political Participation is the most comprehensive study to date of Asian American political behavior, including such key measures as voting, political donations, community organizing, and political protests. The book examines why some groups participate while others do not, why certain civic activities are deemed preferable to others, and why Asian socioeconomic advantage has so far not led to increased political clout. Asian American Political Participation is based on data from the authors’ groundbreaking 2008 National Asian American Survey of more than 5,000 Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino, and Japanese Americans. The book shows that the motivations for and impediments to political participation are as diverse as the Asian American population. For example, native-born Asians have higher rates of political participation than their immigrant counterparts, particularly recent adult arrivals who were socialized outside of the United States. Protest activity is the exception, which tends to be higher among immigrants who maintain connections abroad and who engaged in such activity in their country of origin. Surprisingly, factors such as living in a new immigrant destination or in a city with an Asian American elected official do not seem to motivate political behavior—neither does ethnic group solidarity. Instead, hate crimes and racial victimization are the factors that most motivate Asian Americans to participate politically. Involvement in non-political activities such as civic and religious groups also bolsters political participation. Even among Asian groups, socioeconomic advantage does not necessarily translate into high levels of political participation. Chinese Americans, for example, have significantly higher levels of educational attainment than Japanese Americans, but Japanese Americans are far more likely to vote and make political contributions. And Vietnamese Americans, with the lowest levels of education and income, vote and engage in protest politics more than any other group. Lawmakers tend to favor the interests of groups who actively engage the political system, and groups who do not participate at high levels are likely to suffer political consequences in the future. Asian American Political Participation demonstrates that understanding Asian political behavior today can have significant repercussions for Asian American political influence tomorrow.