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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #841132 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

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

About the Author
Russell Jeung is an assistant professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University. He lives in Oakland, California, where he is active in the Asian American community and in church work.

Customer Reviews

forward the panAsians!
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