A Review of Carolyn Chen’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience</Emphasis>

Carolyn Chen’ Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience examines the impact of immigration on the religious practices of Taiwanese American Christians and Buddhists. In particular, the author studies how recent immigrants from Taiwan either convert to evangelical forms of Christianity or identify as explicit Buddhists as a way to remake the self in a particularly American context. By offering a dual tradition focus, the author provides significant insight into the relationship between gender, religious, and ethnic identities for Taiwanese Americans. Reviewing the centrality of religion in the lives of Taiwanese American Christians and Buddhists and its similar function in the lives of Korean American Buddhists, this review essay addresses how Asian American forms of religion and spirituality are reinterpreted to address the complex renegotiation of identities that take place for recent immigrants. This review essay also examines the process of religious conversion by questioning whether the move from one religious tradition to another can be understood as an additive process rather than a complete transition and addressing the impact of conversion on later generations.     

Religion, Social Incorporation, and Civic Engagement: Second-Generation Indian American Christians

Recent studies have shown that participation in religious institutions facilitates the civic incorporation of contemporary immigrants. These studies have focused on either the immigrant generation or on the second generation. This paper contributes to the literature by showing how negotiations and disagreements between generations shape the civic engagement of multigenerational Christian congregations. The research is based on a study of congregations consisting of first- and second-generation immigrants belonging to the ancient Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Christian church based in Kerala, a state in south India. It shows how first- and second-generation Mar Thoma American conceptions regarding ethnic and religious identity and the social obligations mandated by religion were based on very different understandings about Christian worship, evangelism, social outreach, and their interrelationship. The immigrant generation’s ideas were shaped by the doctrines and practices of the Mar Thoma denomination in India, whereas those of the second generation were influenced by nondenominational American evangelicalism. This paper focuses on the second generation and shows how they developed ideas of American identity and Christian obligation in interaction with and often in opposition to those of their parents’ generation, with the result that contradictory forces affected the civic engagement of these multigenerational congregations.     

Hermeneutic analysis of virtuous exemplar narratives of Cambodian-American Buddhists and Christians

Virtuous exemplars embody the virtues of a cultural community, a dynamic, contextual understanding that is best explored by critical hermeneutic analysis. In order to describe their lives and refine the mental-health treatment of Cambodian immigrants, 12 virtuous exemplars from a Cambodian-American Buddhist and 12 from a Cambodian-American Christian population were interviewed. Grounded theory and a mixed-methods analysis were used. Rigor-enhancing strategies include triangulation, collaboration, member checking, and researcher reflexivity, as well as interviewing a comparison group of 12 Euro-American Christians. Cambodian-American Buddhists and Christians take their religion seriously, and it influences their daily lives. These Buddhists focus on perseverence in the present life and gaining merit for the next. The Christians focus on serving God and nurturing relationships in this life. They report that they are more different from the Cambodian-American Buddhists than Latent Semantic Analysis indicates, providing evidence of both religious and cultural distinctives among the subgroups.     

Models of Civic Responsibility: Korean Americans in Congregations with Different Ethnic Compositions

This article compares different discourses of civic responsibility for Korean American evangelicals in a second-generation Korean congregation and a multiethnic congregation located in the same impoverished ethnic minority community. Those in the second-generation church define civic responsibility through difference from immigrant Koreans. They stress caring for members of their local community and explicitly reject their parents' connection of Christianity to economic mobility. Yet, they find relating to other minorities in their local community difficult because of an implicit belief that the economically impoverished are not hardworking. Korean Americans in the multiethnic church connect Christianity to valuing diversity. A religious individualism that is used to justify diversity also helps Korean Americans stress their commonality with other ethnic minorities and legitimates commitment to community service. These results help researchers rethink how new groups of Americans might influence the relationship of evangelical Christianity to American civic life.     

Religious Diversity and Community Volunteerism Among Asian Americans

We examine whether religious membership and participation foster community volunteerism among a religiously diverse group of Asian Americans. We use data from the Social Capital Community Benchmark Survey (SCCBS), the only data set that contains both a large, national sample of Asian Americans and detailed questions on religious and civic participation. Asian-American Protestants, Catholics, and adherents of non-Christian religions are involved in community volunteerism to varying degrees. Surprisingly, however, fewer Hindus and Buddhists volunteer when compared to the nonaffiliated. We use these results to propose theoretical concepts that take into account the impact of a religion's structure as well as the double-minority status faced by nonwhite and non-Christian Asian Americans on the likelihood of volunteering. Our findings indicate that accepted predictors of community volunteerism may operate differently among new nonwhite immigrants and their children than in the general U.S. population; this provides building blocks for future research on religion and civic participation among nonwhite and non-Christian populations.     

Religion and Ethnicity Among New Immigrants: The Impact of Majority/Minority Status in Home and Host Countries

Research shows that religion continues to be an important identity marker for new immigrants in the United States. However, immigrant groups differ in the ways they integrate religious and ethnic identities and the emphasis they place on each. In this paper, we argue that majority or minority status of their religious affiliation in the home and host countries is an important, but overlooked, factor in understanding strategies concerning religious and ethnic identities. By comparing two Chinese congregations, a Chinese Buddhist temple and a Chinese Christian church in Houston, Texas, we analyze what happens when an immigrant group moves from majority status in the home country to minority status in the United States (Chinese Buddhists) and when a minority group (Chinese Christians in China) become part of the Christian majority in the United States. We conclude by arguing the importance of going beyond U.S. borders and taking into account factors in their home countries in attempts to understand patterns of adaptation of the new immigrants.     

Religion and Subjective Well-Being: Western and Eastern Religious Groups Achieved Subjective Well-Being in Different Ways

Culture can moderate which variables most influence subjective well-being (SWB). Because religion can be conceptualized as culture, religious differences can be considered cultural differences. However, there have been few studies comparing how different religious groups evaluate SWB at any given time. This study is among the first to investigate this issue. The present study compared Buddhists, Taoists, Christians, and atheists. In addition to demographic items, 451 Chinese adults completed Chinese version of the Socially Oriented Cultural Conception of SWB Scale. Religious belief was distributed as follows: 10 % Christian, 20 % Buddhist, 25 % Taoist, and 43 % atheists. As predicted, the socially oriented cultural conception of SWB was found to be highest among Buddhists, followed in order by Taoists, atheists, and Christians. It was concluded that the various religious groups achieved SWB in different ways.     

The Social Integration of Practitioners of Non-Western Religions in the United States

Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus have become an increasingly significant part of American religion in recent years. Yet scholarship on these groups has been limited largely to case studies and qualitative observations. We analyze data from a large national survey that permits comparisons among Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, and Christians. The data reveal that members of non-Western religions in the United States resemble Jews in having notably higher socioeconomic status than Christians. They resemble the rest of the population on other measures of actual or potential social integration, including political knowledge, generalized trust, neighborhood contacts, and interreligious ties. However, low levels of voting, a tendency to express feelings of alienation, and fewer connections with community elites suggest a continuing lack of political integration.     

Christian Identification and Self‐Reported Depression: Evidence from China

The nexus between religion and mental health in the East has been understudied, where the coexistence of multiple religions calls for scholarly attention to religious identification. This article investigates the impact on self‐reported depression of an individual's identification with Christianity in a non‐Judeo‐Christian and religion‐regulating social setting. Taking advantage of the Chinese General Social Survey 2010, our empirical analyses suggest that people who explicitly identify with Christianity report a significantly higher level of depression compared with both religious nones and self‐claimed Buddhists. In contrast, there is no significant difference in self‐reported depression between religious nones and self‐identified Buddhists. This study supplements current literature on the connection between religious affiliation and mental health with a particular interest in East Asia, suggesting that the consequence on mental health of religious identification is contingent on a religion's social status, and a religion's marginal position may turn religious identification into a detrimental psychological burden.     

The Politics of Religious Nones

Americans with no religious affiliation (aka religious “Nones”) are not a politically homogeneous community. Just as there are political differences between groups of Christians, there are political differences between groups of religious Nones. I use nationally representative survey data to examine the political activities and perspectives of atheists, agnostics, and those who are “nothing in particular.” Results show that Americans who report that their religion is nothing in particular are relatively uninterested in politics and unlikely to be politically active; atheists are relatively liberal and likely to experience political conflict and follow political news; and agnostics are particularly likely to vote and feel politically isolated from their families. In many ways, the “softer” secularism of those who are nothing in particular is politically more similar to religious affiliates than the “harder” secularism of agnostics and especially atheists. These results have important implications for the future of American politics as Nones now have the potential to rival evangelical Protestants as a politically relevant constituency.     

Religious Diversity in a “Christian Nation”: The Effects of Theological Exclusivity and Interreligious Contact on the Acceptance of Religious Diversity

Using data from the nationally representative Religion and Diversity Survey, Americans’ responses to religious diversity are examined at the national and community levels. While an overwhelming majority of Americans agree that religious diversity has been good for the nation, support for the inclusion of non‐Christians in community life is mixed. Theological exclusivism is consistently and strongly associated with negative attitudes toward religious diversity and less willingness to include Muslims and Hindus in community life. Belief that the United States is a Christian nation is associated with a positive view of religious diversity but decreased willingness to include Muslims in community life. Prior contact with Muslims, Buddhists, and Hindus is predictive of more positive views of religious diversity; contact with Muslims is associated with greater tolerance for a mosque in one's community.     

Religious perceptions of alcohol consumption and drinking behaviours among religious and non-religious groups

Evidence indicates that religious involvement is associated with lower levels of alcohol consumption. However, mechanisms underlying the specific effects of religion on alcohol behaviours are still not entirely clear. This study examined potential differences in religious perceptions of alcohol consumption (RePAC) among Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, and non-religious individuals, and between Catholic and Baptist Christian denominations. We also assessed whether these perceptions were associated with quantity and frequency of drinking. Participants (N?=?495; 79% female) aged 18 and above completed self-report measures of alcohol consumption and religious perceptions of alcohol use. Findings indicated that non-religious individuals and Buddhists reported higher RePAC scores (i.e., more favourable attitudes toward alcohol use), followed by Christians and then Muslims. Drinking quantity was more strongly associated with RePAC for Buddhists and Christians than the same association for non-religious participants. These results provide preliminary evidence linking religious perceptions of alcohol to drinking behaviours across religious affiliations.     

I don't believe but I pray: spirituality,instrumentality, or paranormal belief?

These three studies are among the first to systematically compare five Chinese religious groups on intrinsic (spiritual) and extrinsic (instrumental and paranormal) orientation. In Study 1, a Chinese version of the Index of Core Spiritual Experiences was developed. In Studies 2 and 3, spirituality and religious involvement was found to be greatest among Christians, followed in order by Buddhists, Taoists, traditional nones, and other nones. An instrumental purpose for religious activities and paranormal belief was found to be highest among Taoists, followed in order by Buddhists, traditional nones, other nones, and Christians. The results are consistent with the conclusion that Christianity offers the least support for an extrinsic religious orientation and the most support for an intrinsic religious orientation.     

宗教对信徒颜色认知的影响及作用机制:以中国台湾宗教信徒为例

采用自然分类法考察中国台湾佛教徒、道教徒、基督徒和非宗教信徒的基本颜色词分类,并做多维标度和聚类分析,以揭示宗教对信徒颜色认知的影响。结果发现,中国台湾三大宗教信徒对基本颜色词的分类既具有共性,又存在差异,宗教信徒与非宗教信徒的基本颜色词分类也存在着共性和差异,共性反映了汉语言和汉文化的影响,差异反映了宗教对颜色认知的影响。研究表明,颜色通过意象式传播方式影响信徒的颜色认知,支持颜色词与颜色认知的相互作用理论。     

Estimating Religious Populations with the Network Scale‐Up Method: A Practical Alternative to Self‐Report

Getting accurate information on religious demographics from survey‐based self‐reports presents a difficult task, suffering from the biases of social desirability, personal safety concerns, and the ambiguous definitions of religious identity. The network scale‐up method (NSUM) is an estimation strategy based on the enumeration of social network ties. NSUM has recently been employed to estimate the sizes of hidden populations in criminology and public health, but it has not been utilized in the study of religion. In this study, we argue for the advantages of NSUM in overcoming the biases associated with self‐reports and lay out a practical guide for the scholars of religion to the design and calculation of NSUM. We use a recent survey of Chinese international students to illustrate the use of NSUM and estimate the percentage of Buddhists (4.3 percent) and Christians (8.6 percent) in this population. We recommend interested scholars to adopt NSUM for its reliability, easy implementation, and the affinity between the sociological perspective on religion and the socially‐oriented assumption of NSUM.     

Framing (implicitly) matters: The role of religion in attitudes toward immigrants and Muslims in Denmark

Denmark is currently experiencing the highest immigration rate in its modern history. Population surveys indicate that negative public attitudes toward immigrants actually stem from attitudes toward their (perceived) Islamic affiliation. We used a framing paradigm to investigate the explicit and implicit attitudes of Christian and Atheist Danes toward targets framed as Muslims or as immigrants. The results showed that explicit and implicit attitudes were more negative when the target was framed as a Muslim, rather than as an immigrant. Interestingly, implicit attitudes were qualified by the participants’ religion. Specifically, analyses revealed that Christians demonstrated more negative implicit attitudes toward immigrants than Muslims. Conversely, Atheists demonstrated more negative implicit attitudes toward Muslims than Atheists. These results suggest a complex relationship between religion, and implicit and explicit prejudice. Both the religious affiliation of the perceiver and the perceived religious affiliation of the target are key factors in social perception.     

Sense of community among Muslims in the Brazil–Paraguay border: narratives of belonging and generational differences

ABSTRACT

The so-called ‘Triple Frontier’—the border between Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina—is the ‘host society’ of an important Muslim community, composed mainly of Lebanese immigrants and their descendants born in Brazil and Paraguay. In less than two decades, Shi’i and Sunni Arab Muslims created mosques, religious centres, a cemetery, and three schools. Mosques, schools, and religious centres are spaces for the production of a sense of community. The institutional discourse of these entities emphasises the connection between religion and community origin, considering Islam as part of ‘Arab culture’. Taking generational differences into account, this article aims to analyse the narratives of plural identity expressed in the meanings attributed to the immigrants’ self-identification as Muslims. Based on fieldwork in the South American border area, this work aims to shed light on the way in which immigrants and their descendants reinterpret their religious belonging, informed by the new experience of living in multi-religious societies.