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Chinese Christians in America Fenggang Yang Chinese Christians in America Conversion, Assimilation, and Adhesive Identities The Pennsylvania State University Press University Park, Pennsylvania LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Yang,Fenggang ChineseChristiansinAmerica:conversion,assimilation,andadhesive identities/FenggangYang. p. cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN0-271-01916-6(cloth:alk.paper) ISBN0-271-01917-4(pbk.:alk.paper) 1.ChineseAmericans—Religion—Casestudies. 2.ChineseChristianChurch ofWashington,D.C.(Washington,D.C.) I.Title. BR563.C45Y36 1999 280'.4'0899510753—dc21 98-37365 CIP Copyright©1999ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversity Allrightsreserved PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica PublishedbyThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPress, UniversityPark,PA16802-1003 ItisthepolicyofThePennsylvaniaStateUniversityPresstouseacid-freepaperfor thefirstprintingofallclothboundbooks.Publicationsonuncoatedstocksatisfythe minimumrequirementsofAmericanNationalStandardforInformationSciences— PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials,ANSIZ39.48-1992. Contents Preface vii Introduction:StudyingChineseChristiansintheUnitedStates 1 1 Assimilation,Ethnicity,andReligion 17 2 ChineseImmigrants,CulturalTraditions, andChangingIdentities 34 3 BecomingChristian 57 4 BecomingAmerican 95 5 PreservingChineseCulture 132 6 DeconstructingtheChineseIdentity, ReconstructingAdhesiveIdentities 163 Conclusion:PluralismandAdhesiveIdentities 187 Appendix:TheChineseChristianChurchofGreater Washington,D.C.:AnAnnotatedChronology 201 Notes 205 Bibliography 215 Index 229 Preface Untilrecently,ChristianitywasaforeignreligiontotheChinese.Evenworse, sincetheOpiumWar(1840)theChinesehaveregardedChristianmissions as an integral part of Western imperialism and Christian religion as the spiritual opium and means to conquer the Chinese nation. In spite of intense missionary work for more than one hundred years since the early nineteenth century, Christians remained a negligible minority in China, less than 1 percent by 1949 when the Communists took power. Under the ruleoftheChineseCommunistParty,whichexhortedanatheistideology, Westernmissionarieswereexpelled,Chinesebelieverswerepersecuted,and allreligionsweresubjecttocompleteeliminationduringtheradicalCultural Revolution(1966–76). Since the 1980s, however, hundreds and thousands in the People’s Re- publicofChinahaveturnedtoChristianity.Ontheothersideoftheglobe, since1989,theyearwhenstudent-ledprodemocracymovementsinBeijing andothercitiesofChinawereviolentlycrushedbythegovernment,large numbersofmainlandChinesestudentsandscholarsstudyingintheUnited States began to flock into Christian churches. More importantly, these Chinese newcomers found many Chinese Christian churches readily and enthusiastically welcoming them into their congregations. These Chinese churchesinAmericahadbeenestablishedmostlybyimmigrantsfromTai- wan and Hong Kong since the 1960s. Some of these Chinese had become ChristianinHongKongandTaiwanafterfleeingtheCommunistmainland, and many more converted after immigration to the United States. These Chinese from diverse social, cultural, and political backgrounds gathered togetherinAmericaandclaimedChristianityastheirownreligion. Indeed, Chinese Christian churches have become the predominant re- ligious institutions among the Chinese in the United States. Some surveys viii Preface report that as many as 32 percent of the Chinese in metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and Chicago are Christian, a higher percentage than that of Buddhists and other religions. If these surveys reflect the reality, the high proportion of Christians among the Chinese is in remarkable con- trast to the old image. In the past Chinese converts were chastised with the popular sarcasm “one more Christian, one less Chinese.” Why have theseChineseconvertedtoChristianity?WhatkindofChristianitydothey believe in? Do these Christian converts still preserve Chinese cultural and religious traditions? Gathering together from diverse origins and cultural backgrounds,howdothesechurchpeoplereconstructtheirChineseiden- tity?LivingintheUnitedStatesasimmigrantsandethnicminoritypeople, howdotheseChineseconstructtheirAmericanidentity?HowdoChinese Christians in the United States integrate conflicting identities of being Christian, Chinese, and American? These questions were so intriguing to methat,whenconsideringmyPh.D.dissertationresearch,Icouldchoose nothing else but a study of Chinese American Christians, even though I foresawmyriaddifficultiesinmethodology,theory,andmyownknowledge backgrounds. These questions are also theoretically important in the studies of immi- grant assimilation, religious conversion, identity construction of Chinese diaspora,andethnicstudies.However,almostnoscholarlyresearchonChi- neseAmericanChristiansexistsintheliterature.Consideringthesignificant proportionofChristiansamongChineseAmericansandthetheoreticalrel- evance,suchanempiricalstudyofChineseAmericanChristiansisoverdue. IdentityconstructionsintheimmigrantChinesechurcharethefocusof this sociological study. I would like to bring readers into a typical Chinese immigrantchurch.Iwillexaminetheirsymbols,discourses,andbehaviors and will examine layers of meanings in them with in-depth ethnographic descriptionandsociologicalanalysis.Obviously,suchaprojectwouldhave not been possible without intimate contacts with Chinese Christians in the churches. I want to express my appreciation for the cooperation and generoushelpfrommanypastorsandlayleadersinChinesechurchesinthe greaterWashingtonareaaswellasinChicago,NewYork,Miami,Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. I am especially grateful to the people at the Chinese Christian Church of Greater Washington, D.C. They opened not only their files and homes to me, but also their lives and hearts. They providedmenotonlyanethnographicfieldforthisstudy,butalsoawarm homeforadeeperunderstandingofmyself. DoinganethnographicstudyofaChineseAmericanchurchwasagreat challenge to me. This study could not have been completed without the Preface ix generous help of many scholars and the financial support of several orga- nizations. I am very grateful to my professors at the Catholic University of America,Dr.DeanH.Hoge,Dr.Che-FuLee,andDr.WilliamV.D’Antonio, for their consistent encouragement, invaluable advice, and warm friend- ship. I can never adequately express my appreciation and gratitude to Dr.R.StephenWarneroftheUniversityofIllinoisatChicagoforhisunder- standingofmyresearchandhiscriticalcommentsonmywritingsaboutChi- nese American churches. The New Ethnic and Immigrant Congregations Project (NEICP), funded by the Lilly Endowment and the Pew Charitable TrustsanddirectedbySteveWarner,providedmeafellowshipin1994–95. More important, Steve Warner, Dr. Judith G. Wittner of Loyola University inChicago,andotherresearchfellows,andtheNEICPtrainingworkshops andconferenceshelpedmetobecomeanethnographerandscholar.Ialso want to acknowledge the support of the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion(SSSR).AnSSSRresearchawardin1993servedasaboostformeto initiatefieldresearchonChineseAmericanchurches.IthanktheLouisville InstituteanditsExecutiveDirector,Dr.JamesW.Lewis,forawardingmea dissertationfellowshipin1995–96. Betweenthebeginningof1997andtheendof1998Iworkedasapost- doctoral fellow on the Religion, Ethnicity, and New Immigrants Research (RENIR)project,fundedbythePewCharitableTrusts,directedbyDr.Helen RoseEbaugh,andhostedattheCenterforImmigrationResearchoftheUni- versityofHouston.TheRENIRprojectprovidedmefurtherethnographic researchopportunitiesonvariousimmigrantreligiousgroups,whichhelped me to refine some ideas in this book and also provided me precious time for preparing the manuscript. Dr. Ebaugh has been an excellent mentor, supportivecolleague,andtrustworthyfriend,towhomIamforevergrateful. I am also indebted to Dr. Wing Ning Pang and Rev. James Chuck, two pioneerresearchersofcontemporaryChinesechurchesinNorthAmerica, and to Dr. Timothy Tseng of Colgate Rochester Divinity School, Dr. Sze- KarWanofAndoverNewtonTheologicalSchool,andDr.SamuelLing,for theirgenerousadviceandscholarlycommentsonthisstudy.Therearemany otherswhosenamesIhaveleftout,notbecauseoflackofappreciation,but becausetheyaresonumerous. Finally,Iwishtoacknowledgemygratitudetomembersofmyfamily.My parents and brothers, who may never set their feet in the American land, instilled in me the tenacity of spirit that helps me to accomplish my goals inlife.Mydeepestandmostheartfeltappreciationistomywife,JuanHe, for her unwavering confidence, understanding, patience, and love, which encouraged me and sustained me throughout this study. Our daughter,

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Christians in. America. Conversion, Assimilation, and. Adhesive Identities. The Pennsylvania State University Press. University Park, Pennsylvania in Hebei in 1921, wrote in his testimonial on the membership application Many contemporary Neo-Confucian scholars praise the agnosticism in.
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