Preserving Ethnicity through Religion in America: Korean Protestants and Indian Hindus across Generations [Hardcover]

2012 Honorable Mention Award, Sociology of Religion Section, presented by the American Sociological Association


2011 Honorable Mention for the American Sociological Association International Migration Section's Thomas and Znaniecki Best Book



Preserving Ethnicity through Religion in Americaexplores the factors that may lead to greater success in ethnic preservation. Pyong Gap Min compares Indian Americans and Korean Americans, two of the most significant ethnic groups in New York, and examines the different ways in which they preserve their ethnicity through their faith. Does someone feel more “Indian” because they practice Hinduism? Does membership in a Korean Protestant church aid in maintaining ties to Korean culture?

Pushing beyond sociological research on religion and ethnicity which has tended to focus on whites or on a single immigrant group or on a single generation, Min also takes actual religious practice and theology seriously, rather than gauging religiosity based primarily on belonging to a congregation. Fascinating and provocative voices of informants from two generations combine with telephone survey data to help readers understand overall patterns of religious practices for each group under consideration.Preserving Ethnicity through Religion in Americais remarkable in its scope, its theoretical significance, and its methodological sophistication.

Mins findings on two groups of Asian Americans make a very significant contribution to the literature in the sociology of religion, which hitherto has largely focused on the religious experience of European immigrants. All in all, it is an important book for studies of Asian-American immigrants and is an essential reading for courses in race and ethnicity, Asian-American Studies, and sociology of religion. College and graduate students and their teachers who focus on the sociology of religion and ethnicity and Asian American studies wil