Gatherings In Diaspora : Religious Communities and the New Immigration

Gatherings in Diaspora brings together the latest chapters in the long-running chronicle of religion and immigration in the American experience. Today, as in the past, people migrating to the United States bring their religions with them, and their religious identities often mean more to them away from home, in their diaspora, than they did before. This book explores and analyzes the diverse religious communities of post-1965 diasporas: Christians, Hews, Muslims, Hindus, Rastafarians, and practitioners of Vodou, from countries such as China, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Iran, Jamaica, Korea, and Mexico. The contributors explore how, to a greater or lesser extent, immigrants and their offspring adapt their religious institutions to American conditions, often interacting with religious communities already established. The religious institutions they build, adapt, remodel, and adopt become worlds unto themselves, congregations, where new relations are forged within the community -- between men and women, parents and children, recent arrival and those longer settled. Frontmatter Introduction: Immigration and Religious Communities in the United States (R. Stephen Warner, page 3) I. Religion and the Negotiation of Identities 1. Becoming American by Becoming Hindu: Indian Americans Take Their Place at the Multicultural Table (Prema Kurien, page 37) 2. From the Rivers of Babylon to the Valleys of Los Angeles: The Exodus and Adaptation of Iranian Jews (Shoshanah Feher, page 71) II. Transnational Migrants and Religious Hosts 3. Santa Eulalia's People in Exile: Maya Religion, Culture, and Identity in Los Angeles (Nancy J. Wellmeier, page 97) 4. The Madonna of 115th Street Revisited: Vodou and Haitian Catholicism in the Age of Transnationalism (Elizabeth McAlister, page 123) III. Institutional Adaptations 5. Born Again in East LA: The Congregation as Border Space (Luís León, page 163) 6. The House That Rasta Built: Church-Building and Fundamentalism Among New York Rastafarians (Randal L. Hepner, page 197) 7. Structural Adaptations in an Immigrant Muslim Congregation in New York (Rogaia Mustafa Abusharaf, page 235) IV. Internal Differentiation 8. Caroling with the Keralites: The Negotiation of Gendered Space in an Indian Immigrant Church (Sheba George, page 265) 9. Competing for the Second Generation: English-Language Ministry at a Korean Protestant Church (Karen J. Chai, page 295) 10. Tenacious Unity in a Contentious Community: Cultural and Religious Dynamics in a Chinese Christian Church (Fenggang Yang, page 333) Conclusion: A Reader Among Fieldworkers (Judith G. Wittner, page 365) Project Director's Acknowledgments (page 385) About the Contributors and Editors (page 389) Index (page 391)

Gatherings in Diaspora brings together the latest chapters in the long-running chronicle of religion and immigration in the American experience. Today, as in the past, people migrating to the United States bring their religions with them, and their religious identities often mean more to them away from home, in their diaspora, than they did before.

This book explores and analyzes the diverse religious communities of post-1965 diasporas: Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Rastafarians, and practitioners of Vodou, from countries such as China, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Iran, Jamaica, Korea, and Mexico. The contributors explore how, to a greater or lesser extent, immigrants and their offspring adapt their religious institutions to American conditions, often interacting with religious communities already established. The religious institutions they build, adapt, remodel, and adopt become worlds unto themselves, congregations, where new relations are forged within the community-between men and women, parents and children, recent arrival and those longer settled.

Becoming American By Becoming Hindu: Indian Americans Take Their Place At The Multicultural Table -- From The Rivers Of Babylon To The Valleys Of Los Angeles: The Exodus And Adaptation Of Iranian Jews -- Santa Eulalia's People In Exile: Maya Religion, Culture, And Identity In Los Angeles -- The Madonna Of 115th Street Revisited: Vodou And Haitian Catholicism In The Age Of Transnationalism -- Born Again In East La: The Congregation As Border Space -- The House That Rasta Built: Church-building And Fundamentalism Among New York Rastafarians -- Structural Adaptations In An Immigrant Muslim Congregation In New York -- Caroling With The Keralites: The Negotiation Of Gendered Space In An Indian Immigrant Church -- Competing For The Second Generation: English-language Ministry At A Korean Protestant Church -- Tenacious Unity In A Contentious Community: Cultural And Religious Dynamics In A Chinese Christian Church. Edited By R. Stephen Warner, Judith G. Wittner. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The new religious communities of the United States in their churches, mosques, temples, home meetings, and festivals, being built by immigrants