Chinese Christians in America: Conversion, Assimilation, and Adhesive Identities

250 Pages·1999·1.04 MB·English

by  Fenggang Yang

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,