Preserving Ethnicity Through Religion in America

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.

Pyong Gap Min is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Director of the Research Center for Korean Community at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author or editor of several books, including Caught in the Middle: Korean Merchants in America's Multiethnic Cities.