Category Archives: resources

Asian American Biblical Interpretation for North America (Nov 21 at SBL meeting, Atlanta, GA)

You are cordially invited to attend the following session:

Asian American Biblical Interpretation for North America

Society of Biblical Literature Annual Meeting (Atlanta, Georgia)
http://www.sbl-site.org/meetings

11/21/2010
5:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Room: M106 – Marriott Marquis
ISAAC (The Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity) is introducing its latest journal issue devoted to the theme of Asian American Biblical Interpretation as it relates to the North American context. Several of the writers will be present to discuss their articles in the SANACS (Society of Asian North American Christian Studies) Journal.

For more information, contact:

Russell Moy, ISAAC Board Chair [email Russell]
Andrew Lee, East Regional Director [email Andrew]

SANACS 2010.1 Journal now available!

SANACS Journal 2010

The Society of Asian North American Christian Studies Journal #2 (a jury reviewed academic journal). This issue contains papers presented at the ISAAC Southern California “Asian American Equipping Symposium” held at Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, CA) Nov. 2-3, 2009.

Non-members may order a hard copy or digital download of the latest SANACS Journal at the ISAAC website Publications link.

Print: $15.00
Download: $10.00

2009 SANACS Journal now available!

We are delighted to announce that the 2009 SANACS Journal is now available! 2008-09 SANACS members will receive one free copy of the journal. 2010 ISAAC and SANACS members who donated between Dec. 25-31, 2009 will also receive a complimentary copy. Others may purchase (hard copies and PDFs for downloading) by clicking the following button:

Support independent publishing: Buy this book on Lulu.

Discounted additional and bulk copies may also be ordered on-line.

CONTENTS

Amos Yong, The Future of Evangelical Theology: Asian and Asian American Interrogations

Jonathan Tran, Identity as Missiology

Sharon Stanley, Theology from Bamboo, Borders, and Bricks

Jerry Z. Park, Assessing the Sociological Study of Asian American Christianity

Rachel Y. Lei, The Saving Significance of the Cross in Asian American Context

Book reviews

Kelly H. Chong, Deliverance and Submission: Evangelical Women and the Negotiation of Patriarchy in South Korea (reviewed by Rebecca Y. Kim)

Sam George, Understanding the Coconut Generation: Ministry to the Americanized Asian Indians (reviewed by Andrew Lee)

Soong-Chan Rah, The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity (reviewed by Timothy Tseng)

Jonathan Y. Tran, Introducing Asian American Theologies (reviewed by Russell Moy)

Asian American Christianity Reader – now available!!

The Asian American Christianity Reader is now available – follow these links for more information and to purchase on-line:

Reader website: http://aacreader.com

ISAAC Blog: http://isaacblog.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/asian-american-christianity-reader-now-available/

Filipino American Faith in Action – book launch May 9 (San Francisco)

New book celebration at SF Public Library

New book celebration at SF Public Library

Asian American Christianity Reader soon to be released!

ISAAC and the Pacific Asian American & Canadian Christian Education project is delighted to announce the scheduled release of the Asian American Christianity Reader. It will be available in May, just in time for Asian American Heritage month. See www.aacreader.com for more information.

Religion and Theology in Asian America: An ISAAC Lecture Series

ISAAC is delighted to announce the inauguration of “Religion and Theology in Asian America” (RTAA) lectureship in 2009. ISAAC, in partnership with colleges, universities and seminaries across North America, will sponsor talks by scholars and practitioners who specialize in Asian American Religion and Theology (with special attention to Christianity). We are in conversation with U.C. Berkeley, University of San Francisco, and Fuller Theological Seminary about hosting at least three lectures in 2009.

The Society of Asian North American Christian Studies (SANACS) steering committee oversees and recruits speakers for the RTAA lectures. The members of the steering committee are:

Dr. Russell Jeung
Associate Professor of Asian American Studies
College of Ethnic Studies
San Francisco State University
San Francisco, California

Dr. Rebecca Y. Kim
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Pepperdine University
Malibu, California

Dr. Jonathan Tan
Assistant Professor of Minorities’ Studies and World Religions
Xavier University
Cincinnati, Ohio

Dr. Timothy Tseng
Executive Director
Institute for the Study of Asian American Christianity
Castro Valley, California

Dr. Russell Yee
Managing Editor
SANACS Journal
Oakland, California

For our “speakers pool,” we are interested in identifying scholars or practitioners who can address a wide range of issues that intersect with the experiences of Asian Christians in North America (e.g, the civic engagement practices of Asian American Catholics, Protestants, and evangelicals; trans-national and diasporic aspects of religion and theology in Asia America; the impact of the North American context on ethnic Asian spirituality and religious practices; reflections on the intersections or disconnections between the study of race, gender, politics, and religion in Asian American studies; etc.).

ISAAC also seeks donors who would like to make these lectures more widely available. We estimate a budget of $5,000 for each lecture. You may direct your gifts to this lecture – go to isaacweb.org for more information or to make an on-line gift.

If you represent an educational institution that is interested in hosting a lecture, if you are interested in becoming a member of the “speakers pool,” or if you are interested in contributing to the lectures, please email Tim Tseng for details.

New publication: Christianity as an Issue in the History of U.S.-China Relations

From: Dong Wang

I am pleased to announce the publication of “Christianity as an Issue in the History of U.S.-China Relations” (pp. 185), a special volume of the Journal of American-East Asian Relations, edited by Dong Wang.

Table of Contents

1. Study of the History of Christianity in U.S.-China Relations: A New Departure? by Daniel H. Bays
2. Introduction to Christianity in China as an Issue in the History of U.S.-China Relations by Dong Wang
3. Union Theological Seminary and the Christian Church in China by Yihua Xu
4. Christianity, Academics, and National Salvation in China: Yenching University, 1924-1949 by Arthur Lewis Rosenbaum
5. The Christian Student Movement, YMCAs, and Transnationalism in Republican China by Charles A. Keller
6. Portraying Chinese Christianity: The American Press and U.S.-China Relations since the 1920s by Dong Wang
7. Protestantism in Twentieth-Century Chinese America: The Impact of Transnationalism on the Chinese Diaspora by Timothy Tseng
8. “Our Neighbors but Not Our Countrymen”: Christianity and the Chinese in Nineteenth-Century Victoria (Australia) and California by Ian Welch

For order information, please visit
http://www.interworld-pacific.com/home.html

Without a subscription to the Journal, you may now purchase this special issue
individually at a discounted price. Here is the link to the order form:
http://interworld-pacific.com/ordervol13.html

Dong Wang
Professor of History
Executive Director of East-West Institute of International Studies Gordon College
Wenham, MA 01984
http://www.gordon.edu/ewi/

UCLA: 2008 Statistical Portrait of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders

The following helpful statistical information is courtesy of Don T. Nakanishi at the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Link to: http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/archives/census2008portal.htm

The UCLA Asian American Studies Center, as an official U.S. Census Information Center (as a co-partner with National Coalition for Asian Pacific Community Development), is pleased to provide this 2008 statistical portrait of the Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations produced by the US Census Bureau for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, which will take place in May, 2008. The portrait provides current census data, population projections, and internet links that should be useful for research, planning, writing and general educational purposes. Please see the “Editor’s note” at the end of this announcement for more information. The first section provides information on “Asians,” while the second part highlights “Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders”.

Asians

14.9 million
The estimated number of U.S. residents in July 2006 who said they were Asian alone or Asian in combination with one or more other races. This group comprised about 5 percent of the total population.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html >

5 million
The Asian population in California, the state that had the largest Asian population (either alone or in combination with one or more other races) on July 1, 2006, as well as the largest numerical increase from 2005 to 2006 (114,000). New York (1.4 million) and Texas (882,000) followed in population. Texas (43,000) and New York (34,000) followed in numerical increase. In Hawaii, Asians made up the highest proportion of the total population (56 percent), with California (14 percent) and New Jersey and Washington (8 percent each) next.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

3.2%
Percentage growth of the Asian population (either alone or in combination with one or more other races) between 2005 and 2006, the highest of any race group during that time period. The increase in the Asian population during the period totaled 460,000.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

3.6 million
Number of Asians of Chinese descent in the U.S. Chinese-Americans are the largest Asian group, followed by Filipinos (2.9 million), Asian Indians (2.7 million), Vietnamese (1.6 million), Koreans (1.5 million) and Japanese (1.2 million). These estimates represent the number of people who are either of a particular Asian group only or are of that group in combination with one or more other Asian groups or races.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Education

49%
The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who have a bachelor’s degree or higher level of education. This compares with 27 percent for all Americans 25 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

86%
The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who have at least a high school diploma. This compares with 84 percent for all Americans 25 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

20%
The percentage of single-race Asians 25 and older who have a graduate (e.g., master’s or doctorate) or professional degree. This compares with 10 percent for all Americans 25 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

The Asian population comprises many groups who differ in languages spoken and culture, which is reflected in the demographic characteristics of these groups. For instance, 69 percent of Asian Indians 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or more education, and 36 percent had a graduate or professional degree. The corresponding numbers for Vietnamese-Americans were 26 percent and 7 percent, respectively. (These figures represent the single-race population. The percentage of Vietnamese-Americans who had a bachelor’s degree or higher was not significantly different from 27 percent, the percentage for all Americans.)
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance

$64,238
Median household income for single-race Asians in 2006, the highest among all race groups.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

Median household income differed greatly by Asian group. For Asian Indians, for example, the median income in 2006 was $78,315; for Vietnamese-Americans, it was $52,299. (These figures represent the single-race population.)
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

10.3%
Poverty rate for single-race Asians in 2006, statistically unchanged from 2005.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

15.5%
Percentage of single-race Asians without health insurance coverage in 2006, down from 17.2 percent in 2005.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

Businesses

Source for the statements referenced in this section, unless otherwise indicated: Asian-Owned Firms: 2002 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/ releases/archives/business_ownership/006814.html>

1.1 million
Number of businesses owned by Asian-Americans in 2002, up 24 percent from 1997. The rate of increase in the number of Asian-owned businesses was about twice that of the national average for all businesses.

More than $326 billion
Receipts of Asian-American-owned businesses in 2002, up 8 percent from 1997. An estimated 319,468 Asian-owned businesses had paid employees, and their receipts totaled more than $291 billion. There were 49,636 Asian-owned firms with receipts of $1 million or more, accounting for 4.5 percent of the total number of Asian-owned firms and nearly 68 percent of their total receipts.

In 2002, more than three in 10 Asian-owned firms operated in professional, scientific and technical services, as well as other services, such as personal services, and repair and maintenance.

2.2 million
Number of people employed by an Asian-owned business. There were 1,866 Asian-owned firms with 100 or more employees, generating nearly $52 billion in gross receipts (18 percent of the total revenue for Asian-owned employer firms).

46%
Percentage of all Asian-owned firms that was either Chinese owned or Asian Indian owned.

Nearly 6 in 10
Proportion of all Asian-owned firms in the United States in California, New York, Texas and New Jersey.

112,441
The number of Asian-owned firms in New York, which led all cities. Los Angeles (47,764) , Honolulu (22,348), and San Francisco (19,639) followed.

28%
Proportion of Asian-owned businesses that responded to the 2002 Survey of Business Owners that they were home based. This is the lowest proportion among minority respondent groups.
Source: Characteristics of Businesses: 2002 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/business_ownership/007537.html>

Languages

2.5 million
The number of people 5 and older who speak Chinese at home. After Spanish, Chinese is the most widely spoken non-English language in the country. Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean are each spoken at home by more than 1 million people.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Serving Our Nation

292,100
The number of single-race Asian military veterans. About one in three was 65 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Jobs

47%
The proportion of civilian employed single-race Asians 16 and older who work in management, professional and related occupations, such as financial managers, engineers, teachers and registered nurses. Additionally, 23 percent work in sales and office occupations, 16 percent in service occupations and 10 percent in production, transportation and material moving occupations.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Counties

1.4 million
The number of Asians (alone or in combination with one or more other races) in Los Angeles County, Calif., in 2006, which tops the nation’s counties. Santa Clara County, Calif. (home of San Jose) was the runner-up (556,000).
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010482.html>

17,600
Santa Clara County’s Asian population increase from 2005 to 2006, the largest in the nation. Los Angeles (15,700) followed.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010482.html>

59%
Percent of the population of Honolulu County, Hawaii, that was Asian in 2006, which led the country. One other county – Kauai, Hawaii – was also majority Asian. San Francisco County, Calif., led the continental United States, with 34 percent of its population Asian.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010482.html>

Age Distribution

35.2
Median age, of the single-race Asian population in 2006. The corresponding figure is 36.4 years for the population as a whole.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

The Future

33.4 million
The projected number of U.S. residents in 2050 who will identify themselves as single-race Asians. They would comprise 8 percent of the total population by that year.
Source: Population projections <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html>

213%
The projected percentage increase between 2000 and 2050 in the population of people who identify themselves as single-race Asian. This compares with a 49 percent increase in the population as a whole over the same period of time.
Source: Population projections <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html>

Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders

1 million
The estimated number of U.S. residents in July 2006 who said they are Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, either alone or in combination with one or more other races. This group comprised 0.3 percent of the total population.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

Hawaii had the largest population (275,000) in 2006 of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (either alone or in combination with one or more other races), followed by California (260,000) and Washington (49,000). California had the largest numerical increase (3,400) of people of this group, with Texas (2,000) and Florida (1,500) next. In Hawaii, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders comprised the largest proportion (21 percent) of the total population, followed by Utah (1 percent) and Alaska (0.9 percent).
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

1.7%
Percentage growth of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population (either alone or in combination with one or more other races) between 2005 and 2006, the highest of any race group except for Asians.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/010048.html>

Education

14%
The percentage of single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 25 and older who have at least a bachelor’s degree. This compares with 27 percent for the total population.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

84%
The percentage of single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 25 and older who have at least a high school diploma. This matches the corresponding percentage for the total population.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

4%
The percentage of single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 25 and older who have obtained a graduate or professional degree. This compares with 10 percent for the total population this age.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance

$49,361
The median income of households headed by single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander but did not report any other race.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

11.4%
The three-year average (2004-2006) poverty rate for those who reported their race as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 unpublished data <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstc/cps_table_creator.html>

21.7%
The three-year average (2004-2006) percentage without health insurance single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders.
Source: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/income_wealth/010583.html>

Businesses

Source for the statements referenced in this section: Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-Owned Firms: 2002 <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/business_ownership/007092.html>

28,948
Number of Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned businesses in 2002, up 49 percent from 1997. The rate of growth was more than three times the national average. The 3,693 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned businesses with a payroll employed more than 29,000 and generated revenues of $3.5 billion.

2,415
Number of Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms in Honolulu, the most of any city in the nation.

$4.3 billion
Receipts for Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned businesses in 2002, up 3 percent from 1997. There were 727 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms with receipts of $1 million or more. These firms accounted for 2.5 percent of the total number of Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms and 66.8 percent of their total receipts.

In 2002, nearly 21,000 Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms operated in health care and social assistance; other services (such as personal services, and repair and maintenance); retail trade; administrative and support, and waste management and remediation services; professional, scientific and technical services; and construction.

28
Number of Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms with 100 or more employees. These firms generated $698 million in gross receipts -19.9 percent of the total revenue for Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned employer firms.

53%
Percentage of all Native Hawaiian- and Other Pacific Islander-owned firms in Hawaii and California. These two states accounted for 62 percent of business revenue.

Serving Our Nation

27,700
The number of single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander military veterans. About one in six was 65 and older.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Jobs

20%
The proportion of civilian employed single-race Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders 16 and older who work in management, professional and related occupations, such as financial managers, engineers, teachers and registered nurses. Meanwhile, 28 percent work in sales and office occupations, 23 percent in service occupations and 16 percent in production, transportation and material moving occupations.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Counties

177,000
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population (alone or in combination with one or more other races) in Honolulu County, Hawaii, in 2006, which led the nation. Los Angeles County, Calif., (59,000) was second. Hawaii County, Hawaii, and Clark County, Nev. (home of Las Vegas) had the largest numerical increases in this race since July 2005, around 900. Hawaii County had the highest percentage of people of this race: 29 percent.
Source: Population estimates <http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/ releases/archives/population/010482.html>

Age Distribution

29.9
The median age of the single-race Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population in 2006. The median age was 36.4 for the population as a whole.
Source: 2006 American Community Survey <http://factfinder.census.gov>

Editor’s note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines. Questions or comments should be directed to the Census Bureau’s Public Information Office: telephone: 301-763-3030; fax: 301-763-3762; or e-mail: <pio@census.gov>.

Don T. Nakanishi, Ph.D.
Director and Professor
UCLA Asian American Studies Center
3230 Campbell Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1546
phone:310.825.2974
fax:310.206.9844
e-mail:dtn@ucla.edu
web site for Center: http://www.aasc.ucla.edu/

New Report on Religion in America

Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has just published an important report of their U.S. Religious Landscape Survey. Its findings reveal tremendous religious restlessness among Americans who change religious affiliation frequently. It also demonstrated the growth of an unaffiliated population (atheist, agnostic, secular unaffiliated, and religious unaffiliated), particularly among people under 40 years of age. It also reveals that Protestantism has diminished to 51% of the population share (though evangelicals continue to gain an increasing share of the Protestant population). Catholicism also has not grown, due to the decline of its white population. However, immigration from Mexico, South America, and Asia have drastically reshaped its ethnic composition. Immigration has also impacted evangelicals more than mainline Protestant churches.

What about Asian Americans? The survey confirmed the anecdotal evidence that Asian Americans have a higher affiliation with Christianity than other religions. 45% of the Asians surveyed identified themselves as Christians (17% evangelicals, 17% Catholics, and 9% mainline Protestant). 14% identify as Hindu, 9% Buddhists, 4% Muslim, 3% other world religions or faiths. Among Buddhists, whites out number Asians 53% to 32%. 23% of the Asians surveyed were unaffiliated, the highest percentage of all racial groups.

Among East Asian immigrants, 57% are Christians (27% Catholic, 18% evangelical, 11% mainline Protestant), 14% Buddhist, and 27% unaffiliated. 55% of immigrants from South-Central Asia are Hindu, 16% Christian (9% evangelical, 3% Catholic, 2% mainline Protestant), 12% Muslim, and 11% unaffiliated.

The implications of the survey findings about Asian American religions are clear. Research about Asian American Hindus and Muslims is needed; but so is research in Asian American Christianity.  Tim Tseng

Links to: