On Being Asian-American
I’ve been enlightened by a lot of the dialogue going on recently about assimilation and culture-developing in an American context.
It’s a question I wrestle with theoretically (and u can see the outworkings online) but also in praxis as I walk around a town of 200,000 people, 85% of whom are Caucasian. I’ll notice the one Asian in a crowd of whites and would take notice but try hard not to stare. In my mind I’m thinking one of three things: Adopted, racially-mixed, or twinkie. And then I’ll see the clumpings of asians, invariably speaking a foreign language and then I’ll think another three things: Canadian visitor, azn pryde, or boater. And then I’ll ask the inevitable question: which one have I become?
Because in many ways I can relate to all of those, even the Canadian one. I wonder if I’ve lost my culture in the drive towards “multi-ethnicity” and I credit David Park and Randplaty for challenging my thinking on this. Because in reality, Asian-America has copied Caucasian-America in many things and thus have earned the moniker of “the model minority”. In playing by the established set of rules, humming to the same broader melody we’ve earned our way into becoming “honorary whites” and elderJ, a crucial link between the black and asian church has enlightened me on some of the implications of this title.
But the question begs to be asked: What does an Asian-American religious culture look like?
I admit, as I’ve contemplated all cultures, lately I have not thought deeply about my own. It is a good question to consider, although I am not striving to create an Asian-American church or an EM congregation in the “deep Northwest”, I would do well to keep in mind who I am, where I come from, and this I think I have always done. Nonetheless I am challenged. Whatever missioDei comes to look like in 1 yr or 5 yrs, in our drive towards diversity I pray that it is not at the expense of the deeper questions of who we are, and where we come from, for it is in such questions that we recognize our final destination, our destiny.
Good thoughts. On a personal note, I feel like I’m going through a sort of self-discovery as an Asian American. As well as trying to figure out how my experiences and identity shape my walk with God, my relationships and my callings. Have you read any of the essays/papers in the book Asian American Religions? It’s a good read and provides some good theoretical basis as well as substantiated research in Asian American studies. I’m currently chewing on that…even though I haven’t really been reading much because I’m traveling in Germany at the moment.
I strongly believe in an emerging Asian American theology and culture. I also believe there will be a strong need for trained and equipped Asian American churches in the near future (at least in California). There also needs to be development in the field of Asian American practical theology. How can we engage mainstream seminaries in the development of Asian American leaders and ministers? Or perhaps, when will we be able to pioneer Asian American seminaries for the issues of our time and people?
I’m pretty sure we’re coming from vastly different perspectives. Yes, I do live in California… born in SoCal and currently living in NorCal. Your context is different from my context and it’s good to know what you believe about the m.e. movement is working for you and your congregation. I strongly feel for the future of Asian Americans, not only because its relevant (at least in CA), but because it stems from my own personal and spiritual struggles with identity, immigration, race(ism) and mission.
I love Seattle. Very beautiful. Maybe I could visit your church sometime and see what awesome things God is doing at missioDei. I’d like to continue the conversation. Shoot me an email sometime or leave a comment on my blog…and especially keep up the thoughts on the Asian American experience on your blog. Thanks Wayne! =) God bless.
thanx for stopping by ecsupa…
perhaps the asian-am experience will reflect and follow suit w/ the black-am experience. In time we will see unique cultural expressions that are both asian AND american. I think we already see this esp from the Islands, west coast and more so in the SoCal area, and it’s beginning to become more prominent as far north as Seattle. In my opinion I don’t see this as much yet on the east coast, but then I haven’t lived there for 8 years now.
good thoughts, and see you ’round the sphere.
Yeah I think its pretty interesting that we don’t really know what Asian American culture really is. At the same time it’s exciting, because we’re the ones who are going to be forging this new Asian American culture and helping to define it.
thanks for hitting up my blog with love…i love what you’re doing here and i’ll definitely be hanging around more. this is where it’s at.
great thoughts on this issue. asian-american is such a complex term. it homogenizes a widely diverse group of individuals, communities and cultures. so on my blog i decided to narrow the focus to chinese-american because the experience although similar to other immigrant groups is still distinctive on its own. we’re all on our way to becoming…something. we’re a work in progress but we will come to our own. new church plants will help us give greater shape to that rather than being within the shell of the immigrant church. we discover who we really are when we step out in faith.
many asian-americans, i’ll speak specifically for the middle-upper class chinese-american experience, our lives are more shaped by our parents than anything else that i think this has stunted our self-identity formation and our faith experience. we’re living someone else’s dream for our lives. our church experience is not much better. we’ve been passed on institutional religion rather than jesus christ. i think what you’re doing with missiodei will be an exciting journey learning what it means to be the church regardless of our ethnic heritage. what we need to see are more asian americans stepping forward in faith to engage/heal/renew the world because they’ve discovered their new lives in christ and even challenge asian-american culture.
we need to become something new and different (a new humanity, a contrast society), as you’ve mentioned in your comment “transcultural”. those are the essential questions, are we willing to let go of what we hold on to? are we willing to go to the other…?
whichever context we find ourselves in we’re in danger of seeing life only in that bubble unless we commit to continually step outside of it, go to the other. i married outside of my race…i always thought i was pretty americanized and then i met my wife. i never realized how chinese i actually was until after we were married. talk about getting new lenses to see life. now we’re becoming something wholly other…my kids are something other.
neither chinese or italian or what have you.