Engaging a Spirit From the East: Asian American Christians and Civic Life

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2009

Department

Anthropology and Sociology

School

Social Science and Global Studies

Abstract

Asian Americans are one the fastest growing nonwhite populations and nearly half are Christian. Little is known, however, about the impact of religion on their civic lives beyond volunteerism. This article is a comparative analysis of Asian American Catholic and Protestant civic involvements. In the general population some have argued that the acquisition of civic skills is hindered by Catholic affiliation relative to Protestantism, but it is not know if the same is true for Asian Americans. I explore these issues with data from the Social Capital Benchmark (SCCB) Survey using logistic regression analysis. Results suggest that Protestant Asian Americans are more likely to vote and be interested in politics than Asian American Catholics, but being Protestant is not a significant predictor of community participation. I conclude that religion, particularly with small group participation, is an important resource for all Asian American Christians across broad measures of civic life.

Publication Title

Sociological Spectrum

Volume

29

Issue

2

First Page

249

Last Page

272

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