Kamalesh Stephen | Migration and Multiple Forms of Asian Indian Christian Belonging in the US

Center for Asian American Christianity

This lecture was recorded on April 29, 2023, as part of the 2023 Asian American Theology Conference "Multiple Belongings in Transpacific Christianities: Christian Faith and Asian Migration to the US." Find out more about the conference here: https://pts.events/events/aat-2023-mbtc/. Introduction by Dr. Easten Law. Abstract: Migration is changing and revitalizing the religious and cultural landscape of the US. The mushrooming of places of worship by and for immigrants of every religious persuasion stands as an example of such a seismic change. The change of the US immigration laws in 1965 made it possible for Asian Indians to arrive in large numbers. Ethnic Asian Indian congregations formed by first-generation immigrants tried to recreate the worship experience of their home to find stability amid their disruptive and unsettling immigration experience. The second generation, who are born and raised in diasporic context, find the liturgy, worship, and preaching of first generation churches less suitable for their own spiritual experience and growth. The ongoing migration of Asian Indians to the US in parallel with the continued growth of the second generation results in a persistent tension between first and second generations as both generations seek fidelity to God with expressions of faith and worship that make sense for them.

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