CRCC Vietnamese Immigrant Congregations in CA

Funding from the National Science Foundation allows Professor Janet Hoskins to examine the dynamic relationship between the struggle of Vietnamese “indigenous religions” to establish themselves in the U.S. and the politics of ethnic enclaves, “faith-based” resettlement assistance, model minority stereotypes, and the re-establishment of ties with Vietnam for many overseas congregations separated from religious centers in the homeland for over 20 years. It also addresses the significance of religious belief, conversion and “re-conversion” during the transitional refugee years, and debates about whether new immigrants are “assimilated” into the American mainstream or develop new strategies to conserve their distinctive values within the framework of a “successful adaptation” in this new socio-economic context.