Rebuilding Spiritual Lives in the New Land: Religious Practices among Southeast Asian Refugees in the United States
Author(s):
Zhou, Min; Bankston, Carl L, Iii; Kim, Rebecca Y
Format:
Book section
Publisher:
AltaMira, 2002.
Language:
English
Abstract:
Traces the exodus of various Southeast Asian groups -- primarily Vietnamese, Cambodians, & Laotians -- to the US, 1970s-1990s, highlighting the role of religion in facilitating the adjustment of these refugee groups to their new land. US military involvement in Southeast Asia during the 1960s & early 1970s is traced, & the dimensions of the refugee exodus from these countries in the wake of the Vietnam War are outlined. Refugee patterns of resettlement are described, & the socioeconomic characteristics of Vietnamese, Laotian, Hmong, Cambodian, & other Asian ethnic groups are compared. The function of religion as a basis for reconstructing a sense of community, recreating identities, & preserving traditional ways of life among Southeast Asian refugee groups is explored, & 3 case studies are offered: from LA, the Vietnamese Catholic community of Versailles Village in New Orleans & the Theravada Buddhist community of Iberia Parish; & from Long Beach, CA, the Cambodian Theravada Buddhist community. 1 Table, 1 Figure. K. Hyatt Stewart