This study was designed to examine the dynamic relationship between the struggle of Vietnamese “indigenous religions” to establish themselves in the US 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 addressed 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. It combined fieldwork in California, the home of roughly half of all Vietnamese Americans, with three fieldtrips to Vietnam, where we joined overseas Vietnamese on pilgrimages to sacred temples and festivals.

The first objective of this research project was to provide a more complete ethnographic documentation of Vietnamese indigenous religions.  As noted in our original proposal, although these religions have now established congregations in California, they are still largely unknown to the general public.  We have managed to identify a number of emergent religious organizations that are part of the process of institutionalizing these new faiths in the American context.  The significance of indigenous religion has been confirmed as important to the process of ethnic resilience.  The cultural dimension of forming a new ethnic identity in the host land is often delegated to temples and churches, which hold classes in Vietnamese to make American born children literate in their ancestral language.  Funerals and the veneration of ancestors are all specifically tasks allocated to religious specialists.

Our research has also allowed us to suggest modifications to current theoretical models of globalization and transnationalism by showing the creative and dynamic role that religion plays in forming identities that cross national boundaries. It has revealed the importance of international cultural organizations, especially UNESCO, in “certifying” popular religious practices, and making them more respectable in academic and popular settings.  It has also documented the economic significance of funds sent through religious channels to rebuild temples, support charitable activities, and even to purchase altar decorations, votive paper offerings and the costumes used in religious rituals.  Vietnamese today speak of entering a “post secular age”, when government constraints on religion are being lifted and congregations have become transnational organizations.  This has allowed some religious practitioners to redraw the traditional boundaries of identity, making faith the primary indicator of citizenship in order to create an imagined global community of faith. 

Last Modified: 06/06/2011
Modified by: Janet A Hoskins