View the Table of Contents.
Read the Introduction.
"The excellent vignettes throughout the book further show, in
striking detail, how immigrants from Fuzhou use the language and
ideas of their faith traditions to make sense of their journeys and
their daily lives in the United States. This book is a welcome
addition to recent research about religion and the post-1965
immigrants."--"Contemporary Sociology"
""God in Chinatown" is useful for historians as well as those
interested in the sociology of religion, the Chinese Diaspora, or
New York City."--"Religious Studies Review"
""God in Chinatown" is an important study for historians and
social scientists. Guest has...expanded the horizons of students of
ethnic history."
--"Journal of American Ethnic History"
"In this volume Guest has succeeded in showing the importance of
religion to the self-definition of immigrants from Fuzhou in their
new home in New York's Chinatown and other cities across the United
States. As a student of theology, he understands the importance of
religion to human survival and flourishing in the face of
tremendous obstacles, especially for the immigrants of Fuzhou in
urban America."--"China Review international"
"There is no question that this book makes an important
contribution to the emerging field of religion and immigration as
well as to research on contemporary Asian religions. The
information and perspective Guest provides not only substantially
enhance our knowledge of these topics but help us view them in a
new light."
--"The Journal of Religion"
"Guest does an excellent job of helping the reader understand
the place of these religious institutions both within Chinatown
andthe religious landscape in China. The book is so stimulating
that it leads the reader to formulate more questions."--"Sociology
of Religion"
"Students and scholars in the fields of church history, religion
in the US, the history of religions, comparative religions, and
Asian studies will find that this intriguing book suggests a
variety of directions for further exploration."
-- "Choice"
"A well-researched, well-written, and timely ethnographic study
of the importance of religious groups in the lives of Fuzhounese
immigrants to the United States. It should be of great interest to
scholars of contemporary Chinese religion, and to sociologists and
anthropologists interested in religion and transnationalism. A
readable and affordable monograph."--"Journal of Chinese
Religions"
""God in Chinatown" is a pioneering ethnographic study....A must
read for those interested in ethnic communities, immigration, and
religion. It is a welcome addition to the growing number of studies
that are recognizing the important connections between religion and
immigration in the incorporation of immigrants and the
reconstructions of what is America itself."
--"Journal of the American Academy of Religion"
"As a first ethnographic study to systematically examine the
role of religious organizations and immigrant adaptations among the
Fuzhounese, the book is a welcome edition to the existing
literature of the sociology of religion. Guest devotes much of the
book to describing the religious life that the Fuzhounese left
behind in Fujian and the new one that they have rebuilt in New
York. he shows clearly and unequivocally that ethnic religious
institutions play a central and intrumental role inassisting
disadvantaged immigrants to survive adverse circumstances. He also
makes a nuanced point about the interconnectedness between ethnic
religious institutions and ethnic economies in Chinatown and
between Chinatown and its transnational networks."
--"Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion"
"The exceptionally rich ethnography is very interesting to
read."
--"American Journal of Sociology"
"In this volume Guest has succeeded in showing the importance of
religion in the self-definition of Fuzhounese immigrants in their
new home in New York Chinatown and in the network of cities across
the United States."
--" China News Update"
"This book fascinates by making what is familiar much more
complicated and interesting. Recommended."
-- "CHOICE"
God in Chinatown is a path breaking study of the largest
contemporary wave of new immigrants to Chinatown. Since the 1980s,
tens of thousands of mostly rural Chinese have migrated from
Fuzhou, on China's southeastern coast, to New York's Chinatown.
Like the Cantonese who comprised the previous wave of migrants, the
Fuzhou have brought with them their religious beliefs, practices,
and local deities. In recent years these immigrants have
established numerous specifically Fuzhounese religious communities,
ranging from Buddhist, Daoist, and Chinese popular religion to
Protestant and Catholic Christianity.
This ethnographic study examines the central role of these
religious communities in the immigrant incorporation process in
Chinatown's highly stratified ethnic enclave, as well as the
transnational networks established between religious communities in
New York and China. The author's knowledge of Chinese coupledwith
his extensive fieldwork in both China and New York enable him to
illuminate how these networks transmit religious and social
dynamics to the United States, as well as how these new American
institutions influence religious and social relations in the
religious revival sweeping southeastern China.
God in Chinatown is the first study to bring to light religion's
significant role in the Fuzhounese immigrants' dramatic
transformation of the face of New York's Chinatown.