“Anthropology may be the most important course you take in college.” It is how Ken Guest goes about proving this bold claim that has made his family of books the most popular in the market. The new edition of Essentials of Cultural Anthropology unmasks cultural power structures and demonstrates how the research strategies and analytical perspectives of anthropology help us understand and navigate big issues such as racism, sexism, the unequal impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and climate change. New features—including low-stakes Check Your Understanding questions in the Norton Illumine Ebook that motivate students and build confidence in their learning support successful outcomes for all students and make an already great teaching tool better than ever.

The new immigrants coming to the United States and establishing ethnic congregations do not abandon religious ties in their home countries. Rather, as they communicate with family and friends left behind in their homelands, they influence religious structures and practices there. Religion Across Borders examines both personal and organizational networks that exist between members in U.S. immigrant religious communities and individuals and religious institutions left behind. Building upon Religion and the New Immigrants (2000) their previous study of immigrant religious communities in Houston sociologists Ebaugh and Chafetz ask how religious remittances flow between home and host communities, how these interchanges affect religious practices in both settings, and how influences change over time as new immigrants become settled. The study's unique comparative perspective looks at differing faith groups (Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist) from Argentina, Mexico, Guatamala, Vietnam and China. Data on ways in which historic, geographic, economic and religious factors influence transnational religious ties makes necessary reading for students of immigration, religion and anyone interested in the increasingly global aspects of American religion.

Ethnographic fieldwork is one of the most fundamental tools for anthropological study. The step-by-step exercises in Ken Guest's Cultural Anthropology Fieldwork Journal encourage students to apply the concepts they are learning in class and observe, question and generate their own data about the places, relationships, and networks that they may take for granted in everyday life: from friendships, family dynamics and consumption habits to classrooms, places of worship, TV screens and their own homes.

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.

From the book's signature "toolkit" approach to the new chapter on the Environment and Sustainability to the accompanying videos and interactive learning tools, all aspects of Ken Guest's Essentials of Cultural Anthropology work together to inspire students to use the tools of anthropology to see the world in a new way and to come to class prepared to have richer, more meaningful discussions about the big issues of our time. Are there more than two genders? How do white people experience race? What defines a family? Is there such a thing as a "natural" disaster? What causes some people to be wealthy while others live in poverty?

Best-selling author Ken Guest presents the essential readings and diverse voices that will help students understand their rapidly globalising world. This concise, affordable reader is designed to complement any introductory syllabus and is the perfect companion to Guest's market-leading texts.

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.