reyes-chow :: FAITH

David Park in Asian Week

In another life . . . well okay, only about two months ago I was a columnist for Asian Week Magazine musing on all things Asian American and spiritual/religious.  After a whopping two columns under my belt - where does that saying come from anyway? - I had to give it up in order to be a better moderator ;-)  In any case the latest person to take on this task is David Park, who some of you know as the main blogger behind, Next Gener.Asian.

His first column is Asian Americans and the Necessity of Faith.  Here is just a taste:

Religion and spirituality are personally good things, but in politics and real life, they seem to be what economists call inefficiencies. And we’re too pragmatic to tolerate these persistent inefficiencies, aren’t we? We value stoicism and precision. Religion, while perhaps not the opiate that Marx considered, can simply be dismissed as impractical for many of us. We were raised on criticism and discipline (arguably, a religion of a different sort), which leads to the question: What place does something so impractical as faith have in Asian American life? [READ MORE]

Dude.  You are so much better than that yahoo they had before.  Great job David!  Please go on over to the original post and be part of the conversation.

May Asian Week Opinion Column

Here is my latest monthly column for Asian Week.  This Month, Asian American Christians: Why we tend to be conservative.  Here are some snippets . . .

Most Asian American Christians are conservative. Ding, ding, ding — generalization warning.  I know it is dangerous to make such blatant statements, but, as one who has been engaged in the Asian American Christian community over the past 20 years, I do think this is the reality.

When there were protests here in San Francisco against same-sex marriages a few years ago, there was a huge representation of mostly Chinese American Christians.  Some people were surprised, while others wondered what took them so long.

We could spend time arguing about definitions, generational trends, or my blatant disregard for many liberal Asian American Christians, but let’s not delude ourselves. If you were to visit random Asian American churches in San Francisco or any other city, you would go far and few between as you seek out those of a more progressive flavor.

Are Asian Americans more drawn to conservative Christianity?  Is conservative Christianity seeking out Asian Americans?  Yes, and, well, sort of.

READ ON

I have turned off the comments on this post in the hopes that you will comment over on the original post.  If you want to see a complete list of past columns CLICK HERE.

Asian Week begins monthly column on Asian American religion and spirituality

UPDATES 04.20.08 - Column posted on Asian Week's Site.

Asian Week, self proclaimed "Voice of Asian America" has got some schmuck to write about religion and spirituality in the Asian American community.  The first column, as part of the "Beyond Borders" series by your truly was published in the April 18th edition.  Is has not made it onto their website yet, but I think things will get smoother as the series develops.  Beyond Borders will tackle some non-traditional topics in the Asian American Community: homosexuality, religion, youth and Black-Asian issues.  Asian Week is located free around the city.

My first column was basically asking folks to be open to the complexity of Asian American spirituality just we are with the Asian American experience as a whole.  Funny that it was edited down to not be as snarky as I usually am.  Oh well.

In any case I also asked folks to submit ideas for future columns and I would try to address them there or on the new Beyond Borders Blog, so if you have some ideas, feel free to leave them here.