Getting Saved in America: Taiwanese Immigration and Religious Experience (review)

Getting Saved in America opens with a puzzling statistic: in Taiwan, only 3.9 percent of the population is Christian, but 20 to 25 percent of the Taiwanese population in the United States is Christian. Are Christian Taiwanese more likely to immigrate, or are Taiwanese immigrants more likely to become Christians when they arrive in their new country? Chen argues for the latter, and convincingly illustrates how and why middle-class Taiwanese immigrants become religious in the United States, and in the process of becoming religious, become American. Chen draws on 50 in-depth interviews and two years of ethnographic research, 1991-2001, on a Christian Evangelical church and a Buddhist Temple situated in the "ethnoburb" of the San Gabriel Valley (home to the largest Taiwanese population in the United States). She finds that rather than reproducing the religious and cultural traditions of Taiwan, these immigrants create new institutional structures, adopt new traditions and espouse new moral codes, and are thus transformed into Americans. But the story is more complex, as Chen relays, because the chosen religion (Christianity or Buddhism) and an individual's gender have distinct effects.

One of the strengths of Chen's research is the method she employs, comparing the religious experiences of Taiwanese immigrant Christians at "Grace Evangelical Church" to Buddhists at "Dharma Light Temple." While Christianity and Buddhism are distinct religious paths, both shape the migration experience by providing new narratives and practices that allow Taiwanese immigrants to construct their ethnic communities and reconstruct their identities. Hence, religion becomes a vehicle by which immigrants are able to challenge homeland customs without jettisoning them entirely. For example, Chen describes how a Taiwanese woman became heavily involved with church as an excuse to spend less time with her demanding in-laws; by devoting more time to Grace Evangelical, this woman found a reprieve from the stressful traditional familial obligations, and as she candidly reveals, "I'll tell you frankly, my in-laws pushed me to become Christian."(121)

Clearly, religion offers much more than just religious doctrine for Taiwanese immigrants, especially for the most recently arrived, who turn to church to provide a sense of belonging and security. The church becomes the new extended family and safety net that provides a forum for Taiwanese immigrants to meet coethnics, socialize and develop business contacts. While Christians cite friendship and community as the central reasons for becoming religious, Buddhists cite emotional and intellectual fulfillment.

Chen also unravels an intriguing tension between Taiwanese Christians and Buddhists. Because churches outnumber temples in Southern California by four to one, Buddhists find themselves defining and articulating their identities, practices and beliefs vis-à-vis the numerically dominant Christians. Taiwanese Buddhists glibly describe their Christian coethnics as members of a "social club" where people dress nicely on Sundays and distribute business cards. By contrast, they describe themselves as religious seekers who make a lifelong commitment that requires sacrifice, dedication and strict discipline. In essence, the religious tension within the immigrant community raises the consciousness of Taiwanese Buddhists and compels them to become practicing Buddhists.

Perhaps the most fascinating chapter is the one in which Chen articulates the gendered process of becoming American; men and women tell divergent stories of discovering authentic selves through religion. Taiwanese women – traditionally defined by their kinship roles and familial obligations – use religion to redefine an authentic self that is independent of family, thereby challenging patriarchal definitions of women's selfhood. Conversely, men find themselves reexamining their sense of self in the face of blocked opportunity and downward mobility in the American workplace. No longer able to define themselves by their high-status positions in Taiwan, immigrant men now turn to religion to help remedy the status inconsistency. For example, Christian men regain their status in the immigrant community by adopting leadership roles in the church, consequently providing a newfound sense of confidence and worth. In all of these ways, Chen maintains, the process of becoming religious parallels that of becoming American...