An Asian American Theology of Hope

Abstract

In North America, one’s “Asianness” signifies to the white dominant group that he or she is a foreigner and consequently a second-class citizen. Asian American women have been perceived as perpetual foreigners. The understanding of the foreigner within the book of Ezra brings to light how foreign women were treated, excluded, and forced to move away. As more immigrants come into North America, we need to learn ways to welcome them fully and not as second-class citizens or the Other. As they struggle to become accepted into the dominant culture, the Asian Americans who are Christians turn to their Christian faith to make sense of their context, in which the identity of foreigner is thrust upon them. Major constraints that these women are emerging from within Asia are the subordination and sexual exploitation of women.2