Preserving Patriarchy: Assimilation, Gender Norms, and Second-Generation Korean American Evangelicals

Abstract

This ethnographic study of a second-generation Korean American Protestant congregation explores the role of religion in assimilation, focusing on emerging gender and family norms. The study found that individuals maintained a substantial commitment to patriarchal gender norms and articulated these norms in language consistent with American evangelical theology rather than in ethnic/cultural terms. Members were also influenced by egalitarian norms from the broader American society, and women in particular offered partial resistance to female subordination. The findings suggest that religious affiliation should be given consideration alongside economic variables in analyzing assimilation trajectories among the new second generation.