Redefining Religious Nones: Lessons from Chinese and Japanese American Young Adults

Brett Esaki,Russell Jeung,Alice Liu

doi:10.3390/rel6030891

Brett Esaki, Russell Jeung + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/rel6030891

Copy DOI

Abstract

This analysis of Chinese and Japanese American young adults, based on the Pew Research Center 2012 Asian American Survey, examines the religious nones of these ethnic groups. Rather than focusing on their beliefs and belonging to religious denominations, it highlights their spiritual practices and ethical relations using an Asian-centric liyi (ritual and righteousness) discourse. Despite being religious nones, these groups have high rates of ancestor veneration and participation in ethnic religious festivals, as well as strong familial and reciprocal obligations. These findings indicate that, similar to other American Millennials, these groups may be better understood by how they do religion than in what they believe.

Highlights

According to the 2014 American Religious Landscape Study, the number of Americans unaffiliated with any religion has risen stunningly by over 40% in the past seven years, from 16.1% to 22.8%
Using the survey categories provided by the Pew Research Center, young adult Chinese and Japanese
Americans are more likely to be unaffiliated than the average young American

Summary

Introduction

According to the 2014 American Religious Landscape Study, the number of Americans unaffiliated with any religion has risen stunningly by over 40% in the past seven years, from 16.1% to 22.8%. The report accounted for this change by noting the generational replacement of Catholic and Mainline individuals by Millennials who are religious “nones” Regarding this major shift in Americans’ religious identities, it states: As the Millennial generation enters adulthood, its members display much lower levels of religious affiliation, including less connection with Christian churches, than older generations. Two groups of ethnic Americans, have historically been religiously unaffiliated instead of shifting to this category Both Chinese Americans and Japanese Americans—at 52.1% and 32.5%—have the highest rates of religious nones in the United States [3]. Their young adults under 30 have even greater proportions of being unaffiliated, at 65.6% and 44.4%

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion