The Asian American Movement and the Church: Laying the Foundations for Asian American Theology

Abstract

This piece outlines the importance of the Asian American Movement (AAM) for the church and for the field of Asian American theology and ongoing discussions thereof. It contextualizes the AAM in a particular demographic moment when US-born Asian Americans outnumbered immigrants for the first and only time in American history. Using the example of Japanese American Methodist clergy active in the AAM, it considers how their experiences of state-sponsored incarceration shaped a firm belief that ethnic and racial identity should inform how church leaders do ministry, teach the Bible, and engage society. In particular, their incarceration experiences cemented a lifelong commitment to justice and to the liberation of oppressed peoples both in the USA and overseas.