This article examines Taiwanese ethnic identity formation in the United States and its endurance in the Taiwanese Christian community. It is argued that the drivers of peak migration (1960s–1980s) have a time-capsule effect on immigrants, an effect that continues to influence present-day immigrant social relations. From the 1960s into the 1980s, Taiwanese immigrants infused their foundational ethnicity-based organizations, such as churches, with the spirit of Cold War-era democracy, self-determination, and anti-communism. For Taiwanese churches, this meant religious freedom is entwined with political freedom of expression. Today, we see the persistence of the time-capsule effect in existing Taiwanese churches. Ethnic boundaries that defined the Taiwanese community during the martial law period continue to shape contemporary social relations in church.