Taiwanese Immigrant Women and Religious Conversion

The author of the book A Self of One’s Own: Taiwanese Immigrant Women and Religious Conversion, Carolyn Chen, talks us about religious ‘salvation’ and ‘sacred’ in the migration context. He describes the economic, political and social contexts of immigration of the middle class to Californiaand its particular religious experiences. The middle class tried to develop its beliefs and traditions by transformation of local churches in America into Taiwanese churches of Christ.

The autor examines the religious transformation of the Taiwanese to Christianity and Buddhism. His argument is grounded on the main thought that these discussions [t1] reinforce a current form of religious pluralism concerning Taiwanese community, and give necessary basis for such communities to develop in the USA. The main reason of conversion was transformation of their identity; it permitted to “get new-selves”. Evangelization strategy fulfilled craved for survival in a society and enabled the church of Christ to establish meeting points and their desire to know their people better.

The concept of God and the sense of religion in the Taiwanese community and Buddhist differentiated it from the evangelical Christians. It involved the denial of family and its associated traditions and obligation such as the ancestral ancestors worship. The neglect of local traditionsas well as the embracing a new tradition are transformational.

While Christians determine their true and new identity by answering “Christianity call”; the Buddhists focus on a change of the self through abandonment of worldly desires.

Identity transformation shows itself differently in women and men. Religious practices are rebellion acts that release women from discriminating  traditions and reinstate men's confidence engrossed immigration experience permitting  them  insecurity, disappointment and adversity in the world. Religious conversation considers manifested changes in the person’s unconscious and in the regular traditions.

The author’s answer is satisfying; it gives insights into identity and his argument establishes a center for understanding the Taiwanese religious and family traditions, meaningful anecdotes, quotations and examples, and psychological methodology.