Skip to main content
Log in

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

  • Published:
Qualitative Sociology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

REFERENCES

  • Ammerman, N. T. (1987). Bible Believers: Fundamentalists in the Modern World, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, W. N. (1957). Gold in Korea, Presbyterian Church in the USA, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Busto, R. V. (1996). The gospel according to the model minority?: Hazarding an interpretation of Asian American evangelical college students. Amerasia Journal 22: 133–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chung, J. K. (1995). Christian contextualization in Korea. In Kwon, H. (ed.), Korean Cultural Roots: Religion and Social Thoughts, North Park College and Seminary, Chicago, pp. 81–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, D. (1986). Christianity in Modern Korea, University Press of America, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demmitt, K. P. (1992). Loosening the ties that bind: Accommodation of dual-earner families in a conservative Protestant church. Review of Religious Research 34: 3–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greeley, A. M. (1972). The Denominational Society: A Sociological Approach to Religion in America, Scott, Foresman and Company, Glenview, Ill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handlin, O. (1951). The Uprooted, Little, Brown, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herberg, W. (1955). Protestant, Catholic, Jew, Doubleday, Garden City, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, E. N., Jr. (1980). Protestant Pioneers in Korea, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunt, K., and Hunt, G. (1991). For Christ and the University: The Story of Intervarsity Christian fellowship, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, J. D. (1987). Evangelicalism: The Coming Generation, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurh, W. M., and Kim, K. C. (1984). Korean Immigrants in America, Associated University Press, Cranbury, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurh, W. M., and Kim, K. C. (1990). Religious participation of Korean immigrants in the United States. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 29(1): 19–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, J. H. (1996). The labor of compassion: Voices of “churched” Korean American women. Amerasia Journal 22: 93–105.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kosmin, B. A., and Lachman, S. P. (1993). One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary Society, Harmony Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lincoln, C. E., and Mamiya, L. H. (1990). The Black Church in the African American Experience, Duke University Press, Durham.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCartney, B. (1994). A call to unity. In Janssen, A. (ed.), Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, Focus on the Family Publishing, Colorado Springs, pp. 157–167.

    Google Scholar 

  • Min, P. G. (1995). Korean Americans. In Min, P. G., (ed.), Asian Americans: Contemporary Trends and Issues, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 199–231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Omi, M., and Winant, H. (1986). Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1980s, Routledge, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pevey, C., William, C. L., and Ellison, C. G. (1996). Male God imagery and female submission: Lessons from a southern Baptist ladies' Bible class. Qualitative Sociology 19: 173–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A., and Zhou, M. (1993). The new second generation: Segmented assimilation and its variants. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences 530: 74–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, S. D. (1987). Women warriors: The negotiation of gender in a Charismatic community. Sociological Analysis 48: 245–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, J. C. (1990). Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts, Yale University Press, New Haven.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shin, E. H., and Park, H. (1988). An analysis of causes of schisms in ethnic churches: The case of Korean-American churches. Sociological Analysis 49: 234–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, T. L. (1978). Religion and ethnicity in America. American Historical Review 83: 1115–1185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stacey, J. (1990). Brave New families: Stories of Domestic Upheaval in Late Twentieth Century America, Basic Books, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warner, R. S., and Wittner, J. G. (1998) (eds). Gatherings in Diaspora: Religious Communities and the New Immigration, Temple University Press, Philadelphia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watt, D. H. (1991). A Transforming Faith: Explorations of Twentieth-Century American Evangelicalism, Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, R. B. (1988). Religions of Immigrants From India and Pakistan: New Thread in the American Tapestry, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wuthnow, R. (1988). The Restructuring of American Religion, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Alumkal, A.W. Preserving Patriarchy: Assimilation, Gender Norms, and Second-Generation Korean American Evangelicals. Qualitative Sociology 22, 127–140 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022072008060

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022072008060

Navigation