The growth of the church in Korea, as mentioned earlier, has marked it apart from Christianity in most other parts of that continent. One factor contributing to that growth was the opposition of many Korean Christians to Japanese occupation, and their struggle for Korean independence. When visiting churches in Korea, I have seen the spiritual regard for the “blood of the martyrs” who resisted Japanese colonialism. One can reflect on similarities to the colonial resistance of the African Instituted Churches, and their subsequent growth. Christian immigrants from the Philippines and Vietnam are having noticeable effects on the U.S. Catholic Church. While Asians still constitute only about 1 percent of Catholics in the country, a survey in 2005 reported that they accounted for 13 percent of those studying for the priesthood, and most of these were Vietnamese. Of the 1.1 million Vietnamese living in the United States, 350,000 are Christian, and most of these are Catholic. Among Filipinos who have come to the United States, 68 percent are Catholic and 18 percent are Protestant.
The largest group of Asian Americans are of Chinese decent, comprising 3.8 million people. An estimated 23 percent are Christian (20 percent Protestant and 3 percent Catholic). What is interesting for this community, however, is the pattern of Chinese immigrants who are converted through existing Chinese American churches. Given the rapid growth of Christianity in China, the pattern of the future movement of people between China and the United States could have important consequences. For Taiwanese Christians, the pattern is the same. While Christians constitute only about 4.5 percent of the population in Taiwan, 25-30 percent of Taiwanese in the United States are Christians, with estimates that as many as two-thirds are converts.
These dynamics are seen among international students in the United States. In 2011, 723,000 students from abroad were studying in the country, and 60 percent of those were from Asia. Among that group, 157,000 were from China. Frequently, these visiting students are welcomed by Chinese American churches and by Chinese and Asian Christian fellowship groups on campuses. Such hospitality, which is a New Testament practice that is now central amidst the changing patterns of migration, often leads to conversion as one joins this community of faith, gathering fellow sojourners in a new land.
Overall, evangelical collegiate groups such as InterVarsity now witness large numbers of Asian American students who participate, and in some cases predominate, in local chapters. This includes some of the most prestigious universities in the United States, such as Stanford and Harvard. And in turn, those effects already are being felt in U.S. seminaries. Fuller Theological Seminary, for instance, reported that of its 5,000 students, 1,100 were Asian citizens or Asian Americans.
Asian American Christians, with their high levels of education and deeply rooted spirituality, will have a growing impact on Christianity in the United States, as this racial group grows at a faster rate than any other in the country.
The Meshing of Civilizations
In 1968, while a graduate student in theology at Princeton Seminary, I had a conversation with one of my favorite professors, Dr. James Billington. An expert on Russian history and culture, he taught at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. I asked Dr. Billington what area of study I might consider that would have a major effect on the future trends of history, and the evolution of our democracy. Dr. Billington identified the role of Spanish culture and civilization. He thought that the rising significance of Latin America, its proximity to the United States, and the increasing interplay of cultures through immigration and other means could have a decisive influence on our future. Yet, so much about Hispanic culture was not studied, understood and appreciated.
Dr. Billington’s comments reminded me of similar observations made by Dr. John MacKay, who served as president of Princeton Theological Seminary from 1936 until 1959. Prior to that, MacKay had been a missionary, helping lead a school in Lima, Peru, at a time of reform movements in Latin America. He also became a key figure in the ecumenical movement. I recall being told by my Young Life leader and mentor, Bill Starr, that Dr. MacKay was predicting that the cultural, political and religious life of the United States would be profoundly impacted by our Hispanic neighbors, and we were unaware and unprepared for this encounter.
Dr. Billington, now Librarian of the Congress, and Dr. MacKay, who was a professor of Hispanic thought at American University following his time at Princeton, and died in 1983, were both prescient in their observations. In the last four decades, no “foreign” civilization has had a greater impact on U.S. society than Hispanic culture. We’ve witnessed a meshing of civilizations, filled with tensions and conflicts, as well as creativity and promise, that continues to this day.
Hispanics, either foreign born or by ancestry, now total 50 million people in the United States. Almost 33 million are from Mexico; 4.8 million are from Puerto Rico; El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Guatemala each account for between 1 million and 2 million residents. Of the estimated 11.2 million unauthorized residents in the United States, about 80 percent are Hispanic.
The influx of Mexicans to the United States over the past four decades, bringing 12 million new residents to this country, has been unprecedented in our history for a movement of people from any single country. Slightly more than half are unauthorized residents. Yet, the startling fact is that net immigration from Mexico to the United States has halted, and may even be reversing itself. The recession in the United States, combined with increased border enforcement, a high level of deportations under the Obama administration and improving economic conditions in Mexico, has resulted in as many, if not more, Mexicans leaving the United States than entering.
