Religious beliefs and socioeconomic aspects of life of Buddhist and Protestant Korean immigrants.
Item
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Title
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Religious beliefs and socioeconomic aspects of life of Buddhist and Protestant Korean immigrants.
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Identifier
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AAI9969704
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identifier
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9969704
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Creator
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Kwon, Okyun.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Philip Kasinitz
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Date
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2000
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Religion, General | Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies
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Abstract
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This study investigates the ways in which Korean Buddhist and Protestant immigrants differ in their religious beliefs and practices and how their differences in religious beliefs are causally related to their economic, political, and social aspects of life after immigration. Interviews, participant observation, and mail surveys are the major data collecting methods.;By and large, Buddhists place more emphasis on the role of individual believers in their salvation, while Protestants focus more on transcendency and the Supreme Being's intention which possibly subdue the importance of the role of individual believers in their religious practice and daily life. Blending their beliefs with indigenous Korean religions, Buddhists, however, maintain a stronger tendency to hold polytheistic ideas and beliefs in the immanency of divine power, while Protestants maintain a stronger propensity for holding monotheistic ideas and collective orientation. In spite of Buddhists' religious emphasis on emptiness and the unimportance of worldly success, they sustain a higher level of socioeconomic achievement and a more liberal religious stance and worldview than Protestants. Buddhists' individualistic orientation not only comes from their strong belief that the individual believer is responsible for salvation but also makes them better suited for the entrepreneurial environment in the U.S. Protestants' collective tendency largely comes from their emphasis and compliance with standardized religious doctrines and tenets and their belief in God's initiation of their salvation. Protestants' tendency toward collectivity and other-reliance for salvation become an external coercion that restricts their freely- and individualistically-oriented socioeconomic behavior.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
