In this compelling look at second-generation Indian Americans, Khyati Y. Joshi draws on case studies and interviews with forty-one second-generation Indian Americans, analyzing their experiences involving religion, race, and ethnicity from elementary school to adulthood. As she maps the crossroads they encounter as they navigate between their homes and the wider American milieu, Joshi shows how their identities have developed differently from their parents' and their non-Indian peers' and how religion often exerted a dramatic effect. The experiences of Joshi's research participants reveal how race and religion interact, intersect, and affect each other in a society where Christianity and whiteness are the norm. Joshi shows how religion is racialized for Indian Americans and offers important insights in the wake of 9/11 and the backlash against Americans who look Middle Eastern and South Asian. Through her candid insights into the internal conflicts contemporary Indian Americans face and the religious and racial discrimination they encounter, Joshi provides a timely window into the ways that race, religion, and ethnicity interact in day-to-day life.

In this compelling look at second-generation Indian Americans, Khyati Y. Joshi draws on case studies and interviews with forty-one second-generation Indian Americans, analyzing their experiences involving religion, race, and ethnicity from elementary school to adulthood. As she maps the crossroads they encounter as they navigate between their homes and the wider American milieu, Joshi shows how their identities have developed differently from their parents’ and their non-Indian peers’ and how religion often exerted a dramatic effect. The experiences of Joshi’s research participants reveal how race and religion interact, intersect, and affect each other in a society where Christianity and whiteness are the norm. Joshi shows how religion is racialized for Indian Americans and offers important insights in the wake of 9/11 and the backlash against Americans who look Middle Eastern and South Asian. Through her candid insights into the internal conflicts contemporary Indian Americans face and the religious and racial discrimination they encounter, Joshi provides a timely window into the ways that race, religion, and ethnicity interact in day-to-day life.

A pervasive Christian privilege dominates the United States today. Christian beliefs, norms, and practices infuse our society, and lie embedded in our institutions, even dictating the structure of our week -- from Sunday closings for the Christian Sabbath to blue laws restricting the sale of alcohol. The US is recognized as the most religiously diverse country in the world, and yet Christianity has always been integral to the country's national identity. These customs, which many of us have come to see as natural features of American life, keep the "freedom of religion" declared in the pages of the Constitution from becoming a reality. White Christian Privilege traces Christianity's influence on the American experiment from before the founding of the Republic to the social movements of today. Mapping the way through centuries of salvery, westward expansion, immigration, and citizenship laws, the volume also reveals how Christian privilege in the US has always been entangled with notions of white supremacy. Drawing on the voices of Christians and religious minorities, Khyati Y. Joshi explores how Christian privilege and white racial norms affect the lives of all Americans, often in subtle ways that society overlooks. By shining a light on the inequalities these privileges create, Joshi highlights a way forward, urging readers to help remake America as a diverse democracy with a commitment to true religious freedom.

A concise and engrossing account of the Lakota and the battle to regain their homeland. The Lakota Indians made their home in the majestic Black Hills mountain range during the last millennium, drawing on the hills' endless bounty for physical and spiritual sustenance. Yet the arrival of white settlers brought the Lakotas into inexorable conflict with the changing world, at a time when their tribe would produce some of the most famous Native Americans in history, including Red Cloud, Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse. Jeffrey Ostler's powerful history of the Lakotas' struggle captures the heart of a people whose deep relationship with their homeland would compel them to fight for it against overwhelming odds, on battlefields as varied as the Little Bighorn and the chambers of U.S. Supreme Court.

Exposes the invisible ways in which white Christian privilege disadvantages racial and religious minorities in America The United States is recognized as the most religiously diverse country in the world, and yet its laws and customs, which many have come to see as normal features of American life, actually keep the Constitutional ideal of “religious freedom for all” from becoming a reality. Christian beliefs, norms, and practices infuse our society; they are embedded in our institutions, creating the structures and expectations that define the idea of “Americanness.” Religious minorities still struggle for recognition and for the opportunity to be treated as fully and equally legitimate members of American society. From the courtroom to the classroom, their scriptures and practices are viewed with suspicion, and bias embedded in centuries of Supreme Court rulings create structural disadvantages that endure today. In White Christian Privilege, Khyati Y. Joshi traces Christianity’s influence on the American experiment from before the founding of the Republic to the social movements of today. Mapping the way through centuries of slavery, westward expansion, immigration, and citizenship laws, she also reveals the ways Christian privilege in the United States has always been entangled with notions of White supremacy. Through the voices of Christians and religious minorities, Joshi explores how Christian privilege and White racial norms affect the lives of all Americans, often in subtle ways that society overlooks. By shining a light on the inequalities these privileges create, Joshi points the way forward, urging readers to help remake America as a diverse democracy with a commitment to true religious freedom.

Official publication of the Association for Asian American Studies, explores all aspects of the Asian American experience. Publishes original works of scholarly interest to the field, including new theoretical developments; research results; methodological innovations; public policy concerns; pedagogical issues; and book, media reviews.

Over the last 25 years, there has been much talk of the presumed decline in religious participation in America. In addition, from the 1960s on, surveys that mark the influence of religion in American life have shown a mixed response. Many suggest that religion is losing influence in the culture as a whole; others indicate that while organized religion may be experiencing challenges, spirituality is on the upswing. At the same time, however, there have been signs that religious life in the U.S. is extraordinarily healthy. But religion in America has changed, to be sure, in a number of ways. And it has changed us and our culture in return. This timely set looks at the major forces that are changing the shape of religion in American life. With an influx of immigrants from Asia, Latin America, and other regions, the diversity of religion has grown to include Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and other faiths. Latin American and African American communities have experienced changes in the ways they practice their faith and in turn influence American culture in general. Women have entered the clergy in record numbers, and the push for allowing women and gays to enter the clergy in religions that limit or prohibit their roles is on the increase. In addition, gay couples are leading the same-sex marriage movement, and other social issues such as abortion, stem-cell research, end of life care, etc., are still being debated. Interest over how people actually live out their religion or spirituality has mushroomed in recent decades, thanks in part to the information revolution and popular culture. What folks do when they gather together to worship, and where they come together, has changed dramatically with the advent of the Internet and the role of sports in American life. So much has changed, and faith in America has become more important than ever--as part of our culture, our way of life, and the way we relate to each other and the world around us. The essays found in these pages shed light on our understanding of these transformations and help us comprehend the enormous role of religion in our society and in our world.