Ethnic Church Meets Megachurch

Prema A. Kurien is Professor of Sociology at Syracuse University and author of two award-winning books, Kaleidoscopic Ethnicity: International Migration and the Reconstruction of Community Identities in India, and A Place at the Multicultural Table: The Development of an American Hinduism. She is currently working on her next book, Race, Religion, and Citizenship: the Political Mobilization of Indian Americans.

"Like Prema Kuriens previous books, this one is thoroughly researched, tackling a huge topic with impressive scholarship. And it poses an unsettling question: Is a one-size-fits-all, take-it-or-leave-it version of Christianity the wave of the future? Or is America big enough to embrace a growing multiplicity of ethno-religious traditions?" - Robert Wuthnow,Princeton University "Though rooted in analysis of Mar Thoma, Kuriens work provides a useful theoretical language for thinking about big-picture immigration trends. As such, this book is a must read for those interested in immigration, migration, and transnationalism broadly as well as religion." (Choice) "It is continually amazing that immigrants' religious lives have not received more attention within the sociology of immigration. Prema Kurien's latest book, Ethnic Church Meets Megachurch, takes on a key topic within the sociology of immigration and of religion — namely, how immigrants across generations form religious belonging both with and separate from the mainstream… Overall, Kurien's book furthers the case that religion serves as an agent, not merely a context or setting, and can be a central vehicle through which to study immigration." - International Migration Review "Kurien's Ethnic Church Meets Megachurch supplies the field with an important sociological account of the transnational religious and ethnic contestations within the Mar Thoma church, a Syrian Christian church based in Kerala. Her extensive ethnographic research, dating back to 1999, is a refreshingly data-rich study that is longitudinally oriented in its inclusion of the extensive history of the Mar Thoma church since its inception in the early decades of the Christian era. It is also a geographically cross-sectional study in its attention to the transnational intersections between the Mar Thoma church in India and in the United States. Kurien's data reveals that research on religion and ethnicity in the United States must account for generational differences and specific nuances of a particular ethnic denomination's negotiations in multicultural America." - Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies "The book illustrates the immense payoff of a transnational, global approach for understanding the movements of religion and people. Many works focus on transnationalism to be sure, but this book convincingly shows why it is an absolute necessity. Such an approach over many years of study provides us a rich tale of change and causality." (American Journal of Sociology) "Kurien has produced a readable, fascinating book about ethnicity, gender, and religion 'in motion.' She draws on a rich body of interview data to explore the contentious relationships that shape and re-shape the global, diasporic faith-based communities… As always, Kurien adopts a sophisticated approach to transnationalism that highlights the back and forth direction of change and that recognizes the longue duree of globalization. Most importantly, she shows social changes wrought by immigration are always, if only partly, a matter of immigrant agency." - Sociology of Religion "Many Americans miss the significant presence of Indian Christians who worship in immigrant ethnic faith communities or in predominantly white evangelical ones that often rely on their presence to promote their racially-inclusive vision. Kurien provides a fascinating look into this overlooked community, insightfully revealing the challenges of recreating a religious culture thousands of miles from its origin, adapting to an increasingly global and diasporic community, and retaining among the second-generation an identity with a religious culture that appears backward and insular compared to its bigger, flashier, and more racially integrated counterpart. An absolute must-read." - Jerry Z. Park,Associate Professor of Sociology, Baylor University "With careful fieldwork done over decades in two countries, Prema Kuriens work will serve as a model for how to do sociological and ethnographic work within immigrant communities that remain in robust connection to their countries of origin, even as they try to find their footing in their new home. A must read for all who seek to understand the transformation of American religious life under the pressures of migration and globalization!" - John J. Thatamanil,Associate Professor of Theology and World Religions, Union Theological Seminary