Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America: A Short History

by Gurinder Singh WILLIAMS, Paul Numrich, Raymond Williams

Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America explores the challenges that Asian immigrants face when their religion—and consequently culture—is "remade in the U.S.A." Peppered with stories of individual people and how they actually live their religion, this informative book gives an overview of each religion's beliefs, a short history of immigration—and discrimination—for each group, and how immigrants have adapted their religious beliefs since they arrived. Along the way, the roles of men and women, views toward dating and marriage, the relationship to the homeland, the "brain drain" from Asia of scientists, engineers, physicians, and other professionals, and American offshoots of Asian religions, such as the Hare Krishnas and Transcendental Meditation (TM), are discussed.

Genres: Religion, History, Hinduism, Buddhism

151 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2001

Reviews

[Dan Gorman · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a short history, the authors do a good job of establishing the major strands of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism in America, but the text is very much for general readers and introductory religion courses. Those seeking a deep dive on these immigrant religions would do well to consult the bibliography at the back of this book. The primary source excerpts embedded in the text heighten the book's quality. And the message of pluralism is always welcome.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It felt very introductory at times, but it was still a good, quick read.

[Deborah Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

With working with so many international students for my job, I am always wanting to learn more about their home countries and their religions. I thought this book did a really nice job explaining the three religions and how they came to America. One of my nearest and dearest friends is Sikh, so it was good to dig deeper into that religion as well, as there isn't a lot of information on Sikhism out there. I would highly recommend this book if you have a child who has to do research on other religions of the world.

[Jeana Salman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the sections on Buddhists and Hindus. Each section is written by a different author and they don't seem to use similar outlines. I really liked the section on Buddhists, but the Hindu one was only interesting during the first 10 pages or so.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, this read waaaaay too much like a school book. While the pages about Buddhists in America was interesting (and depressing, especially about the Japanese concentration camps), the section on Hindus felt too much like a primer on the religion rather than a history of the religion in America.