Henry Kim

Ethno-religious Perpetuity?: Religious Internalization and Second-generationkorean Americans Henry Kim

Whereas first-generation Korean-American immigrantsare noted for their high rates of Protestantism (andself-employment) there have been mixed findings withrespect to their progeny. Some state thatsecond-generation decline can be depicted as a "silent exodus" and others claim that the "silentexodus" is a reified concept. Via qualitative andquantitative analyses, this book attempts to explorewhy post-college second-generation Korean Americanswould (continue to) attend a co-ethnic church. Afundamental question that has not been asked is: "Isreligious internalization a necessary pre-conditionfor second-generation Korean Americans to attend a(Korean) church?" This case study investigates thereligious and non-religious meanings of the onlyautonomous second-generation Korean-Americancongregation (at the time of the study) in aparticular mid-western state of America. Finally,this study should prove fruitful with respect toKorean Americans in particular, and for the field ofimmigration and religion in general.