PANA Institute for Leadership Development

Roy I. Sano
Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA

Presented at the 2001 APARRI Conference: "Religion and Public Life in
Pacific and Asian North America"
University of California at Berkeley
August 9-11, 2001

Abstract

This paper advocates the inclusion of the study of religion in the discipline
of Ethnic Studies. Drawing on examples which relate the stories of Ruth, Esther,
Joseph, and Daniel to the experiences of Japanese Americans, historiography,
as a "study of stories," is offered as a way to understand our journey
to be both human and humane.

Full Text

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At the opening of the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism on
June 29, 2001, in Washington, D.C., three prominent Americans of Japanese ancestry
spoke: U.S. Sen. Daniel K Inouye, of Hawai'i; U.S. Rep. Robert T. Matsui, of
California; and Norman H. Mineta, U.S. Secretary of Transportation. All are
well known for their distinguished careers in public service. What is less known
about them, however, is that they also all are United Methodists. The opening
event organizers asked me, a United Methodist as well, to offer the invocation.

Such an occurrence vividly underscores the theme of our gathering, Religion
and Public Life. What were the religious strands that led the three speakers
to public life? How might these strands offer directions for the future? I wish
to explore these thoughts by drawing some parallels between biblical stories
and the sojourns of the speakers.

This approach adapts a long-standing tradition of analyzing religion through
myths (stories) re-presented in symbols and reenacted in stylized fashion through
rituals (sacraments). The approach suggests why and how we might add the study
of religion to the discipline of Ethnic Studies.

"Making it," becoming human

Most Japanese American United Methodists wanted to see themselves and their
descendents "make it" in the United States. They sought integration
into the prevailing patterns of residence and education, employment and income.
Furthermore, they wanted to make a contribution to this society. Their quest
for acculturation and assimilation runs parallel to the biblical story of Ruth.

The widow, Ruth, was a Moabite, a people deeply despised by Hebrews. Yet, she
was determined to move to Israel, where she wanted to make "their God her
God" (acculturation in a most basic value) and make "their people
her people" (assimilation). She eventually became the great-grandmother
to Israel's priestly king, David, the epitome of ancient Jewish identity. Ruth
depicts the divine support for immigrants who aspired to achieve integration
and make contributions to their host societies. Like Ruth, the speakers symbolize
the religious elements that operate in the journey toward integration.

Making a difference, becoming humane

Other aspects of Japanese American history and subsequent shifts in consciousness
call for different stories. Memories of anti-Asian legislation, evacuations
during World War II, and ongoing rejection all indicated that the promise of
a "melting pot" in the integrationist strategy produced a "crock
of baloney" at too many points. We could integrate, but we would remain
outsiders.

The story of Esther illustrates a possible course of action in the face of
discrimination and social injustices. While she was among the oppressed Jews
living in a foreign land, Esther not only "made it" but also eventually
"made a difference" for her people. She won a "beauty contest"
by hiding her ethnic identity, and eventually became a queen. Although her predecessor
was executed when she disobeyed the king, Esther reclaimed her ethnic identity,
risked her life by breaking protocol, and reversed the decree against her people.

The story of Esther parallels what many United Methodists of Japanese ancestry
did from the late 1960s onward. They reclaimed the ethnic identities that they
had neglected in the integrationist era. They joined Ethnic Studies strikes,
promoted the recovery of ethnic communities, formed caucuses in the denomination,
and participated in indigenous community organizations to rectify wrongs. By
working for justice in their offices, the three speakers again conspicuously
symbolize religious forces operating among their own people in public. Reminiscences
of the two women - Ruth and Esther - however, sadly highlight the absence of
any reference during the National Japanese American Memorial to Patriotism's
opening to the Japanese American women who also volunteered for military service
during World War II.

Subsequent developments in the intervening years called for additional faith
stories to explain what United Methodists of Japanese ancestry did - and will
be urged to do in the future. For example, they have challenged both historic
and contemporary violations of human rights at both the domestic and international
levels. They have challenged violations to their own people, as well as those
of other ancestries.

The biblical stories of Joseph and Daniel offer in hyperbole form examples
of what these United Methodists of Japanese ancestry saw happening and therefore
sought beyond their people alone. Both Joseph and Daniel could see what was
happening - as well as what could potentially happen - in their host societies.
Both were placed in high positions, and could take certain actions. Joseph had
been sold by his siblings into slavery in Egypt but overcame his misfortune
through God's providence. The Pharaoh released Joseph from prison and directed
him to create and manage the machinery that met the needs of a wide range of
people in the vast Egyptian empire, including his own people during a family.

Similarly, as a captive in exile, Daniel functioned in a beneficial role as
the virtual ruler of the Babylonian Empire. He was well qualified for this responsibility.
While he lived away from his ancestral land, Daniel deepened his distinct religious
and cultural heritage even as he excelled at taking in the culture of his host
society. What resulted was a sense of biculturalism. This better prepared Daniel
to manage the international scope of the empire. In a parallel fashion, Japanese
American leaders, like the United Methodists who graced the opening of the memorial
to patriotism, find that enhancing their own biculturalism strengthens their
ability to function more effectively as leaders in a multicultural society awash
in globalizing cross-currents.

Daniel's biculturalism raises an additional point for United Methodists of
Japanese ancestry who participate in the imperial machinery of Pax Americana.
Because of his distinctly different faith, Daniel could read the handwriting
on the wall. It foretold the demise of the oppressive Babylonian Empire that
he managed. He could see the reign and realm of God yet to come. This aspect
of the story of Daniel offers an ethic for living with and in contradiction.
It suggests sitting lightly even if we come to exercise vast responsibility
and wield enormous power. Hanging loose, even in high places, opens us up to
see beyond the "good life" toward a better life for all people under
the tyranny of oppressive and exploitative regimes. The story of Daniel is but
one example of a biblical story that depicts a course of action prompted by
a vision for a better life in the reign and realm of God.

Faith and ethnicity

One can see how a study of stories and symbols uncovers the religious forces
that lead people to various endeavors in public life. Religious forces appear
in different ways among all Pacific Islander and Asian North American communities.
No study of these people therefore is complete without a study of religion in
individual and collective as well as private and public expressions. This generalization
explains why we ought to strengthen attention to religion in Ethnic Studies.

The approach followed in this paper also suggests how we go about including
religion in a "secular" discipline. Focusing on stories, symbols,
and rituals raises a set of questions generally associated with historiography.
Historiography, as I use it here, refers to a study of stories at two levels:
One level is to construct, as accurately as possible, narratives of what actually
happened, is happening, and is likely to happen in and around us. The second
level is to study scenarios and scripts by which people live, and to explore
different stories as circumstances change. In another setting, we might discuss
auxiliary questions concerning the media and methods used to uncover these stories
and the specific implications that this might have for courses and degree programs
as well as research projects and writing approaches.

These two levels of historiography already function variously in disciplines
besides history that inform ethnic studies. Disciplines such as sociology, psychology,
social psychology, aesthetics, anthropology and cultural anthropology all -
at their heart - address the two levels of questions present in historiography.
The fundamental concepts in these disciplines signal the prominence of these
stories.

Ethnic Studies advocates an interdisciplinary approach. Cross-fertilization
of disciplines clarifies and corrects "religion." Or to put it in
less sectarian terms, interdisciplinary work highlights and adjusts the fundamental
values in stories, symbols and rituals that undergird and guide our people amid
struggles, setbacks, and suffering not only to be human but just as significantly
to be humane. A quest to be both human and humane can surely bring us from many
disciplines toward the fundamental pursuits in Ethnic Studies that benefit communities
- our own as well as others, locally and globally.