CO-SPONSORSHIP: Asian North American Religion, Culture, and Society Unit and North American Hinduism Unit

Political Extremism and Rise of Asian American Religious Conservatisms

As we prepare for another Trump administration,, the impact on minoritized and marginalized communities will be significant. While such impacts, particularly in terms of migration, labor, and race have been discussed at length, the internal divisions within non-majoritarian communities in the US and in North America writ large is often lost. This session examines the rise of Asian American conservatisms, broadly construed. We seek to understand the various communities that identify as “Asian” and “conservative” within a landscape of conservative politics which embraces anti-immigrant sentiment and policies, finds common cause with anti-equity policies in education, and seeks to promote majoritarian (read: white) victimhood politics. Many of these policies are palatable within Asian American communities that view themselves as different or exceptional in relation to other immigrant communities.  For example, in response to the Heritage foundation’s Project 2025 manifesto, the Hindu American Foundation, a Hindu nationalist organization in the US, released its own document titled Hindu American Project 2025, seeking Trump’s endorsement. We welcome papers which address the rise in Asian American conservatisms, their racialized and minoritized positionalities within a political climate that is increasingly anti-immigrant, how they view affirmative action and other programs from which many Asian Americans benefit, and the intersection of conservative politics in the US and religious nationalisms within Asian American communities.