Crossing Boundaries and Creating Change: Faith-Based Justice Work in Contemporary Asian America

Although casual observers often dismiss Asian American religious communities as inward-looking and conservative, the reality is that Asian American religious communities across the country are drawing on their faith to mobilize creative responses to a wide array of pressing social, political, and economic challenges. In doing so, they are often rooting their efforts in values of solidarity and diversity, intentionally pursuing their work in collaboration with people who are different from themselves. What does this type of coalitional justice work look like in practice? And what are the possibilities and perils of trying to work across boundaries of social difference in order to transform our world? This roundtable discussion offers a critical examination of six examples of contemporary faith-based justice work conducted by Asian American religious communities committed to bridging differences and working in coalition amid polarized and politically fraught times.s