Multiple Unbelongings: Filipino American Theology and the Problem of Home

Abstract

After centuries of colonial violence, Filipino American identity and Christianity are characterized by experiences of unbelonging. To show this, I trace these developments historically and sociologically, highlighting pastorally and ecclesially significant ways this unbelonging manifests, as US Filipinos negotiate Christian faith with increasing distance from the Philippines itself. This unbelonging sets Filipino American Christianity and community apart from other Asian Americans, and this uniqueness must be understood in order for Filipino American theology to be grounded contextually. Finally, I demonstrate that Filipino American theology and ministry are works of “home construction,” as the idea of home is continuously contested and reconceived. ¹