some preliminary thoughts on faith and health

"What does it mean to be a feminist of faith?

Specifically, what does it mean to be a Catholic feminist? Is this a living contradiction? Can the two blend together in a search for truth, meaning, or even justice?

How can two radically different ideologies and practice possibly come together?" ~Excerpt from "Emerging, a Feminist Faith" by Lisa Factora-Borchers of the blog My Ecdysis [1]

Full disclosure: I am an atheist, from an atheist family. However, the questions on faith, specifically the contradictions between different (but interconnected) parts of one's identity, did resonate with me. More importantly, given the significance of faith in many communities, as well a the diversity of traditions around faith, I definitely wanted to get the conversation started on faith, spirituality and religion.

I grew up in a quiet little suburb outside of DC among many second generation Chinese-Americans. For a lot of my classmates, Christianity and God were a big deal; I would overhear many of my Chinese-American classmates talk about church or read their Xanga posts discussing their faith. (Asian-Nation has a breakdown of the religious affiliations of APIs.) As an angry pro-choice queer atheist, I didn't really understand the appeal or the necessity of these institutions and faith for a while, not until my mother explained to me that churches were often a way for new Chinese immigrants to quickly develop social ties to others from China.

In recent years, there have been several studies linking religion, spirituality, meditation and wellness. Some studies have found that religious involvement is associated with positive self-perceptions of health, life satisfaction, and pyschological wellness. [2] Additionally, many have concluded that religious service attendance often serves as a form of social tie:

"[T]hese various forms of spirituality and faith help Asian Americans to deal with the upheavals of immigration, adapting to a new country, and other difficult personal and social transformations by providing a safe and comfortable environment in which immigrants can socialize, share information, and assist each other. In this process, religious traditions can help in the process of forming Asian immigrant communities by giving specific Asian ethnic groups another source of solidarity, in addition to their common ethnicity, on which to build relationships and cooperation." [3, 4]

However, despite the significance of religion, little research has been done specifically on the second generation, or even on the role of faith in API health issues. [5] Some questions I've been thinking about include, how sensitive are providers to the religious needs of the groups within the API community in regards to health care? How can health and spirituality be integrated into the promotion of a healthy lifestyle? Some examples offered by Musgrave and her colleagues seriously excite me, such as a community needs assessment survey done by members of a congregation, or starting up a faith-based health education program for cancer survivors. [2]

I also think that the questions that Factora-Borchers poses should be seriously considered in our communities, including the relationship to culture, health and health care access. For some of my friends who are also queer APIs (or allies), reconciling faith and being queer is a huge deal in itself. Additionally, for many, there is also the fear of hostility from health care providers when it comes to dealing with queer and reproductive health issues. After all, in the U.S., there are several laws that protect pharmacists from dispensing emergency contraception or providers from performing abortions based solely on personal objections. I would also imagine that addressing issues such as sexual health and drug use with our own families can be really intense , as well.

Factora-Borchers ends her post with something that I know I'll be thinking a lot about:

"I am a womyn, a feminist of faith. And for all the questions, contradictions, and controversy that brings - well, it's better to face those things head on, with no pretense, than to submit to a writing life with no authentic tongue." [1]

Please let me know if you want to do a guest blog on this topic!

On the book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: it is a pretty well known book on the clash between Hmong culture and western medicine, but I would check out this review on WWW Hmong Homepage first.

Sources:
[1] "Emerging, a Feminist Faith" by Lisa Factora-Borchers, from the blog My Ecdysis.
[2] "Spirituality and Health for Women of Color" by Catherine F. Musgrave, DNSc, RN, Carol Easley Allen, PhD, RN and Gregory J. Allen, ThD
[3] "Religion and Health: Historical Perspectives, Current NIH Research, and Implications for Public Health" by Ellen Idler, PhD.
[4] "Spirituality, Religion and Faith" on Asian-Nation
[5] "What It Means to be Christian: The Role of Religion in the Construction of Ethnic Identity and Boundary among Second-Generation Korean-Americans" by Kelly H. Chong

Trends in a refugee family

Growing up, I was raised by my grandma while my single mother worked long hours. When I was younger, I didn't understand why my mom didn't spend more time with me. All I wanted was a family like I saw on TV: a nuclear family that sat down to eat together for dinner, but that wasn't us. My mom would go to work from 6 or 7am and come home at 10pm.

It wasn't until college, through joining Asian-American organizations, that I finally realized I wasn't the only one. It's a trend in the Southeast Asian community. Many of our parents are limited English speaking refugees forced to leave under the horrendous conditions that the Vietnam War (or the War in Southeast Asia or as they call it in Vietnam, the American War). What else can they do but work? Language here is so important, and if you can't speak English, you will always be stuck with the low income job. Language is power here. Our parents HAD to work the long hours to pay for the rent, the food, the children. All they ever wanted was to give us an opportunity and a choice in our future.

I know now that I am one of the lucky ones. Many who grew up in environments where their parents were constantly working went to find another family. They needed someone's presence, someone to be there for them. They needed brothers and sisters, and while searching for a sense of belonging, many found themselves in juvy and jail. One of my uncles went to jail for being with the wrong people at the wrong time. He was young, impressionable and found with people who had shot someone. He didn't commit the act, but he was with them and the first time I saw him was when I was in high school when he came out of jail. Sometimes I can't even imagine that he had gone to jail. He is such a SWEET uncle, taking us around the city and telling us ghost stories. Another one of my uncles was addicted to cocaine at one point and has a huge dragon tattooed on his arm. He's also the same person who played video games with us from SuperNintendo to Sega to Playstation to XBox and on and on and got us chips and helped us work out our game systems. People make mistakes, especially people who need a place to belong. They're vulnerable.

As a mentor encouraging minority high school and middle school students to consider higher education, I shared this pride with them: we, born as Asian-Americans, are the children of courageous refugees and immigrants who challenged the unknown for a better future, yet in this unfamiliar country, we struggle, often with low knowledge of the American system, limited English proficiency, low sense of belonging, and low income. However, we shouldn’t feel shame in our circumstances but take pride in how we deal with them.