Date of Award

2021

Degree Type

Restricted Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Theology

Abstract

The Filipino American population has now grown to more than 4.1 million, a significant increase from the 2010 estimate of 3.4 million. As a large segment of the fast-growing Asian American population, Filipino Americans are more likely than any other Asian American group to identify as Christian. But this is also one mark of an enduring colonial relationship, preserving the United States' status as the top destination for emigrants from the Philippines. As Filipinos continue to arrive in the U.S., they will comprise an increasing share of both the rising immigrant population and the changing face of American Christianity over the next several decades. In this dissertation, I draw on the works of leading contemporary Filipino American scholars, presenting Filipino American experiences and analyzing them theologically. Then, I uncover and construct a Filipino American Christian Ethics (FACE) that is contextual, pneumatological, and political. FACE will be contextual as it is informed by Filipino American Christian community experiences and concerns. The FACE as I uncover it will be expressly postcolonial and political, distinctly Filipino American and Christian, and identity-transforming at the individual and communal levels. Finally, to illustrate the ecclesial and political significance of FACE, I end with a case study on the pastor's responsibility to the undocumented members of his or her Filipino American church, in recognition of FACE and in response to contemporary debates around U.S. immigration ethics.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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