The Rev. Wayne Lee leads an English-speaking church in Philadelphia’s Chinatown with an evangelical Christian congregation of second- and third-generation Chinese Americans. The congregation is part of a larger group that includes Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking immigrant congregations, all under the same umbrella. While the Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking members tend to hold conservative views and support former President Donald Trump, Lee’s younger flock leans left politically.
Asian American Christians, including evangelicals, are a diverse group increasingly seeking to distinguish themselves from their white counterparts. They hold conservative views on issues like abortion and LGBTQ rights, but are more nuanced and diverse in their opinions on immigration, racial equity, and other topics. Many younger Asian American evangelicals are moving away from the unconditional loyalty to the Republican Party that their parents and grandparents had. This demographic, mainly independent voters in battleground states, could swing tight elections at national and local levels.
Despite being the largest group of Asian American voters, Asian American Christians are not politically engaged to the extent they could be. Many still consider themselves evangelical in a theological sense due to historic ties to U.S. missionaries in their home countries. The political landscape is changing within the Asian American Christian community, especially among younger generations who are less loyal to the GOP and are seeking to distance themselves from white evangelicals. Political parties need to recognize the diversity and complexity of Asian American Christian voters and engage with them accordingly to build consensus and unity within the community.
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