Maintaining Marshallese Fundamentals with Christian Fundamentalism

Allen, Linda (March 2002). "Maintaining Marshallese Fundamentals with Christian Fundamentalism". Pacific Studies. 25 (1–2): 95–116. ISSN 0275-3596.

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Abstract: This article examines the formation of a Marshallese migrant community in Enid, Oklahoma, focusing on the role of the Assemblies of God Church in sustaining ethnic identity and social cohesion. Drawing on ethnographic research, it argues that Christian fundamentalist doctrine has been adapted to reinforce Marshallese cultural norms, kinship obligations, and community structures in a migrant setting. The study explores how church-centered life reorganizes social relations, mediates tensions, and reshapes practices such as marriage, language use, and adoption. It concludes that religious institutions serve as a key mechanism for resisting assimilation and reconstructing a coherent cultural identity in diaspora, effectively creating an “essential community” that ensures both social and psychological survival.

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MAG: 2587076877
OpenAlex: W2587076877