Serving two masters: Buddhism and politicization among Thai immigrants

Abstract

The extent to which Thai immigrants in the United States moving from the patron-client system of Thailand to American civil society formed the intent of this project. The main aim is to see what resources the subjects use to learn how to negotiate government services in the United States. The study focused on five immigrants to see any patterns that emerged and that led to further research questions.

The background of the research and immigration issues is in chapters 1 and 2. The interviews that form the bulk of this project are discussed in chapters 4 through 8. The interviews dealt with family backgrounds as well as religious beliefs, involvement at worship center, and feelings about social justice issues as well as involvement in protest both in Thailand and the United States. I analyzed the interviews for any patterns that could lead to future research in chapter 9.