UCLA

This qualitative study examines religious engagement and ethnic and religious identity formation in 1.5 and second generation Sri Lankan American young people at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara and the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center, two Sri Lankan Sinhala Theravada Buddhist temples in the greater Los Angeles area. This study analyzes data from participant observation at 3 temples, 10 in-depth interviews, and a survey of 50 respondents. It explores the two different approaches these temples take toward their noncoethnic congregation and the 1.5 and second generation: cultural reconstitution and cultural preservation. Specifically, the study considers these generations' varied temple experiences, relationships with clergy, and negotiations of multiple layered identities. Ultimately, regardless of self-labels, 1.5 and second generation's views on self-identity participate in different types of resistance: resistance as pride in their difference, resistance against a mainstream American identity, and resistance against being racialized as Other.