When Xenophobia Spreads Like a Plague: A Critical Pastoral Theological Reflection on Anti-Asian Racism During the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the coronavirus pandemic exponentially mushrooms across the globe, xenophobia comes after it almost immediately. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 began, Asians and Asian Americans have been subject to various types of anti-Asian violence. From a pastoral theological perspective, this social phenome...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:  
Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Chung, Jaeyeon Lucy (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
Verfügbarkeit prüfen: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Lade...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Veröffentlicht: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group 2021
In: Journal of pastoral theology
Jahr: 2021, Band: 31, Heft: 2/3, Seiten: 159-174
IxTheo Notationen:HA Bibel
KBM Asien
NBE Anthropologie
ZA Sozialwissenschaften
weitere Schlagwörter:B Anti-Asian racism
B Covid-19
B René Girard
B Pastoral Theology
B scapegoat mechanism
B Xenophobia
Online Zugang: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:As the coronavirus pandemic exponentially mushrooms across the globe, xenophobia comes after it almost immediately. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 began, Asians and Asian Americans have been subject to various types of anti-Asian violence. From a pastoral theological perspective, this social phenomenon is deeply troubling because Asians and Asian Americans continue to be victimized by racial biases and social prejudices. How should we then address this communal crisis theologically? I answer this question by uncovering the hidden stereotypical, sociocultural narratives that have historically contributed to scapegoating people of Asian descent. In doing so, I critically appropriate René Girard’s social analytic framework and theological insights, especially engaging in his ideas such as mimetic desires, the scapegoat mechanism, and the sacralizing of violence. I argue that to dismantle and shift the scapegoating narrative, it is imperative for the racially victimized and socially marginalized to resist the toxic mechanism of victimization in solidarity.
ISSN:2161-4504
Enthält:Enthalten in: Journal of pastoral theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/10649867.2021.1919843