An article in the journal Psychology of Religion and Spirituality outlines a study on "Folk Conceptions of Virtue Among Cambodian Buddhists and Christians: A Hermeneutic Analysis." Of the many immigrant peoples who have come to the United States in recent years, Cambodian American culture is a significantly understudied one--and there is much to be learned, as these folks display distinctive psychological and emotional needs. Many are familiar with death, tragedy and genocide as most first generation Cambodian Americans were resettled in the United States in the early 1980s when one million or more people died as a result of brutal Khmer Rouge rule. Now some of them find sanctuary, a safe haven in these United States, and I commend the writers of this article for bringing the scientific tools of psychology to bear on that great task noted by St. Francis of Assisi, "better to understand than be understood."
The researchers used a small sample size including 12 Cambodian-American Buddhist immigrants and 12 Christian immigrants. Lest you think these numbers are very small, let me point out that scores of hours were spent administering surveys, interviewing, learning about the small community from which the participants were drawn, combining quantitative/empirical with qualitative data, and in the end viewing everything through the hermeneutical and linguistic philosophy of Paul Ricouer--an approach that employs analysis in the service of advanced empathy and understanding. It is good to see psychology in the realm of intellectual discovery that America contributor Father Francis Clooney is doing over at Harvard. Some of the findings give us a better understanding of the Cambodian-American culture, both Buddhist and American:
Responses to the conscientiousness-based virtues were then explored. When asked about accepting one's portion in life, Cambodian American Buddhists believe one has a duty to accept the pain and suffering in this life, whereas members of the two Christian groups conceptualize acceptance in terms of their calling or as personal choice. As AT, a 75-year-old Buddhist woman, said: "It's Buddhist teaching. I accept my experiences." Their acceptance appears dutiful and passive but also communal. In this regard, the translator said of CL, a 77-year-old woman, that "she knows she is part of something larger."
When participants were asked about forgiveness, the Cambodians stressed their relationship with family and community and the importance of forgiving totally and forgiving everyone, whereas the Euro-American Christians stressed the importance of their individual relationship with God and the interference with spiritual growth that occurs when one is not forgiving. Cambodian American Christians also recognize the benefits of forgiveness to the family, but their forgiveness appears to be oriented toward an individual. One Cambodian American Buddhist participant mentioned revenge. PP, a 48-yer-old woman, said that "sometimes you don't want to forgive, but you have to, because according to the religion we don't want to have to get revenge."
When asked whether they value social justice, Cambodian American Buddhists believe that social justice comes from the government, is a good thing, and is not their responsibility, whereas Cambodian American Christians talked of their own responsibility to be just. It is noteworthy that all Cambodian American Buddhist participants received public welfare, and several, at some point during the interview, interpreted this as evidence of their ancestors having gained merit for them in earlier lives. When asked for a comment or example of social justice, however, only RR, a 55-year-old Buddhist woman, related her own experience of receiving welfare with the concept of social justice.
Psychology of Religion and Spirituality is the official journal of Division 36 Psychology of Religion of the American Psychological Association. (I have been a member of this Division for many years and am also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.) There are over 50 divisions in the APA specializing in areas such as testing, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, teaching, private practice, neuropsychology, and many others. The editor of the journal is Dr. Ralph Piedmont of Loyola University of Baltimore. They are sponsoring an upcoming conference on psychology and spirituality--one which promises to introduce ground-breaking work in the field. For further correspondence on this particular article, you may write to Kaye V. Cook of Gordon College: kaye.cook@gordon.edu.
William Van Ornum
Your response intrigues me. I thought I would present material with the style and structure of my profession., a bit more formal and academic than in some of the other blogs. Interesting, interesting.
What really jumped off the page at me was that the people from this country lived through the years of the Khmer Rouge killing fields, where ONE MILLION died. Both the Catholc and regular USA press seem to take little notice of persons from this cultural background and experience, both those who come from Buddhist Cambodian and Christian Cambodian backgrounds.
I am at fault for not doing a better job of all the pains the researchers went through to understnd the language and the other tools they used. They really did a first-rate job and I hope they keep doing this immeasurably beneficial research.
bill
I understand. thanks. bill
We are fortunate in California to have had about half of the Cambodian refugees settle here. Catholic Charities has played an important role in their settlement and adjustments. Needing to make a living, many Cambodians went into the donut business, owning the great majority of donut stores in CA. Now, this is interesting because donuts are a foreign food to them, but they found that niche and capitalized on it. In the present economic recession, many of the stores are closing leaving the owners without their economic wherewhithall. Another factor is the younger generations being educated and going into other career fields. (We have a few Cambodian social workers in the County Childrens" Services). This is a resilient, resourceful people with strong family ties which will hopefully tide them over. Faith can once again provide sustenance, courage and the will to perservere.
Very interesting to hear about the positive role of Catnolic Charities in helping those from Cambodia. I suspect there are many unsung heroes who work for the various Catholic Charities agencies across the country. I am glad to be leaning more about the people from Cambodia. The donut shops are interesting! amdg, bill
That is an outstanidng idea about having another group to study. I suspect it was extremely difficult to get the samples used and another comparison group would have added a great deal of practical complexity but the results would be intriguing. amdg, bill
Thanks for the inteersting thoughts. bill
Interesting about Aian Christianity - the influence of the Jesuits in Japan in the middle ages especially.