Review

General Books

Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America is part of the Oxford University Press series "Religion in American Life," and contributes to the comprehensive and varied nature of this fine canon of scholarship on American religions. This segment of the series considers Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism in America from the start of the 20th century when these minority religions faced government restrictions and various forms of public discrimination, to the beginning of the 21st century, when these sects became accepted and viewed as an important part of the religious mosaic of American life. The three authors—Gurinder Singh Mann, Paul David Numrich, and Raymond B. Williams—are experts in their fields and construct a narrative that provides a comprehensive history of the Asian roots of these religions, their trans-Pacific migration to America, and the inevitable process of assimilation into the American mainstream.	1
This narrative is divided into nine free standing chapters that cover Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism, based on their chronological arrival on the shores of the United States. Each religion is covered in three chapters that provide complete coverage of the teachings of the sect and how these faith groups have adjusted to American culture. The benefit of this text is that teachers can use the entire book, focus on one of the religions, or simply select a single chapter to use with their students. In addition, each chapter is richly illustrated, contains one-page sources that covers interesting topics including "Moving to a New Culture," "Core Sikh Beliefs," "A Proud Hindu," "Hindu Weddings," and "Buddha: More Than a Statue." The entire text can be used in high school and college classrooms and is an important source for any educator who is looking for a concise and understandable description of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism.	2
The only criticism of the text is the absence of a short chapter or prologue that analyzes immigration policies, nativism, and anti-Asian biases in the United States from the late 19th century to the passage of immigration reforms in the 1960s. An addition of this sort would eliminate the repetition that appears in the "Come to America" chapters that cover very similar laws and restrictions facing all Asian immigrants in the early 20th century.	3
Apart from this minor shortcoming, Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs in America makes an important contribution to American religious history and will benefit high school history teachers and college professors.	4
Iona College, New Rochelle, NY James T. Carroll

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