Broad Asian American (AAPI) Christian Support for Biden: Significant Number of Asian American Evangelicals Breaking for Biden

With the release of a sign-on letter that contains over 100 names of Asian American Pacific Islander Christians, there appears to be a swelling of support among Christians for the Biden/Harris ticket.

While the sign-on letter contains a broad swath of leaders from across the Christian traditions as well as a pan-Asian representation, an interesting trend emerges. Notably, the statements from Asian American Pacific Islander evangelicals signal a deviation from white evangelicals — one of President Trumps most consistent supporting groups.

Rev. James Cho, a pastor in Fullerton, CA summarizes it by saying, “Last election, I could not vote for either Clinton or Trump. My reason for not voting for Trump was my concern was xenophobic rhetoric that was coming from him. However, I was willing to suspend judgment when he was elected. This election, based on the decisions and continual negative rhetoric that has had very personal consequences, I’ve decided to vote Democrat for the first time in my life. I could not resolve supporting such a person as a Christian no matter the positive benefits to the church.”

This sentiment is echoed by Rev. Dr. Elmo Familiaran, from Palmer Theological Seminary, “The last 4 years have seen an unprecedented assault on democratic norms and constitutional values of the United States, and corruption is now rife in all the major institutions of the government, root to branches. The ruling political party has proven to be a divisive presence in the body politic, pitting Americans against each other, and fomenting racial and class animus that has drawn the country away from the common good and a noble national identity. The country needs to heal very badly. It needs leadership that embodies the opposite qualities of all that afflicts it now. A Biden-Harris ticket will lead us away from our national and international affliction.

Christian leaders gave several reasons for their endorsement but prominent themes include concerns about Trump’s inciting of racial violence, valuing the honesty, integrity, and civility of Biden, concerns about the treatment of immigrants and people of color. Many cited a concern about the state of democracy and civility. Others state that their faith values most align with the Biden/Harris ticket.

Nikki Toyama-Szeto, a Christian leader based in Arlington, VA, “My Christian faith tells me that all people are made in God’s image, and I am appalled at how the current administration treats immigrants, refugees and people of color as disposable. Biden cares about people.”

Alice Lor, of Saint Pail, MN states, “Even if I differ with Biden on certain issues, I am voting for him because Trump lacks the experience and integrity to lead. If you don’t have a leader working with the people but instead working for his own self-interest, he should not be in public service.”
Notable signers (both Evangelical and from the broader Christian Community) include: (organizations are for identification purposes only):

* Bishop Grant Hagiya, United Methodist Church
* Nikki Toyama-Szeto, Christians for Social Action (Evangelicals for Social Action)
* Al Tizon, North Park Theological Seminary
* Jeffrey Kuan, Claremont School of Theology
* Bishop Hee Soo Jung
* Daniel Lee, Fuller Seminary
* Rev. Sandhya Jha, Oakland Peace Center
* Dr. Joyce del Rosario, Pacific School of Religion
* Bill Watanabe., Asian American & Pacific Islander Christians for Social Justice
* Rev. Young Bong Kim, United Methodist Church, VA
* Rev. Nori Ochi, American Baptist Churches
* Pastor Piula Alailima, Wesley United Methodist Church, Honolulu
* Kathy Khang, writer, speaker and CSA
* David Chao, Princeton Seminary
* Dr. Kyunglim Lee, Vice President of Wesley Theological Seminary
* Hyepin Im, FACE
* Uriah Kim, Graduate Theological Union
* Steven Park, Little Lights Urban Ministries
* Soong-Chan Rah, North Park Seminary
*Organizations are for identification purposes, and do not reflect an organizational endorsement

Al Tizon (North Park Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL)
Alice Lor (Saint Paul, MN)
Allison Mark (Faith United Methodist Church of Torrance Torrance, CA)
Amelia Chua (Albany, CA)
Andrew Park (United Theological Seminary, Trotwood, OH)
Aryani Ong (Chinese Americans for Biden, Rockville, MD)
B. Yuki Schwartz (Keystone Congregational UCC, Seattle, WA)
Barbara Yonemura (NAACP, Sacramento, CA)
Bill Watanabe (Asian American & Pacific Islander Christians for Social Justice, Los Angeles, CA)
Boyung Lee (Ilif School of Theology Denver, CO)
Brenda Wong (Castro Valley, CA)
Charles Buck (United Church Funds New York, NY)
Christie Heller de Leon (InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Sacramento, CA)
Christine Hong (Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA)
Cynthia Yoshitomi (St. Anthony’s Catholic Community, Santa Barbara, CA)
Daniel Cho (HA:N UMC, New York, NY)
Daniel Lee (Fuller Theological Seminary, Temple City, CA)
Daniel Lee (Bethel Presbyterian Church, Beaverton, OR)
Daniel Lee (Bethany Korean Church Burbank, CA)
David Chao (Princeton Theological Seminary, Princeton, NJ)
David Niu (Nevada City, CA)
David Wang (One Life City Church Fullerton, CA)
Donald Hayashi (United Methodist, Vandalia, OH))
Elaine Cho (United Methodist Church Santa Clarita, CA)
Elaine Moy (General Commission on the Status and Role of Women — UMC, Chicago, IL)
Elmo Familiaran (Palmer Theological Seminar Bordentown, NJ)
Eugene Park (San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, CA)
Evie Fong (San Francisco, CA)
Ezer Kang (Howard University, Washington, DC)
Florence Li Maldonado (American Baptist Home Mission Societies, King of Prussia, PA)
Gale Yee (Episcopal Divinity School Claremont, CA)
Grace Kao (Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, CA)
Grace Ji-Sun Kim (Earlham School of Religion, Bethlehem, PA)
Grant Hagiya (United Methodist Church Los Angeles, CA)
Hannah Estrella (Methodist, Stockton, CA)
Hee Soo Jung (Sun Prairie, WI)
Hyepin Im (Faith and Community Empowerment (formerly KCCD), Los Angeles, CA)
James Cho (Grace Mission University Fullerton, CA)
James Jung (Catholics 4 Biden, Pittsburgh, PA)
Janet Fujioka (United Church of Christ Hilo, HI)
Janna Louie (Monrovia, CA)
Jason Chu (GGE Media, Pasadena, CA)
Jason Park (San Jose, CA)
Jason Takagi (California-Pacific Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, Atascadero, CA)
Jeff Eng (Plano, TX)
Jeffrey Kuan (Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, CA)
Jeremy Chia (L’Arche, Chicago, IL)
Jerry Park (Baylor University, Waco, TX)
Jerry West (Oakland, CA)
Jerry Yoshitomi (Saint Anthony’s Catholic Community, Santa Barbara, CA)
Jessica ChenFeng (Loma Linda University, Fuller Seminary, Montclair, CA)
Jin S. Kim (Presbyterian Church (USA), Minneapolis, MN)
JoAnn Fukumoto (United Methodist Church Pearl City, HI)
Joshua Tom (Seattle Pacific University Seattle, WA)
Joyce del Rosario (Pacific School of Religion Berkeley, CA)
Justin Fung (Christ City Church, Washington, DC)
K. Christine Pae (Denison University, Granville, OH)
K. Samuel Lee (Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, CA)
Kathryn Choy-Wong (American Baptist Churches USA, San Francisco, CA)
Kathy Khang (Christians for Social Action Libertyville, IL)
Keith Inouye (Wesley United Methodist Church, San Jose, CA)
Ken Fong (ABC/USA, Sierra Madre, CA)
Kevin Chau (University of the Free State, Middleton, WI)
Kil Sang Yoon (Korean American National Coordinating Council, Inc. New York, NY)
Kirsten Oh (United Methodist/Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, CA)
Kyunglim Lee (Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, D.C.)
Kyung Min Lee (Walking Faith Christian Church, Sunnyvale, CA)
Leslie Cheng (First Baptist Church Pasadena, Pasadena, CA)
Lindy Li (American Association for Cancer Research, Philadelphia, PA)
Max B Surjadinata (United Church of Christ (UCC), New York, NY)
Melissa Borja (Indianapolis, IN)
Michael Campos (De La Salle University Manila, Manila and San Francisco, CA)
Monalisa Tuitahi (Pacific Islander National Caucus UMC, Santa Ana, CA)
Nancy Kobayashi (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA)
Nikki Toyama-Szeto (Evangelicals for Social Action/CSA, Arlington, VA)
Nori Ochi (American Baptist Churches, Los Angeles, CA)
Peter Huang (The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, Pasadena, CA)
Peter Phan (Theology and Religious Studies, Georgetown University, Washington, DC)
Philip Chiu (Southern Baptist Church Cerritos, CA)
Piula Alailima (Wesley United Methodist Church, Honolulu, HI)
Rae Huang (Presbyterian Church USA Los Angeles, CA)
Raj Nadella (Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA)
Randy Choi (Union Church of LA Los Angeles, CA)
Rita Nakashima (Brock Christian Church, (Disciples of Christ), Alexandria, VA)
Russell Jeung (New Hope Covenant Church, Oakland, CA)
Sabrina Chan (Durham, NC)
Sandhya Jha (Oakland Peace Center Oakland, CA)
Sandy Samaile (San Lorenzo, CA)
Sarang Kang (PC(USA), Warren, MI)
Sejin Oh (United Methodist Church San Pedro, CA)
Shingshiong Chang (First United Methodist Church, Pasadena, CA)
Soomee Kim (UMC, Placentia, CA)
Soong-Chan Rah (North Park Theological Seminary, Chicago, IL)
Steven Park (Little Lights Urban Ministries, Washington, DC)
Theresa La (Fountain Valley, CA)
Tom Tseng (Alhambra, CA)
Tracey Gee (Tracey Gee LLC, Los Angeles, CA)
Uriah Kim (Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA)
Young Bong Kim (United Methodist Church Clifton, VA)
Young Lee Hertig (ISAAC, Los Angeles, CA)