Asian American Apostate

“Asian American Apostate is a stunning contribution to the topic of deconstruction and leaving high-demand religion that for too long has been almost exclusively occupied by White voices.”

-Bradley Onishi, host of Straight White American Jesus and author of Preparing for War: The Extremist History of White Christian Nationalism-and What Comes Next

R. Scott Okamoto had no idea that his job as an English teacher at an evangelical Christian college meant facing bigotry as an Asian American and faux intellectualism as a teacher-and what it would mean for his own journey.

Asian American Apostate is a wry and ironic story of leaving religion while teaching at an evangelical university. Okamoto’s often chilling accounts reveal that these schools, where prayer and trite theological debate erupts in any lecture, are anything but higher education. Stories range from a classroom declaration against interracial marriage because it causes painful pregnancies, to grading a paper entitled, “Why Obama Is a Nazi,” and to the times Okamoto, a popular teacher, was disciplined by school officials for keeping standards for writing. Okamoto’s personal reporting gives you the inside story of how America’s evangelical schools encourage not a life of the mind but White cultural power. More than that, you’ll see how Okamoto found clarity about who he was not, and who he was coming to be.

Read along as Okamoto recounts his difficult, unlikely, and ultimately encouraging journey, one that will immerse you in the search for a deeper and more expansive life.

Author Biography

R. Scott Okamoto is a writer, musician, and podcaster. A fourth generation Japanese American (Yonsei) Okamoto holds an M.A. in writing, and much of his professional life involved teaching university level English. He is also the host of the series-based podcast Chapel Probation. Okamoto is an avid fisher, GenX guitar player, poet, and participant in the Asian American artist community in Southern California, where he lives with his wife and three kids. Find out more at rscottokamoto.com.