"A major breakthrough in the study of the transnational adoption movement in the postwar era. In a field dominated by social scientific approaches, Chung’s emphasis on the religious dimension is unique and significant, serving to broaden and deepen our understanding of the adoption movement and its impacts. Adopting for God’s originality, depth, and insightfulness make it a necessary and significant read for scholars from many fields.
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~Kevin Xiyi Yao, author of The Fundamentalist Movement among the Protestant Missionaries in China, 1920–1937
"A strongly written, compelling account of adoption evangelists who promoted transnational adoptions while also evangelizing for God. This book cogently demonstrates that during the Cold War context, Christians’ theological convictions had the power to shape America’s institutions of family and race. Chung’s scholarship deftly integrates Transracial Adoption Studies and Asian American Studies with a nuanced understanding of religion.
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~Russell Jeung, San Francisco State University
"Adopting for God uncovers the influential—yet flawed—gendered anti-racism work of a previous generation, and how it promoted the acceptance of Korean and mixed-race adoptions. Soojin Chung’s compelling study explains why interracial adoption and child sponsorship continue to shape the outreach of American Christians today. I highly recommend this splendid and readable study, especially for scholars concerned with the intersections of race, gender, family history, and Cold War politics.
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~Dana Robert, Boston University
"Adopting for God deals with American Christians—of both evangelical and ecumenical persuasions—who urged their fellow Americans to open their hearts and homes to non-White adoptees, especially children from war-torn Korea."
~Christian Century Book Review
"[S]cholars can thank Soojin Chung for another contribution to our growing understanding of the multi-faceted ways in which missionaries have shaped American culture. - Philip D. Byers, University of Notre Dame."
~Fides et Historia, Fides et Historia
"Not only does Chung provide us with comprehensive timelines and biographies of adoption evangelicals; even more importantly, Chung critically assesses the consequences of their actions, establishes a connection between history and current trends, and sheds light on rich intricacies of our Christian history that are not widely known and deserve our utmost attention. Adopting for God is a formative text for anyone interested in studying the legacy of the transnational adoption movement in the US, advancing the discipline of Christian missiology, or conducting comparative research of transnational adoption across other racial and ethnic contexts."
~Maci Sepp, Reading Religion - American Academy of Religion
"All audiences will learn from this volume as it is written in an accessible and engaging manner, providing
context and definition, as needed, to support the points presented. It is necessary to understand the history of transnational adoption in the United States to bring context to current issues, including the identity development of adult Korean adoptees wanting to incorporate their Korean ethnicity and culture. Adopting for God impacts understanding of transnational adoption in very positive ways.
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~Church History, Church History
