Religious identity is oftentimes inextricably linked with ethnic and racial identity, and this is nowhere as clear as in American Buddhism. The "two Buddhisms" typology, a product of scholars describing Buddhists through a racial lens, has characterized American Buddhism into two different types: Buddhism practiced by persons of Asian ancestry who were raised in the tradition, versus Buddhism comprised of persons who choose later in life to accept and/or practice Buddhist teachings. While it seems that Buddhists raised in the tradition have a different understanding of Buddhism than those who accept Buddhism as adults, the language used has tended to emphasize the racial identity of adherents at the sacrifice of religious identity. What I propose, as a correction to the overemphasis on race in American Buddhism scholarship, is a model of denominationalism which will place emphasis on religious identity, while incorporating racial and/or ethnic identity at a secondary level.
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