Dr. Jiexia Zhai Autry

Dr. Jiexia Zhai Autry is a Program Officer for East Asia at the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE). Prior to joining IGE, Dr. Zhai worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology and Asian/Asian American Studies at Miami University. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. from the Department of Sociology, University of Texas-Austin, and a B.A. from Peking University. She has conducted research and taught courses on religion in China and Taiwan, on religion and social demography, on Asian immigrants in the U.S., and on Globalization and Chinese Diaspora. As a Principal Investigator, Dr. Zhai was recently awarded and is directing a large research grant funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Together with her collaborator, Dr. Zhai examines the spread and the impact of a Chinese indigenous Pentecostal and charismatic movement in East Asia. She has also helped and facilitated several large international conferences on empirical studies and dialogue on religion in China, and has been actively involved in East Asian intellectual communities. Dr. Zhai has published peer reviewed articles in both English and Chinese. Some of her recent publications include "Contrasting Trends of Religious Markets in Contemporary China and Taiwan" (Journal of Church and State, 2010) and "Buddhism in Asian America" (in Asian Americans: An Encyclopedia of Social, Cultural, and Political History, forthcoming). She is also the lead author for "Religion and Educational Aspirations in Taiwan 1984-2004"  (Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 2011), "Ethnic, Family, and Social Contextual Influences on Asian American Adolescents' Religiosity" (Sociological Spectrum, 2009). and "Parental Divorce and Religious Involvement among Young Adults" (Sociology of Religion, 2007).