"John Calvin, Refugee Theologian" A Conversation with Kenneth Woo

In this episode of Centering the Asian American Christian Podcast, hosts Daniel Lee and Yulee Lee sit down with church historian and theologian Dr. Kenneth “Ken” Woo, author of John Calvin, Refugee Theologian: Introducing a Reformer in Exile. Together, they explore what happens when one of Christianity’s towering Reformation figures is read through the eyes of an outsider, a refugee, and an Asian American.
What if John Calvin—often caricatured as a cold, hyper-intellectual champion of predestination—was actually writing from the margins, as a displaced person longing for home? And what might that mean for Asian American Christians who have inherited and love the Reformed tradition, but have often met it in heavily “whitened” or de-contextualized forms?
Through stories of family migration, pastoral ministry, and academic work, Ken shares how his own Chinese American refugee heritage reshaped the way he reads Calvin, and how reframing Calvin as a refugee can open space for Asian American believers to see themselves not as perpetual guests in the Reformed tradition, but as genuine heirs and contributors.
Resources Mentioned
John Calvin, Refugee Theologian: https://bakeracademic.com/products/9781540963055_john-calvin-refugee-theologian
Fuller’s Asian American Center - aac.fuller.edu
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