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The role of religions in a political society
Religious diversity and its effects
The role of religion in politics
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Religious Conflict due to Immigration
America is now known as one of the most religiously diverse nations that the world has today, but it hasn’t always been that way. This diversity is directly related to immigration from other nations who were escaping persecution for their particular religion. Over time, people became more accepting of the other religions and out diversity grew. In the late 1800s, immigration caused a big conflict with all of the different religions, but this conflict ended up helping create the religious diversity that we have now.
At this point in time, religion is fully a part of America’s culture about 92% of all Americans believe that there is some sort of God or higher power. If you ask people if they are 100% certain that there is a God that number decreases to about 70%. When it comes to asking people if they have a religion you would have about 83% of the population and about half of these people consider their religion to be a major part of their lives. If this is the statistic about religion in America now, it is hard not to wonder what it would have been like in the past when immigration was at one of its peaks, and the main reason these people came to America was for religious freedom.
Most of the religious diversity in America can be attributed to immigration. This didn’t really pick up until the late 1800s. People from all over the world started coming to America to escape persecution in their homeland. Within a period of 30 years, 1860 through 1890, about 10 million immigrants came over to the United States. In the next 15 years, 1890-1914, that number increased to 15 million people. A good majority of these people came from southern and eastern Europe, these immigrants usually landed on the...
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...k. Religion in America since 1945 : A History. New York, NY, USA: Columbia University Press , 2004. Print. 44-45
Fisher, James Terence. Communion of Immigrants : A History of Catholics in America. Cary, NC, USA : Oxford University Press, USA , 2007. Print.
Fowler, Robert Booth, and Allen D. Hertzke. Religion and Politics in America : Faith, Culture, and Strategic Choices . Boulder, CO, USA: Westview Press, 2009. Print.
Gaustad, Edwin, and Leigh Schmidt. The Religious History of America. ed. New York, NY: HarperOne, 2004. Print
Joselit, Jenna Weissman . Parade of Faiths : Immigration and American Religion. Cary, NC, USA : Oxford University Press, USA , 2007. Print.
Treviño, Roberto R. "Race and Ethnicity." Blackwell Companions to Religion: The Blackwell Companion to Religion in America. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2010. Credo Reference. Web. 14 April 2014.
By 1763, although some colonies still maintained established churches, other colonies had accomplished a virtual revolution for religious toleration and separation of church and state. The Anglican Church was the only established denomination in England. In contrast, the colonies supported a great variety of churches. The largest were the Congregationalist, Anglican, and German churches, but many smaller denominations could be found through the colonies. In addition to this, a high percentage of Americans didn’t belong to any church. These differences could be attributed to the fact that many of the Europeans who immigrated to America didn’t fit in to or agree with the churches in their homelands.
Robert Laurence Moore has written a delightful, enlightening, and provocative survey of American church history centered around the theme of "mixing" the "sacred" with the "secular" and vice versa. The major points of conversation covered include the polarization caused by the public display of religious symbols, the important contribution that women and Africans have made to the American religious mosaic, the harmony and friction that has existed between science and religion, the impact of immigration on religious pluralism, and the twin push toward the union and separation of religion and politics.
Mexicans were Christian people and White immigrants were not as alarmed by their religious practices as they were by the repulsive practices on California Indians or “pagan idolaters”. Mexican Catholics were at least a God-fearing people and therefore seen as more closely approximating European-American notions of civility. Their culture was welcomed and adopted through the Catholics Church’s “Americanization” program which included an introduction to bilingual parochial schools, orphanages, hospitals, and newspaper publications
In a country mainly composed of Protestants, why didn’t the church have a role in helping immigrants? Another way to continue the analysis of this excerpt is by discovering how the audience responded to his lecture. (Labaree, 1850 in Cohen 995)
Roof, Wade Clark. "Contemporary Conflicts: Tradition vs. Transformation." Contemporary American Religion. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 226-27. Print.
New brands of distinctly American Christianity began developing early in the country’s history. Before the revolution, George Whitefield set the stage for American religious movements. The most important factor that helped launch these movements was the American Revolution. The country was ripe with conversation and action on a new understanding of freedom. The revolution “expanded the circle of people who considered themselves capable of thinking for themselves about issues of … equality, sovereignty, and representation” (6). The country was beginning to move toward an understanding of strength lying in the common people, and the people’s ability to make their own personal decisions on issues of leadership and authority. There was a common belief that class structure was the major societal problem. The revolution created the an open environment that pushed equality of the individual, allowing political and religious beliefs to flourish and grow without being held in check by authoritarian leaders.
Religion of the protestant church was an important factor in the pre-war timeline culture. The Second great awakening, which occurred in the 19th century, greatly impacted American society. This new point of view in terms and matters of faith led northerners to cherish the theory of Christian perfection, a theory that in fact was applied to society in an attempt to eliminate social imperfection. On the other hand, southerners reacted by cherishing a faith of personal piety, which focused mainly on a reading of the Bible; however, it expressed very little concern in addressing society’s problems.1
Gaustad, Edwin S. The Religious History of America: The Heart of the American Story from Colonial Times to Today. N.p.: HarperOne, 2004. Print.
America today has changed tremendously throughout the years not only politically but also religiously. From the first colonists who came to America for religious independence to todays melting pot of different religious and cultural backgrounds. They had to get their differences somewhere, and what better place than America. It all started in colonial America, with the first settlers. Among these colonists there are a few major names and topics that help to shape colonial America into what it is now. These individuals impacted America’s religious development greatly, with their new ideas and foreign advancements in religious prosperity.
Smith T., 2006, The root causes of Immigration, Justice for Immigration a journey of hope, Catholic Conference of Kentucky
Thomas, Oliver "Buzz". "How To Keep The 'United' In United States: Coping With Religious Diversity In The World's First 'New' Nation." Church & State Feb. 2007: 19+. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 1 Mar. 2013.
In the beginning, life was not easy for the numerous Irish - Catholic immigrants who fled the Great Potato Famine of 1845 and, “. . . Protestant ascendancy, British colonialism and turbulence in their own country. . . “(2) Because of their lack of funds many Irish immigrants landed in less expensive Canadian ports, and then walked down into the United States.(3) Not only was the ocean voyage difficult, but once reaching the United States, most immigrants found that they were not welcomed with open arms, but rather pushed away because of their religious affiliations. Catholics found themselves the minority and targets of discrimination.(4) Settled Americans saw the new influx of Irish immigrants as a plague, dirtying their streets and neighborhoods, filling their jails and sanitariums, creating public disruption. “Negative stereotypes imported from England characterizing the Irish as pugnacious, drunken, semi-savage, were common and endured. . . “(5) A...
Today, in most cases, people don’t spend very much time thinking about why the society we live in presently, is the way it is. Most people would actually be surprised about all that has happened throughout America’s history. Many factors have influenced America and it’s society today, but one of the most profound ways was the way the “Old Immigrants” and “New Immigrants” came to America in the early to mid 1800s. The “Old Immigrants were categorized as the ones who came before 1860 and the “New Immigrants” being the ones who came between 1865 and 1920. The immigrants came to the United States, not only seeking freedom, but also education. Many immigrants also wanted to practice their religion without hindrance. What happened after the immigrants
Robinson, B. A. (2009, December 15). Religious discrimination built into the. Retrieved May 29, 2010, from Religious Tolerance: http://www.religioustolerance.org/texas.htm
6. Bohdan R. Bociurkiw and John W. Strong, Religion and Atheism in the U.S.S.R. and