The History of Religious Conflicts in America
Throughout its history, the United States has characteristically remained a country of two things: a country of immigrants, and a country of unmatched religious diversity. And yet when compared with the rest of the world – where these two very factors alone have so often engendered horrible religious wars and decades of enduring conflict – the history of religious conflict in the United States seems almost nonexistent.
That is not to say the United States has been immune to its share of conflict explicitly rooted in religion. This paper explores the various manifestations of religious conflict throughout the history of the United States, from the Revolutionary War to the attacks of September 11th and their fallout. A distinction is drawn between religious intolerance, which is not the focus of this paper, and outright religious persecution or violence. Similarly, the paper reflects efforts made to de-conflate religious conflict from ethnic and racial conflict, which has been much more prominent throughout the history of the United States. In examining the history of religious violence, intolerance, discrimination, and persecution in the United States, we arrive at some possible explanations for why the United States has seen such minimal religious conflict despite being so religiously diverse.
The Revolution
It has been said that the United States is a nation founded on religious conflict. The colonies were settled by those escaping religious persecution in Europe. There is even some evidence that religion played a major role in the American Revolution and that revolutionaries believed it was willed by God for the Americans to wage war against the British.[1]
As the Church ...
... middle of paper ...
...bits/religion/rel03.html
[2] Ibid.
[3] Encyclopedia of American Religious History, Revised Edition, Vol. II. “Religious violence.” Edward L. Queen II. Page 601. 2001.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Queen, 602.
[6] Emily Eakin. “Reopening a Mormon Murder Mystery.” The New York Times, section B, page 9, Oct. 12, 2002.
[7] Queen, 605.
[8] “Antisemitism in the Depression Era (1933-1939),” Leonard Dinnerstein. Religion in American History, A reader. Page 413. 1998.
[9] “Religious Liberty.” American Civil Liberties Union. http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLibertyMain.cfm
[10] “Geographic Distribution of Religious Centers in the U.S” Committee on the Study of Religion. Harvard University, Jan. 2002. http://www.plurarlism.org/resources/statistics/distribution.php
[11] “Foreword.” Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/01hate.pdf
The issue that this case raises, is whether or not the officers had the right to search the car of a person who they just arrested, while the person is handcuffed and placed in the back of a squad car?
Arizona V. Hicks discusses the legal requirements law enforcement needs to meet to justify the search and seizure of a person’s property under the plain view doctrine. The United States Supreme Court delivered their opinion of this case in 1987, the decision is found in the United States reports, beginning on page 321, of volume 480. This basis of this case involves Hicks being indicted for robbery, after police found stolen property in Hick’s home during a non-related search of the apartment. Hicks had accidentally discharged a firearm into the apartment below him, injuring the resident of that apartment. Police responded and searched Hicks apartment to determine the identity of the shooter, recover the weapon, and to locate other victims.
Terry v. Ohio was in 1968 it had a decision by the United States Supreme Court which held that the fourth amendment prohibition on the unreasonable search and seizures is not violated when a police officer stops a suspect on the streets and frisks him or her without probable cause to arrest, if the police officer had a reasonable suspicion of that person had commit a crime in which he can be belief that the person may have a weapons that can be dangerous to a police officer.
The Supreme Court had to decide on the question of, does random drug testing of high school athletes violate the reasonable search and seizure clause of the Fourth Amendment? According to the Fourth Amendment, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
One of the key aspects that may have led to the initial stages of the trials and ultimate spiral out of control is the religious context of Ne...
Miranda vs. Arizona was a case that considered the rights of the defendants in criminal cases in regards to the power of the government.
Nashville police department received information that a suspect in a car bombing case, as well as some illegal, stolen equipment, could be found in the home of Mary Cooper. A few law enforcement officers were dispatched to her home. The police officers went to Cooper’s home and asked for permission to enter the home, but Cooper refused, without a search warrant. Two officers left and two were still at the resident of Mrs. Cooper. A few hours later, the two police officers returned with more police officers, waving a piece of paper, and broke open the front door. Cooper asked to see the warrant and took it from the officer, putting it her pants. The police officers had a struggle with Cooper and took the piece of paper away from her. They handcuffed for being aggressively
America today still maintains the separation of church and state, an idea that was founded by some of the earliest colonists.... ... middle of paper ... ... William Penn, Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania, soon after wrote the Pennsylvania Charter of Privileges and Liberties, a constitution for the colony of Pennsylvania, which enabled the people to freely practice their religion of choice without fear of government punishment. American colonies were clearly established with the intent to all live together with Christian beliefs, but with so many interpretations and versions of the same religious scripture, freedom to practice whichever adaptation feels right became most important in colonial life. And as a safe haven for those who were persecuted in their home countries, America truly flourished as a place for the religiously tolerant.
Bailey was living in an apartment where police obtained a warrant to search the premise for cocaine and firearms. When the police arrived to the area, Bailey was seen moving into the vehicle to which the police followed him. As Bailey was a mile away from the warrant area, Bailey was pulled over and was pat down to find a key in his pocket. Denying the key belong to Bailey himself, he was handcuffed and returned to the scene to which the key opened the apartment’s door.
After Harriet Tubman had successfully freed herself, she returned to the dangerous ground she just fled from to help free her family. After formulating these first few rescues, Harriet had begun to establish the Underground Railroad that would help her free hundreds of slaves from discrimination and injustice in the southern parts of the United States. The Underground Railroad was a secret transportation route that escaped slaves would use to travel North towards freedom. Harriet had made over 19 trips to the Deep South and rescued over 300 slaves during the years she was involved with the Underground Railroad. There was an immense amount of planning and direction that was needed in order for this escape route to be successful. She was in charge of people’s lives an...
Religion in the New World exploded into the land with the colonization of thousands of immigrants. It played an important role in the development of thought in the West. Religion was one of the first concepts to spark the desires of people from other countries to emigrate to the new lands. While many religions blossomed on the American shores of the Atlantic, a basic structure held for most of them, being predominantly derived from Puritanism. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, showed the link the new settlers had to God when Sir Thomas Dale said the following in 1610:
The case between Terry and the state of Ohio presented major concern for the Fourth Amendment which deals with unreasonable searches and seizure without a warrant. On October 31, 1963, Officer McFadden stopped and searched John W. Terry, Richard Chilton, and another individual for weapons during a night in the state of Ohio because he suspected that they were planning on robbing a store because they kept walking up and down in front of the store. The officer approached them announcing that he was a police officer and decided to search them for weapons for his own safety. The officer soon found out that Terry and Richard Chilton both had a concealed weapon with them and he confiscated the guns and both were taken into custody. The third individual
The Underground Railroad brought freedom to countless passengers in the years leading up to the Civil War, thanks to conductors who risked their own lives to help slaves escape and lead them to slavery. Harriet Tubman is one of the most famous conductors to have worked on the Underground Railroad, whose journeys were made even more dangerous due to the fact that she was an escaped slave herself. Tubman was nicknamed “Moses” for helping hundreds of slaves find freedom and was very proud to say to say of her time as a conductor, “I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger” (Harriet Tubman).
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.
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness that affects one to two percent of people worldwide. The disorder can develop as early as the age of five, though it is very rare at such an early age. (3)) Most men become ill between the ages of 16 and 25 whereas most women become ill between the ages of 25 and 30. Even though there are differences in the age of development between the sexes, men and women are equally at risk for schizophrenia. (4) There is of yet no definitive answer as to what causes the disorder. It is believed to be a combination of factors including genetic make-up, pre-natal viruses, and early brain damage which cause neurotransmitter problems in the brain. (3)