The US census bureau has not questioned Americans about religion since 1950s but some data had been collected by the federal government for about a century before that. Federal and assistant marshals who acted as censes enumerators until the civil war, collected data from religious leaders and clergy members, on the numbers of churches, their religion as well as the seating capacities and property values. According to censes analysis journal of 2010, the census bureau has been allowed to ask questions about religious practices only on a voluntary basis in some population and household survey (U.S. Censes, 2010). Only information gathered on religion and churches is on economic data or places of worship and establishments operated by the church.
The US censes bureau does not have much on the religious affiliation of Americans as prohibited by the public law; 94-521. It restricts the US census bureau from asking questions regarding religious affiliation on a mandatory basis, therefore the census bureau does not give the source for data on religion and hence information obtained was retrieved from religious organizations. From 1999, approximately 168 million Americans identified themselves with certain religious group, and the majority of these, 158 million claimed to be Christians and the rest of the group were Jews 5.8 million, Muslims 3 million, and the rest making up the remaining percentage.
Hinduism is among the most ancient of the eastern religions and it has a great influence on western civilization and through the years it has given rise to some cults and religious movements. In the first decade of the twenty first century, recognition to Hinduism culture in America had increasingly risen among religious schools although...
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...regions is to create a common understanding.
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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.
The concept of collecting census data has been around for thousands of years. It was a census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem when Jesus was born. But it wasn't until the United States declared its independence and became its own country that counts were taken so consistently, or census records so well maintained.
The 1971 Census included the option of describing yourself as having ‘no religion’ if this applied to you. Why and how has this category changed since 1947?
Smith, Paul Chaat. 2009. Everything You Know about Indian Is Wrong. Minneapolis: Unviersity of Minnesota Press. Print.
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1.) Intro: I decided to focus my Religious Ethnography on a friend whom I recently have become close with. Adhita Sahai is my friend’s name, which she later told me her first name meant “scholar.” I choose to observe and interview Adhita, after she invited me to her home after hearing about my assignment. I was very humbled that she was open to this, because not only was it a great opportunity for this paper, but it also helped me get to know Adhita better. I took a rather general approach to the religious questions that I proposed to the Sahai family because I didn’t want to push to deep, I could tell Hinduism is extremely important to this family. Because this family does not attend a religious site where they worship, I instead listened to how they do this at home as a family instead.
...e. Today, there is estimated between one and two million members living in the United States. Hindus arrived in the United States between 1890’s-1924 and post 1965. Since 1965, however, U.S. Hinduism has emphasized building temples devoted to ritual worship. Lastly, current temples and communities with Hindus are located in and around larger US cities linking Hindus connection to social identity.
Religion among Americans is currently very widespread currently. Research shows, approximately 90 percent of Americans profess a belief in God. Therefore religion remains a great influence on American culture. But ironically, the United States is among the few nations that doesn’t establish an official religion. This is called the separation of church and state. The implementation of the separation of church and state, in the 1990s, has been a controversy that has not only transformed the government but also the education of our current society.
One thing that many Americans do not realize is how much religion plays a role in American lives, and how it has played a role in our presidents lives from the very beginning of our country to now
Ed Christopher Vecsey. NewYork: Syracuse University Press, 1981. - - - . Native Religions of North America: The Power of Visions and Fertility. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.
Josephy, Alvin M. The Indian Heritage of America. New York, 1968. Pp. 53, 116. _________. Through Indian Eyes. New York, 1995, Pp. 330-332, 383.
It is believed that America was a country founded on religious principles, however as the country aged, the concept of separation of church and state was created. This notion was meant to prevent religious ideas and practices from infiltrating the government. Although many people today accept separation of church and state as normal and effective since its implementation, the truth is the U.S. government has still had an influence in society’s perception of religion. In the nation’s history, the Government has controlled and encouraged certain religious beliefs in many explicit, yet subtle, ways. For example, the Government has had a large hand in monitoring religious beliefs in the army; the effects of this can be seen in the case of the four chaplains stamp. In addition, during the consensus era, the U.S. felt pressured by the circumstances in other countries to encourage good morals in the form of religion. Furthermore, the government manipulated religion to create unity within the country and to instil nationalism into Americans. Although the nation’s government claims to be independent from religion, America’s history illustrates how the government has used religion to shape the country.