Religious Identity in the United States

Among the developed nations of the world the United States of America is one of the most religious. In fact recent studies show that the US is the only developed nation where a majority of its people claimed that religion played a very important role in their lives. Religion in the US has played a tremendous role in shaping the culture of the country. Many of the early settlers in the United States were very religious people who escaped religious prosecution in England so that they could practice their religion freely in the ‘New World’. In fact many of these settlers called themselves ‘Pilgrims’ because they thought that they were chosen by God to go on a divine mission to practice and spread God’s word or to put in the words of John Winthrop to be “A city upon a hill”.[1]

The belief in religious superiority indicated above has played a central role in shaping American Exceptionalism. . This belief was especially preached and advocated in times of War. To this day many Americans believe that one of the reasons for their nation’s success has been the blessing of God. This mentality can be observed in many instances. For example the phrase “In God We Trust” was first seen on U.S. coins in 1864. In 1956 the United States Congress declared it the national motto and since 1957 it has been on all coins and paper bills. [2]

Religion in the United States of America which is a multicultural society with different ethnicities is very diverse. Most of the population in the United States is Christian (78%) [3] however most major religions of the world have followers in the United States. This includes Judaism (1.4%) [3], Islam (0.6% [3] - 2% [4]), Buddhism (0.5% [3] - 2% [5]) and Hinduism (0.4% [3] - 0.9% [6]). While 15% of Americans claim to have ‘no religious affiliation’ [3] with a portion of them claiming to be atheist, this percentage is still relative low compared to other developed countries like Britain and Sweden were 44% and 69% have no religious affiliation. [7]

As indicated above the United States is among the most religious countries among developed countries. However it should also be stated that since the 1960s and 1970s religious identity in the United States has been on the decline. This has clearly been shown by scholarly work and is generally accepted among most researchers. To cite one source researchers point to a survey by the Gallup institute which shows that church membership in the US has fallen from 75% in the 1950 to less than 65% in 2004. Another important aspect is the number of people who have no religious affiliation which currently stands at 16% much higher than the one digit numbers of previous decades. With regards to the period after the 1960s researchers hold different opinions. One position researchers take, Dr Sid Groeneman among them, is that the declining religious effect of that period was so strong that still to this day religious belief and identity in the US has not recovered. A second position sees these changes as temporary and believes that religion revival is gradually taking place. They point out to the growth in evangelical and charismatic churches and a more conservative atmosphere in the US compared with the 1960s and 1970s. A third position that some researchers like professor Wade Clark Roof take is that religious awakening has taken place but it has not lead to a return to the conventional organized religious identity of the 1950s but rather to a more spiritual but less orthodox religious identity. [8]

Regardless of the different view indicated above religion has always played an important role in Americans identity. Considerable evidence documents the influence of religious belief with behavior. Religion causes American people to participate in different religious events and gatherings, increased altruistic behavior like donation to charities [9] and also political participation with specific motives in mind. For example conservative and evangelical Christians tend to support the Republican Party where as religious minorities and secular voters tend to support the Democratic Party. In fact in the 2000 and 2004 US presidential elections George W. Bush was very successful in mobilizing the conservative Christian vote behind him. These voters are more conservative on hot issues like abortion, gun control and gay marriage and find the Republican Party more in tune with their views. [10]

Religious Identity in the United States has deep historic roots with the puritan immigration to the ‘New World’ in the 17th century and to this day it holds an important and influential role in shaping the identity of Americans, making America one of the most religious nations among developed countries. Religious identity in the US plays an important role in the social and political behavior of the people and politicians have sometimes used religious beliefs to rally support for their respective parties. Even though religious identity in the US began to decline in the 1960s and 1970s however most researchers believer that there has been a gradual upheaval in recent decades even though they differ on the nature of this religious revival.

References:

1- Roark, James L, Michael P. Johnson, Patricia Cline Cohen, and Sarah Stage, ‘The American Promise: A History of the United States’, 2004, Bedford publishing
2- Deisher, Beth and William Gibbs, ‘Coin World Almanac’, 2000, Sidney, Ohio: Amos Press
3- Kosmin, Mayer & Keysar, ‘American Identification Survey’, 2001, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York
4- http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_islam_usa.html
5- http://vipassanafoundation.com/Buddhists.html
6- http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?id=26416
7- Zuckerman, Phil. "Atheism: Contemporary Rates and Patterns ", 2005, chapter in The Cambridge Companion to Atheism, ed. by Michael Martin, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK
8- Groeneman, Sid and Garry Tobin, ‘The Decline of Religious Identity in the United States’, 2004, Institute for Jewish and Community Research, San Francisco
9- Smith, Tom W., “Altruism in Contemporary America: A Report from the National Altruism
Study”, 2003, the Fetzer Institute
10- Mckay, David, ‘American Politics and Society’, 2005, Wiley and Blackwell publishing

The ‘White House’ has been the official home and primary work office of the United States President since it was first built in 1800. The white house was burned in 1814 by the British as part of the ‘War of 1812’. It was immediately rebuilt and today it holds an iconic nature as the symbol of the American government. The White House has an official website.

There is a short clip on the official White House website with the current president of the United States, George W. Bush, explaining the oval office. Some interesting observations can be made after viewing the clip. The first point is Bush’s comment regarding the American flag woven into the room’s carpet saying that “you need enough stars to keep the peace”. This is in fact a pretty honest comment by the American president which has clearly shown in his administration that he does not hesitate to protect American interests overseas.

Another interesting observation which can be made from the clip is George W. Bush’s immense admiration for Abraham Lincoln who was the famous American president responsible for abolishing slavery and thus igniting the American Civil war in 1960. What most people do not know is that Lincoln strongly believed in a very powerful presidency. He himself proved this by putting aside the widely admired American constitution during the war years and by not hesitating to use force against southern states in what he called an effort to keep the Union together and to do “what is best for the nation”. The advantages and disadvantages of a strong presidency is debated among political scientists with most of them agreeing that the presidential powers in the United States has been increased since the early days of the constitution where the Congress held most of the powers. Bush is a strong believer in a strong presidency and has shown his unwavering belief by using presidential powers to the limits in his two terms in office especially with regards to the “War on Terror” in general and the war in Iraq in particular.

Bush also points his admirations for Winston Churchill and Eisenhower as steady and strong leaders especially with regards to the former who he believed showed great resilience and toughness as a war leader. Another important thing to note is with regard to the painting he has chosen to hang in his office with one in particular showing a horseman charging a steep hill which Bush points to the Christian roots of this. George W. Bush being a very devout Christian believes in some respects that he is on a god given mission in which he has to lead the American nation towards a steep hill.

Book Review

Me and Miss Parshang Khakpour have written a book review for "American Judaism: A History" by Jonathan D. Sarna. Please read the review and give me your comments:

American Judaism: A History
By Jonathan D. Sarna. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. xx, 490 pp. $35.00, ISBN 0-300-10197-X.)

In ‘American Judaism: A History’, Brandeis University’s well known historian Jonathan D. Sarna gives an account of 350 years of American Judaism history in a straight forward and readable manner. With an optimistic view towards the history and also the future of Judaism in America, Sarna describes the developments in the American Jews belief in God, their religious practices, religious traditions and organizations and also concepts like intermarriage which was and still is a serious threat to the survival of the Jewish faith in America with vivid detail. The book has won many awards including the 2004 National Jewish book Award.

This book is about the history of the Jewish religion in America, it is not about the history of Jews in America. Even though the life and actions of Jews in America are discussed in certain parts of the book however they all serve the aim of telling the history of the Jewish faith in America.

Jonathan Sarna is a Professor of American Jewish History at Brandeis University, and chairs the Academic Board of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. He is the author of more than twenty books on American Jewish history and life including his upcoming book titled ‘Illustrated American Judaism' which will be published in October 2008. He is also the chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History and of the 350th commemoration of Jewish life in America.

In 1654 when over 20 Jews came to New Amsterdam (today’s New York) the first group migration of Jews to North American took place and what ensued was a large migration of Jews to America making Jews the second largest religious group in the United States after Christians. According to Sarna Jewish practice in the United States has not been in the frame works of a clearly defined framework or boundary but rather Judaism in the US has constantly been reinvented according to the time and place were it was being practiced. This has been one of the core reasons why Judaism has survived until today.

According to Sarna one of the major challenges faced by Jews in America was how to maintain and uphold Jewish practices like observing Sabbath, synagogue attendance and not eating forbidden meat. Unlike Jews in Europe who saw discipline and sometimes punishment as the key to upholding Jewish law, Jews in America after an initial short period of unsuccessful attempts in forced upholding of Jewish practices in a very diverse Jewish community instead chose to bring the maintenance of Judaism and its core values to the center of their concern. This approach is apparent for example in 1757 New York when some members of the congregate where initially punished and expelled from the community due to non-observance of Jewish laws but later forgiven and readmitted citing Isaiah’s call to “open the gates for a nation that keeps faith” (Isaiah 26:2). This was done in order to keep unity among the Jews and keep up high participation in the congregate. Making Jewish laws more ‘lax’ was a means of survival for Judaism in America.

Another important topic the book touches upon is the concept of Denomination which emerged in eighteen century America that meant no particular church was the dominant church and also all were equal according to the law. This greatly influenced movements for reinventing Judaism in different ways in the US. Although it is important to note that these movements in Judaism were not as strong as the denomination which took place in Protestantism and created many different sects. The movements within the Jewish faith in the United States are essential in where Judaism stands today. Sarna is highly successful in describing the roots of these movements and their influence on the development of Judaism.

Sarna also believes that the common place fear of assimilation and gradual disappearance of Judaism in America was well founded since anti-Semitism, persecution and pressure from the majority Christian population to convert minorities to Christianity was a reality in 17th and 18th century America. Also there were periods in American history were religious practice among Jews had declined and also a relatively large number of Jews intermarried with people of a different faith. At each period people with a pessimistic view would see this as the end of Judaism in America, however after each period there was a revitalization of faith among the Jews and even though these downfalls are apparent in Judaism’s history in the United States they are usually accompanied by periods of ‘Awakening’. This is why Sarna sees this whole process as a regenerative cycle that is not destructive. Sarna has an optimistic and positive view towards the history of Judaism in America and this is apparent throughout the book.

Sarna does not see the periods of religious downfall and intermarriage with other religious groups as the first steps of assimilation and ultimately as means for the extinction of Judaism in the United States. Sarna however fails to specify why Judaism survived these circumstances when other faiths disappeared altogether from the United States. Sarna himself indicates: “between 1890 and 1906, fully 13.8 percent of the groups listed in the US Census of Religious Bodies went out of existence; between 1912 and 1926 that rate jumped to 15.3 percent” however he fails to explain in the book why these religions vanished and Judaism survived even though many of these religions reformed and reinvented themselves and also what were the distinct characteristics of Judaism that helped it survive in 350 years of American history. Another criticism which can be made of Sarna is that he does not explain the influence of Zionism on the Jewish faith in America with depth or detail. Sarna himself points out on page 203 of the book: “For years, no issue in Jewish life proved as divisive as Zionism” however there are merely a few pages on this subject in Sarna’s book. Assigning a chapter of the book to discuss this critical subject would have made the book a more complete history of Judaism in America.

Compared to other books on the subject like ‘American Judaism' by Nathan Glazer and ‘Judaism in America' by Marc Lee Raphael, Sarna’s book is more focused on the history of Judaism in America rather than on the history of the Jews in America and in this respect it remains faithful to its title. This is one of the advantages of the book and Sarna’s works in general in that Sarna focuses on the subject without unnecessary deviation to other topics and subjects which has proved very tempting for many writers. Also some writers like Harvard professor Alan M. Dershowitz in his book 'The vanishing American Jew' totally disagree with Sarna’s positive stance towards the development and survival of Judaism in America and believe that unless Judaism is seriously revitalized it is doomed to gradual disappearance in America.

In Conclusion “American Judaism: A History” by Jonathan D. Sarna is an invaluable and relatively balanced piece of work on the 350 years development of the Jewish faith in America. The book describes what American Jews believed as God, their religious practices, traditions, religious customs, religious organizations, Synagogues and finally reform movements in the Jewish faith with great detail. Throughout the book Sarna has a positive view towards the history of Judaism in America seeing periods of religious downfall as natural events within a bigger cycle of religious reinvention and reform. Sarna is successful to a high extent in covering this vast and important topic in a reasonable size and readable writing style.

Immigration Debate

One of the major topics of debate and controversy in contemporary American politics has been the issue of immigration. A recent public debate among democratic presidential contenders left the public mostly confused regarding the position of each candidate regarding immigration. The details of their discussion can be seen here. This was mainly due to the restrained and diplomatic tone each presidential hopeful used to describe their views regarding the immigration issue which was mainly due to the reluctance of the democratic contenders to get involved in the controversy surrounding this issue.

According to the Pew Hispanic centre there are 11.5 to 12 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States. This figure is taken to be correct by analysts with them estimating that Hispanics coming from Mexico and other Central American countries consisting of more than 80% of this population. Most of these illegal immigrants come to the US using the vast Mexico-US border. Although a lot of effort has been made to exert more control over this border it still is very vulnerable to unauthorized crossing. [1]

The effects of illegal immigration to the Economy of the United States are debated. However most economists agree that the wealthy class of American society benefits from the illegal immigration while the lower class suffer due to more competition in job finding and lower wages because of this competition. Paul Samuelson who is a professor of economy at MIT and a Nobel Prize winner concurs with this analysis. [2]

One of the major issues of debate in American politics regarding this matter has been the idea of building a fence on the Mexico-US border. A report conducted by Rasmussen Reports concluded that 56 percents of Americans favor building a fence along the Mexican border. The poll found that the views of the public were cut along party lines to some extent. The report show that 75% of surveyed Republicans supported the fence and the subject was more important to them. [3]

References:

1- Passel, Jeffrey. "Estimates of the Size and Characteristics of the Undocumented Population" (, Pew Hispanic Center, 2005-03-21.

2- Elstrom, Peter , "Fresh Ideas for the Immigration Debate", BusinessWeekOnline: 6-6, (2/27/2007),

3- Joe Murray, "Poll: Americans Frustrated With Immigration Crisis," [Philadelphia] "Evening Bulletin, August 21, 2007

Put tougher sanctions on Iran: US, EU-3‎

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/070713/9/w1k.html

Here are some excerpts from the news article:

"The United States and three key European allies said on Thursday Iran had not done enough to win trust in its atomic work and the United Nations should now consider tougher sanctions."

A wait-and-see approach is not an option. Britain, France and Germany told governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) after its chief said Iran appeared on course to clearing up questions about its nuclear history by the end of the year."

"Mohamed ElBaradei had also reiterated that the IAEA's knowledge of current Iranian activity was shrinking due to strict Iranian curbs on UN inspector movements, and Iran was expanding uranium enrichment, despite UN calls for a halt."

"The statement by the "EU-3" said both matters were "unacceptable ... We are interested at least as much in the present and future (of Iran 's program) as the past."

In a policy aimed at preventing further sanctions, Iran has increased its cooperation with the IAEA in recent months. This policy coupled with the unwillingness of Russia and China to endorse further sanctions on Iran have been the preventive force which have stalled Washington’s efforts in pursuing a third set of sanctions on Iran.

In recent weeks however Washington has intensified its campaign for a third set of sanctions on Iran . On Sarkozi’s recent visit to Washington this matter was one of the main issues of discussion. Reports of the closed door meetings indicate that Sarkozi strongly supported Washington ’s campaign. Also Washington has been successful in wining the support of Britain and Germany for further sanctions.

ElBaradei’s recent report sent mixed signals. On the one hand it said that progress had been made however on the other hand it stated that IAEA's knowledge of current Iranian activity was shrinking. This led the EU to make a statement saying "We recognise Iran has taken some steps in the right direction, but we are disappointed that cooperation is of a partial and reactive nature," the EU-3 said. "So, all in all, the results are not encouraging."

Saeed Jalili was appointed as IranChief Nuclear Negotiator

in Oct 2007 Iran ’s has made a new

move in efforts to prevent further sanctions. Iran ’s chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili has said that he will put forward a new proposal for solving the nuclear issue when he meets Javier Solana on November 30. The contents of the proposal and whether it will help solve the crisis or at least put off further sanctions for the time being needs to be seen.

USA Today Article: "Poll: Americans split on Iran"

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-11-05-iran-poll_N.htm?csp=34

A poll conducted by USA Today and Gallup on November 2nd-4th indicates that almost half of Americans think that the US should take military action to shut down Iran's nuclear program. Of the people surveyed in the poll 46% believe that the US should take Military action either now or if diplomacy and economic sanctions fail

Although approval ratings of George W Bush are currently among the lowest in US history and even in this specific poll 50% of those polled strongly disapprove of the president however this poll shows that the current neo-conservative government has been successful to a good extent in portraying Iran as a major threat to the American people.

Before September 11th most Americans were not interested in large scale military actions overseas even in special circumstances. However after september 11th which was the largest scale military action against the US on American soil since pearl harbor, the White House has been successful in winning the public's support for pre-emptive military actions on foreign threats in order to protect americans. In the specific case of Iran's nuclear issue the white house has gradually raised its tone and in each step has carefully orchestrated creating consent among ordinary Americans that iran is a major threat to the US that should be 'taken care' of one way or the other.

These polls are probably going to have minimal effect on Iran's nuclear policy however, since the current government of president Ahmadinejad believes that Iran should take a hard stance regarding this matter since the US is under no circumstances to take military action on Iran. Ahmadinejad's team believe that the US is stretched too thin militarily and is in deep trouble in Iraq and also that president Bush's rating are so low due to the Iraq war that under no circumstances will it risk undermining support for the Republican's party next presidential election candidate by attacking another country.

Whether the analysis of president Ahmadinejad's inner circle are correct regarding this very serious matter needs to be seen. However one can note that incase of miscalculations by either side on the future actions of the other is going to have serious repracautions for both nations.