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Religion in the United States AMERICAN STUDIES Journal Winter 1998 Religion in the United States AMERICAN STUDIES jOURNAL Number 42 Winter 1998 Religion in the United States ISSN: 1433-5239 I'I Editorial Lutherstadt Wittenberg, January 1999 The current issue focuses on religion. European observers have often wondered why religion plays Dear Readers: such an important role in a country where church and state are so strictly separated. Hopefully, the Three years ago, when the German Association for articles and interviews presented in these pages American Studies agreed to publish the American provide some pertinent answers. Studies journal, I became its editor. As I write this editorial, my term as president is about to expire As you know, the editorial team is located in and the editorship will change accordingly. Let me, Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Martin Luther's city. There therefore, use this opportunity to say goodbye. are strong ties to the Lutheran Churches of America. Being editor of the AS] has been a burden because When we asked pastors who visited Wittenberg in of my many other responsibilities, but it has also 1998 to give us first-hand accounts of worship and been a pleasure because acceptance of the product social activities in their parishes, several lively in the schools is continuously growing. accounts arrived. They are presented on pp. 43-48. Also in this issue, you will find selected web sites The feedback we received has been encouraging. of American churches and denominations where Some critical letters also arrived, charging that we students and teachers may gain access to a wealth give too much room to quasi-official views of of further information. current American developments. I believe that, on the whole, we present our topics in a balanced Yours sincerely, way. As I have explained in an earlier editorial, we would like to develop a News/Notes/Views sec­ Hans-Jurgen Grabbe tion where differing viewpoints would be pub­ President, German Association lished. for American Studies Impressurn Herausgegeben im Auftrag der Deutschen Gesellschaft l()t(3lfA\ fur Amerikastudien von Hans-Jiirgen Grabbe (Halle­ Wittenberg) in Verbindung mit Gerhard Bach (Bremen), Peter Freese (Paderborn) und Ursula Lehmkuhl (Bochum) Redaktion: Birgit Plietzsch (Halle-Wittenberg) Druck: USIA Regional Service Center, Manila ISSN: 1433-5239 Redaktionsadresse: Zentrum fi.ir USA-Studien, Stiftung Leucorea an der Martin-Luther-Universitat Halle-Wittenberg, CollegienstraBe 62, 06886 Lutherstadt Wittenberg Fax: (03491) 466223, E-Mail: [email protected] The American Studies journal is published semi-annually. The subscription rate is DM 15 (postage and handling included). Subscribers from outside the European Union must add DM 10 for extra postage. If you would like to receive more than one copy, add DM 2 for each additional subscription. Prepayment is required. Please transfer your remittance to Zentrum fi.ir USA-Studien, Account Number 26212, Sparkasse Wittenberg, BLZ 805 501 01. Payment by check cannot be accepted. Fotonachweise: Library of Congress: 12 (2); Andrea Noel: Front Cover, 19; USIS: 10; Grace Lutheran Church, Woodbrigde, Va: 43 (2), 44 (2), 47. 2 AS] 42 (WINrER 1998) AMERICAN Srunrns JoURNAL Number 42 Winter 1998 Contents 2 Editorial Religion in the United States 4 Religion in America: An Overview by William Peters 7 Timeline: Religious Liberty 10 The Roots ofAmerican Religious Liberty by Charles C. Haynes 14 Separating Church and State: Freedom ofReligion by George Clack 18 Baptism and First Holy Communion in an American Family by Andrea Noel 20 Separation and Interaction: Religion and Politics Interview with Kenneth D. Wald 28 Will the Vitality of Churches Be the Surprise of the Next Century? by George Gallup, Jr. 35 Islam in the United States Interview with Yvonne Haddad 43 Lutheran Churches 49 Further Reading on Religion in the United States Education in the USA (Part II) 51 Voices in Education 55 Grading U.S. Education by William Peters 57 U.S. Higher Education in the Postwar Era: Expansion and Growth by Theodore Marchese 63 Tbe Essence of an Educated Person by David Denby ASJ 42 (WINTER 1998) 3 I, Religion in America: An Overview by William Peters Roots of Religions Religious differences still existed, however, and they were often reflected by region. Early Vir­ Pre-Columbian America, like most indigenous ginia was largely identified with the new Church societies, had rich and diverse religious cultures, of England, and later with Baptists and Method­ elements of which remain. But Europeans com­ ists. Maryland was founded as a Catholic haven. ing to the New World brought their own reli­ Pennsylvania and New York had substantial gions with them. Indeed, it was for the freedom numbers of Lutherans, other minor German Prot­ to practice these beliefs that many people came estant groups, and members of the Society of to the New World. These communities flour­ Friends or Quakers. New England was the home ished, and the resulting religious variety helped of various Puritan groups. In the north, in what give rise to a highly unique and important con­ would become Maine, Vermont and Quebec, tribution to world religions-the most funda­ French Catholics exercised substantial influence. mental commitment to religious pluralism and As different as these groups were, though, they freedom. all derived from a Judea-Christian cultural and historical background. The effects of the Protestant Reformation (1517) were quickly felt throughout Europe, and, as the American territorial gains in the nineteenth cen­ movement gathered momentum, increasing num­ tury added Spanish and French lands and bers of religious non-conformists frequently be­ peoples. Between the Napoleonic wars and World came religious refugees. These groups were War I, waves of immigration brought English, often able to find temporary asylum by moving Scots and Irish, Italians and Greeks, Germans to a different European country. But eventually, and Poles, Swedes and Russians. Immigration to many dissenters concluded that the New World the U.S. changed the mix of religious groups, offered the best hope for long-term survival and but America's overall heritage remained prima­ freedom to realize their religious objectives. rily European, and primarily Judea-Christian. America became a haven for many different The 125-year period following the birth of the strongly motivated religious communities. For new American nation was a time of many some, the very strength of their religious beliefs individual and national struggles, as the nation restricted their tolerance for those who did not and its citizens confronted myriad social issues. share their theological views. People were pushed During this time, the critical role of the United out of these groups or left on their own to States Supreme Court in interpreting and defin­ pursue their personal religious expression. Thus, ing the application of the U.S. Constitution was the continuing desire to define personal reli­ born. The issues which occupied the court gious practices produced new domestic groups were not primarily those of religion. They in­ even while fresh religious refugees from Europe volved the balance between the three branches appeared on America's shores. The original reli­ of the national government and between the gious leaders were often succeeded by others national government and the governments of who were less single-minded. Communities de­ the states. veloped with their multiple strands of interac­ tion, and religious sects began to learn to live The religious protections incorporated in the together. Gradually, a pattern of basic religious Constitution and the Bill of Rights depended on tolerance began to emerge in the colonies. government and society for their application. 4 AS] 42 (WINTER 1998) There were clear cases of breakdowns. The Present Day Religious Affiliation failure of European Americans to understand and recognize the unique role and importance After more than 200 years as a nation, religion of Native American religious practices, so much in America is a complex picture. [. .. ] For the a part of their culture, and so closely linked to convenience of the reader not familiar with nature, is a notable example. Another more religious America, here are some basic facts conventionally acknowledged situation concerns and numbers: the Mormons. Religious intolerance expressed in physical and political attacks drove them out - 163 million Americans (sixty-three percent) of the northeastern and midwestern states be­ identify themselves as affiliated with a spe­ fore they found refuge in the frontier state of cific religious denomination. Utah. By the midpoint of the twentieth century, - Roman Catholics are the single largest de­ however, the United States, for the most part, nomination with some sixty million adher­ was a successful example of a society acting ents. with general tolerance towards a wide array of - Members of American Protestant churches primarily Christian sects. total some ninety-four million persons, spread across some 220 particular denomi­ While most Americans saw themselves as reli­ nations. The Universal Almanac for 1997 giously tolerant, there were troubling reminders groups the denominations into twenty-six of religious prejudice. The Holocaust forced major families with memberships of 100,000 many Americans to think about the treatment of or more, but also notes that there are thou­ Jews, even in the United States. Catholic John F. sands of self-identified independent groups Kennedy's candidacy for president in 1960 raised of believers. other questions about the extent of religious - There are more than 300,000 local congre­ tolerance in the country. At about the same gations. time, cases before the Supreme Court forced a - There are more than 530,000 total clergy. renewed recognition that personal religious free­ - The U.S. has some 3.8 million religiously dom of conscience also implied freedom to be identified or affiliated Jews (an additional non-religious. Application of this guarantee had two million define themselves as primarily implications not just for individuals but for U.S.
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