Religion responses

I was going to mention a few things that I have been thinking about since our last DVC. I remember that it was mentioned that if the US were to put its stamp on the peace process in Israel and Palestine, it would be seen in a good light and helpful for its image in the world. Granted, I don’t know a whole lot about this subject, but some attempts like the Camp David accords under former President Clinton and present Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recent efforts in the region. (“When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice decided in 2006 to get serious about trying to shape a legacy in the Middle East, she asked the State Department historian's office for reports on past U.S. efforts to strike an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. She received a stack of papers three feet high.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/14/AR2008041402397.html) The criticism, I guess, is that our policy tilts toward Israel.

Also, the phrase Inshallah is not quite the same as saying God in the Pledge of Allegiance.
“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic, for which it stands: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The difference is that it seems to suggest that all that pledge allegiance to the US are also pledging allegiance to a God. As I understand, “Inshallah,” though it expresses some of the same sort of sentiments, is a very personal decision to say in personal conversations, and does not enter into governmental affairs.

Even for the West, the idea of secularism is a relatively new idea. In the past, the kings of several countries believed that they were divinely entrusted with the power to rule, and certain religions like Anglicanism were established under the state. Not until the 16th century’s Protestant Reformation under Martin Luther did the two begin to separate more.

It was also mentioned that the US has always been a melting pot and therefore the issue of one religion has been little of a problem. This is in the past, but as I said during our discussion, the history of religious freedom hasn’t always been so harmonious, ie, the discrimination against Catholics when the Irish began immigrating to the United States roughly a century ago. Today, it is definitely very much a discussion here in the US, and has been in many court decisions recently. Within our constitution, the Bill of Rights protects the rights of the people, it says that:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”,
Though many argue that the meaning of this statement was never to have a completely secular government, and the idea of “the separation of church and state” was not the intention of the amendment. I just wanted to give a little background into the history of government, society, and religion in the United States, as Dr. Bernard brought up the case of an atheist father who filed a court case against the inclusion of the phrase in the Pledge of Allegiance, “One nation, under God.”

This is not to say that the US is a completely secular place. Until a few decades ago, it was common for everything to be closed on the Christian holy day, Sunday. School and government holidays revolve around Christian holidays, and companies like McDonalds have developed products like the fish sandwich to fill the needs of Catholics (especially) during the period of Lent. I cannot even count how many times that people have tried to convert me over the years, and I have some funny stories from back when I lived in the middle of nowhere and some Jehovah’s Witnesses pushed their way into our house and just took a seat in our living room and began to talk about their religion. It was difficult for us to get them out. The problem is, like Natalie said, when the government gets at all involved in religious expression. It has gotten to the point where some public schools now have holiday parties without Christmas trees. Maybe it is this sensitivity to the diversity of religion that makes it somewhat taboo to discuss religion in polite conversation.

We were talking in class about Islamic vs. Christian fundamentalism, as terrorism and fundamentalism is not restricted to one religion. For example, the Ku Klux Clan, an American organization usually associated with horrible acts of racism, relies on Christian religious ideology, but it seems that religion is only a shield for what their primary concern is. Some people here wonder if Islam is in need of a reformation, or if it too is the excuse being hidden behind for political reasons. Many Muslims who have spoken out in the state say that indeed, these movements are not justified under Islam, and that, in fact, any holy book has verses that can be extracted to create a radical ideology. There was a professor here that suggested that poor economic conditions, etc. within a country caused some radical organizations to look for a scapegoat. I was wondering what you all’s perspective on all of this is, as I certainly don’t know that much about the religion.