B Freedom of religion in the American's mind
Freedom of religion is one of the indirect result of the emancipation of the American society and culture from Britain. So, it is a typical point of the American identity. Americans are very open-minded as far as the religion is concerned. As a matter of fact, There is a freedom to pray at work or in school as long as it doesn't bother the functioning of the office or the class. Moreover, the Americans have accepted the fact that people can wear religious signs freely wherever they want, it is never forbidden.
Generally, Americans are conscious of their freedom and they defend it. But, some of them can be considered as " against" the freedom of religion. We noticed it especially during the affair of the ground zero mosque. The next video illustrates this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbiSmADGY9o
Generally, Americans are conscious of their freedom and they defend it. But, some of them can be considered as " against" the freedom of religion. We noticed it especially during the affair of the ground zero mosque. The next video illustrates this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbiSmADGY9o
- Thanks to this video, you can see that in spite of the freedom of religion, every religions are not all accepted, some Americans don't want to accept them all. There is still in the USA a predominance of Christians, creating a kind of norm to follow. That's why the coexistence of the different religions is not always easy within the population. Besides, being atheist is sometimes frowned. And according to Mother Jones, 52% of Americans claim they would not vote for an atheist as president, even if he or she is well-qualified.
This fact, which is established in the American' society's mind show a certain limit of the principle of the freedom of religion, as explained in the first amendment.
II In reality: failure in the absolutism of this principleEquality is very important in the USA. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote about it in his book Democracy in America. So, it is very important to link equality to the principle of freedom of religion. We'll see if it exists a relation between religions and the state ( A) and then, we'll study the situation of different minorities ( B). - A Relations between the state and religion.The section one of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of religion, by securing "the equal protection of the laws" for every person. Is is also directly linked to the “ wall of sepraration” advocated first by Thomas Jefferson, that is to say the sepraration between religion and the state. USA makes part of the countries that are based on the separation between Chuch and State, between religion and state more generally. This is not always true because in the USA, The President doesn't hesitate to say " God bless you" for example. That would never happen in France but in the USA, it is accepted. In spite of this separation between religions and state, there are some conflicts between the two of them sometimes. For instance, As far as the free exercice clause is concerned, the Court found that a law prohibiting polygamy that had been challenged by a Mormon defendant was constitutional, even though his religion allows it in the lawsuit Reynolds v USA in 1878. In another case, it was decided that the Amish do not have to send their children to school to the age of 16 as we required by the state where the person is question lived. Amish children are often educated at home after a certain age.
To conserve the freedom and the equality about religion, people had to struggle sometimes and to claim their rights. Moreover, there are a lot of conflicts about this topic that is quitte touchy. That's why there were several other litigations part from the ones concerning the proper State. To respect the establishment clause, the Court has held that praying in public school classes in the lawsuit Engel v Vitale in 1962 is unconstitutional. Also was held a violation of the Establishment Clause the display of a nativity scene inside a government building in Alleghency County v Aclu in 1989. These issues are very delicater, particularly in a country where religion has much importance. In a recent case the Supreme Court stepped a very important question of knowing if, the American pledge of Allegiance wich is generally cited by Children in the public school system, the words " one nation, one god" are against the establishment clause. A father brought the case in front of the Court. The court of appeals decided in 2002 that the phrase " under god" did constitute anendorsement of religion and was conqequently in violation of the Establishment clause. The Supreme court accepted the case but did not rule on the constitutionality of the phrase. Furthermore, it has already been established since 1943 that no one can be forced to salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance if it violates the individual's conscience.
With those litigations, State tries to put a limit to religions. Indeed, human sacrifices is a pratice of some religions but it is definitely forbidden in the USA.
B. Coexistence between the different religions: the problem of equality.
B. Coexistence between the different religions: the problem of equality.
There are several minorities in America but this Amendment allows them to be free.
Native American children were sent to Christian boarding schools where they were forced to worship the Christian God and traditional customs were banned. Until the Freedom of Religion Act of 1978, "spiritual leaders [of Native Americans] ran the risk of jail sentences of up to 30 years for simply practicing their rituals. The traditional indigenous Sun Dance was illegal from the 1880s (Canada) or 1904 (USA) to the 1980s. Now, this discrimination disappears but The eagle feather law (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations) stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. This law only recognized 769 tribes, but there are many more that the government won’t recognize because once they become recognized, they are tax-free.
Let’s talk about some of the most well-know communities:
Historically, the Latter Day Saint movement, from which would later rise Mormonism, has been the victim of religious violence beginning with reports by founder Joseph Smith immediately after his First Vision 1820 and continuing as the movement grew and migrated from its inception in western New York to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. The violence culminated when Smith was assassinated by a mob of 200 men in Carthage Jail in 1844. With the concept of plural marriage, from 1830 to 1890 the Mormon faith allowed its members to practice polygamy. Today, Mormons are accepted. They live seperated from the society but they're allowed to practice their religion like they want. Indeed, polygamy is still a common practice in their communities and the children are raised up in their families or in specialized schools. For example, Mormons have to respect a health code, which prohibits alcohol, drugs, coffee or tea and they have to respect their vow of chastity until their marriage.
The Amish is a religious community, which is very strict. There are over 250,000 Amish today and the number is still increasing. Their members have to be very modest. They live without technology and actually work very hard every day. They wear the same type of clothes farmers would have worn in the 19th Century. They cannot use cars so they ride horses or use a buggy. Having children, raising them and socialization with neighbors and relatives are the main functions of the Amish family.
The Muslim people sometimes have a bad image in the public opinion because they tend to be associated with Islamists. This problem has gotten bigger after 911. Recently, there was a big controversy on whether there should be a mosque near Ground Zero or not. Barack Obama was in favor of this project but the opponents were too many and it was abandoned. American Muslims do not feel as marginalized as in Europe, though.
Let's evoke the atheists that are almost always forgotten when we talk about religion. In the USA, there are 24 million of atheists, that is to say 8%. They're legally protected against discrimination. They were the first lawyers for the principle of separation between state and religion. The Courts have regularly protected the freedom of the atheists. Indeed, atheists sum up the situation saying " Freedom of religion means also the absence of religion". In the verdict of the Grumet v. Kyrias joel, the judge has even written that government shouldn't prefer a religion to another but also not a religion to an absence of religion. Atheists are almost alxays forgotten in laws concerning freedom of religion. Discrimination is admitted when there is a religion, not when there is not. Moreover, Arkansas and South Carolina forbid atheists to organize public meetings. But, The court of appeals decided in 2002 that the phrase " under god" did constitute anendorsement of religion and was conqequently in violation of the Establishment clause. Atheism is also respected and taken in count in the American society.
Also, let's note that sects are not a touchy topic in the USA. It is not forbidden like in France and it is almost trendy.
We can think of the scientology: here in France, it is considered as a sect but it cannot be forbidden because we have to respect the freedom of association. In the US, it was recognized as a religion in 1993. We can find scientology churches everywhere (like in the middle of Times Square). There are even many ads for the Mormons.
Some celebrities are even publically a part of these communities: Tom Cruise and John Travolta are members of the Scientology, Stephenie Meyer (the author of Twilight) is a Mormon.
To conclude, freedom of religion is a plinth of the American society. It expresses the freedom and the equality that remain in the USA and Americans themselves are really attached to this Amendment and to their right to choose whatever religion they want.
Native American children were sent to Christian boarding schools where they were forced to worship the Christian God and traditional customs were banned. Until the Freedom of Religion Act of 1978, "spiritual leaders [of Native Americans] ran the risk of jail sentences of up to 30 years for simply practicing their rituals. The traditional indigenous Sun Dance was illegal from the 1880s (Canada) or 1904 (USA) to the 1980s. Now, this discrimination disappears but The eagle feather law (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations) stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. This law only recognized 769 tribes, but there are many more that the government won’t recognize because once they become recognized, they are tax-free.
Let’s talk about some of the most well-know communities:
Historically, the Latter Day Saint movement, from which would later rise Mormonism, has been the victim of religious violence beginning with reports by founder Joseph Smith immediately after his First Vision 1820 and continuing as the movement grew and migrated from its inception in western New York to Ohio, Missouri, and Illinois. The violence culminated when Smith was assassinated by a mob of 200 men in Carthage Jail in 1844. With the concept of plural marriage, from 1830 to 1890 the Mormon faith allowed its members to practice polygamy. Today, Mormons are accepted. They live seperated from the society but they're allowed to practice their religion like they want. Indeed, polygamy is still a common practice in their communities and the children are raised up in their families or in specialized schools. For example, Mormons have to respect a health code, which prohibits alcohol, drugs, coffee or tea and they have to respect their vow of chastity until their marriage.
The Amish is a religious community, which is very strict. There are over 250,000 Amish today and the number is still increasing. Their members have to be very modest. They live without technology and actually work very hard every day. They wear the same type of clothes farmers would have worn in the 19th Century. They cannot use cars so they ride horses or use a buggy. Having children, raising them and socialization with neighbors and relatives are the main functions of the Amish family.
The Muslim people sometimes have a bad image in the public opinion because they tend to be associated with Islamists. This problem has gotten bigger after 911. Recently, there was a big controversy on whether there should be a mosque near Ground Zero or not. Barack Obama was in favor of this project but the opponents were too many and it was abandoned. American Muslims do not feel as marginalized as in Europe, though.
Also, let's note that sects are not a touchy topic in the USA. It is not forbidden like in France and it is almost trendy.
We can think of the scientology: here in France, it is considered as a sect but it cannot be forbidden because we have to respect the freedom of association. In the US, it was recognized as a religion in 1993. We can find scientology churches everywhere (like in the middle of Times Square). There are even many ads for the Mormons.
Some celebrities are even publically a part of these communities: Tom Cruise and John Travolta are members of the Scientology, Stephenie Meyer (the author of Twilight) is a Mormon.
To conclude, freedom of religion is a plinth of the American society. It expresses the freedom and the equality that remain in the USA and Americans themselves are really attached to this Amendment and to their right to choose whatever religion they want.
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