Religion in The United States

 By Jeiza Melo Pereira 

                                                          

                                                               Source: ecodebate, 2021.

Religion in the United States is characterized by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices. Various (religious) beliefs have flourished/emerged in the United States. The vast majority of Americans report that religion (religion) plays a very important role in their lives, a proportion unique among developed countries. "

Historically, the United States has always been marked by pluralism and religious diversity, starting with various beliefs native to pre-colonial times. In colonial times, Anglicans, Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants, as well as Jews, arrived from Europe. Orthodoxy has been present since the Russian colonization of Alaska. Several dissident Protestants who left the Anglican Church have greatly diversified the religious landscape. The Great Awakening gave birth to several evangelical Protestant denominations; Membership in Methodist and Baptist churches grew dramatically in the Second Great Awakening. In the eighteenth century, deism found support among the American elite and philosophers. The Episcopal Church, which split from the Anglican Church, emerged in the American Revolution. New Protestant branches such as Adventism emerged; Restorers and other Christians such as Jehovah's Witnesses, the Latter-day Saint movement, Churches of Christ and Christian Science, as well as Unitarian and Universalist communities all spread in the 19th century. Pentecostalism emerged in the early 20th century as a result of the Azusa Street Revival. Scientology emerged in the 1950s. Unitarian-Universalism resulted from the fusion of Unitarian and Universalist churches in the 20th century.

The text of the First Amendment to the country's Constitution states that "Congress shall not make any law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or curtailing freedom of expression or the press; or the right of the people to peacefully assemble , and to ask the government for redress of grievances". It guarantees the free exercise of religion, in addition to preventing the government from establishing a state religion. However, the states were not bound by the provision, and in the late 1830s Massachusetts provided tax money to local congregational churches. The Supreme Court since the 1940s has interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment as applying the First Amendment to state and local governments.

From the beginnings of the colonial period, when some English and German settlers came in search of religious freedom, America was deeply influenced by religion. This influence continues in American culture, social life, and politics. "Several of the original thirteen colonies were founded by settlers who wished to practice their own religion in communities of like-minded people.

President John Adams and a unanimous Senate endorsed the Treaty of Tripoli in 1797, which stated: "the government of the United States of America is in no way founded on the Christian religion."

The federal government of the United States was the first national government not to have an official state-endorsed religion. However, some states established religions in some form until the 1830s.

The First Amendment specifically denied the federal government any power to enact any law concerning an establishment of religion or to prohibit its free exercise, thereby protecting any religious organization, institution, or denomination from government interference. The decision was mainly influenced by European rationalist and Protestant ideals, but it was also a consequence of the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups and small states that did not want to be under the power or influence of a national religion that did not represent them.

 

                                                            References

Among Wealthy Nations U.S. Stands Alone in its Embrace of Religion». Pew Global Attitudes Project. Disponível em: https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/pdf/167.pdf. Acesso em: 10 de dez. 2021.

America's Changing Religious Landscape». Pew Research Center: Religion &  Public Life. Disponível em: https://www.pewforum.org/2015/05/12/americas-changing-religious-landscape/.  Acesso em: 12 de dez. 2021.

Kertesz,Noya. A religião nos Estados Unidos.Youtube,10 de junho de 2018.Disponível em: https://youtu.be/3pp8-IKfD0c. Acesso em: Dez. 2021.

Teodiversidade, Programa 02. A Religião nos EUA.01 de novembro de 2011. Disponível em: https://youtu.be/CZEOvWLVf4w. Acesso em: Dez. 2021.

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life – Asian Americans: A Mosaic of Faiths». Pewforum.org. 17 de julho de 2012. Disponível em: https://www.pewforum.org/2012/07/19/asian-americans-a-mosaic-of-faiths-overview/. Acesso em: 16 de dez. 2021.