How Religions Impact Americans Politically, Socially and Economically - Essay Example

? How Religions Impact Americans Politically, Socially and Economically How Religions Impact Americans Politically, Socially and Economically Religion is a set of world views, beliefs and cultural systems that humanity uses as a medium to relate to the supernatural, moral values, and spirituality (Farlee, 1999). Guided by an organised clergy and behaviour, most religions refer to narratives, sacred histories and symbolism with the objective of explaining the traditional origin of the universe and life, as well as creating a meaning for life. Statistics released by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 2012 have shown that out of the world’s total population, 59 percent is religious, and, the United States, unlike several other Western countries, remains a religiously overwhelming society. This paper will discuss the political, social and economical impact religion has had on the American society, with specific focus on Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism. As a nation, the United States founding was on religion. Majority of the American population is Christian, predominantly 30 percent White Evangelical Protestants, 20 percent Liberal Protestants and 8 percent African-American Protestants. 2 percent practices Judaism and 0.5 percent are Hindus. Most of the non-Christian religions in the United States found their way there after the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act that removed restrictions that previously limited foreigners who could immigrate. As portrayed by Farlee (1999), the American society has grown into a successful multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious nation. Political Impacts From the nation’s founding fathers to present day presidents, the American leadership has portrayed the significance of redirecting public policy towards enhancing the future health of the nation in religion, especially Christianity, though not to dictate that it is a Christian nation. Many political and social goals have been achieved through the practice of religion, even if it was indirectly. Christianity and the influence of Jewish ideas are clearly manifested in the fundamental political framework of America, as is evident in the opening statement of the Declaration of Independence. It is declared, just like in the bible, that men were all created equal and endowed with unalienable rights including life and the pursuit of liberty and freedom. Even from the early days of the Puritan settlers, the scripture determined the legislation. As concurred by Ballo (1976), they believed that the scripture held the moral rules for the government and direction of humans in their duty to fellow man and God and subsequently adopted a legal code with 79 statutes, of which half bore biblical references. The Republican coalition and the pact with the Christian Right were splintered by President Obama’s election in 2008. This opened up the opportunity to the new coalition between the new evangelical Christians and the Democratic Party. Although the new evangelical Christians identified themselves as progressive and politically moderate, it was evident from the 2008 poll that the Democratic Party had openly adopted Christian foundations. This showed its effect in another unexpected manner when previously separate religious groups joined forces based on political allegiances to fight the unbiblical gay marriage. This saw the Mormons and conservative Catholics come together to front the California’s Proposition 8 that fought gay marriages, also including international policy among Jews and Protestants. Although the government’s religious connections have been growing, causing a slight relationship sway with the Protestants, they (Protestants) remain intact in their presumption of the politics of the US, with their visions still upheld regarding gender and sexuality. Quite notably, Hinduism has no significant impact on the American political system as much as do Christianity and Judaism, but might be remotely playing smaller roles through the strong presence of Hinduism in the American business platform. Social Impacts All persons under the Jewish laws had recourse to legal courts of law, including women, widows and children. They had the right to legally initiate action against any citizen to put right perpetrated harm. That is very much the contemporary American situation, where the courts are open to all citizens in pursuit of justice, regardless of their cultural or religious background. Socially, many Hinduism concepts such as yoga, reincarnation and the laws of karma are widely spread among typical American population. 24 percent of the contemporary Americans admit to believing in reincarnation, which is a central concept of the Hindu religion. The caste system might be the most unacceptable aspect of Hinduism among Native Americans, but the teachings of humility, kindness to humans and animals as well as matters affecting gender and sexuality as taught in Hinduism all reflect in the American culture. Americans are naturally prayerful people, and studies indicate that at the core of religious practice lies prayer. Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism all use prayer as a means of communicating with the supernatural. The family unit’s strength is intertwined with religious practice, and religion has, therefore, assisted American families that worship together to remain longer in their marriages; there are less cases of single parenthood among religious adults; religious couples report more satisfaction in their marriage; attending church on regular basis has helped the youth escape poverty in city life; being faithful in a religion builds morality and promotes sound judgment; and regular religious involvement promotes spiritual health, personal health, increases longevity and reduces chances of killer diseases. Economic Impacts Hindus are culturally under extreme pressure to do their best and succeed in their undertakings. This is especially true for immigrants in countries like the US, where they are stereotyped mainly because of their caste system of life. However, with the imminent difficulties associated with succeeding in foreign countries, immigrant cultures have always valued achievement. To this end, Hindus are highly successful in the business circles in the US. In fact, they are the most successful group of religious communities in business, with the highest levels of academic degrees and income. Hindu immigrants, in collaboration with the much smaller population of converts, have greatly and positively impacted growth in the ICT and medical fields in the US. Judaism is a religion that demands intensive participation from its faithful, as well as being a religion deeply involved with the activities of everyday life that it cannot fail to have an impact on the economic environment. Although Judaism represents a minority group on the religious front in the US, it is also an easily assimilated one. Its continuity is thus dependent upon each individual member’s desire to practice the religion and its own distinctiveness as a religion, or to practice the religion as a group of Jews. A significant number of Jewish-Americans are well-placed in jobs that pay highly, giving them high spending power. This impact is seen in the many American-Jewish movements that are quite time-intensive, like the Reconstructionists and Conservatives. They are capable of spending significantly on their Jewish observance, just as well as they do on other consumer products, facilitating the economic flow. This has changed from the situation witnessed at the beginning of the 21st century, when the wage effect overrode the income effect, dragging religious observance down with the income. However, more recently, the American Jews have been more diverse in their income sources and created a weaker association between income and higher wages. In conclusion, religion and its practice impacts beneficially on the nation, states, families and individuals (Ballo, 1976). Religion has improved empathy, self-esteem, self-control, economic environment, learning environments and health. It has brought down occurrences of social pathologies like alcohol and drug addiction, delinquency and births out of wedlock. Except in very unique circumstances, cases of prejudice and crimes like terrorism activities have also been put in check by the religious harmony in the United States. Although quite a number of religions exist, the general trend is that they all seek connection with a form of supernatural being, which may or may not be the same, but Americans have learnt that religion teaches respected for a supreme being, respect for all that is sacred, being obligated to God and the mutual bond with fellow humans. References Ballo, R. (1976). The portable world bible. New York: Penguin Books. Farlee, R. (1999). Honoring our neighbor’s faith. Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress. Read More