Figure 1.--Here a choir boy sings at an Easter church service during 1942. We think it was an Anglian church in Philadelphia. This was of course a time of great concern in America, only a few months after Pearl Harbor, propelling America into World war II.

The United States has a greater number of religious groups than any other country in the world. While many new religions have been added to the American religious mix, most of the American religions are Christian primarily Protestant. America was founded by Christians and the ethos of the country is strongly Protestant Christianity. For years the Roman Catholic in Europe prrserved tge unity of the Church with the primary exception of the Great schism with Eastern Orthodoxy. Heretics were burned and Crusades were waged against groups like the Cathars. Priests explained theology to the faithful who not encouraged to read the Bible or ask questions. The Bible was kept in Latin which prevented most people from reading the Bible if they wanted to do so. This all chaznged with the Reformation. Luthur asked a lot of questions, although he did not like others questioning his answers. He did, however, strongly encourage the individual to read the Bible and translated the Boble into German. Other translations followed in vernacular languages. And with Bible reading, many different denominations appeared. Protestants were not at first much more tolerant than Catholics, only so many Protestant dernominations were founded that there proved to be no option to toleration. The American churches developed around the Protestant Puritantism of the Massachuseets Bay Colony and the Anglicancism of the Virginia. Over time other denominations were established in Anmerica brought by subsequent English settlers and continental immigrants, especially from Germany. And Catholcism became important beginning with the Pitato Famine and large-scale Irish immigrartion. Immigration from southhern Europe added more Catholics as well as other Eastern European dominations. Jews entered America in large numbers for the first time. Evangelicas significantly increased the number of denomimations, founding often quite small churches. Immigration reform opened American to non-European religions like Budhism, Hinduism, and Islam. It also opened the way for expanded immigration from Mexico and thge rest of Latin America who were mostly Catholic.

Buddhism

Buddhism was virtually unknown in America seen as a mysterious Eastern religion. The only exception was Hawaiia which the United States acquired (1898). Many Japanese workers had emigrated to Hawaiia was it was still an independent kingdom. Royal authorities promoted the immigration of Japanese laborers to work in the sugar cane fields (1860). Hawaiia offered greater opportunity tham was available to the Japanese in their own country. The Japanaese began to restrict emmigratiin, fearful the laboorors wniimifating would reflect poorly on the ciuntry (1869). This ended (1885) abd Hapanese emigratiin resumed. As a result, the Hawaiia that American acw=quired had a very substial Japanese population. All of whom becme American citizens. Quite a number of the Japanese and other Asians on Hawaiia were Buddhists. Immigratiob reforem ended preferences for northern Europeans (1975). And immigration began fron countries with Buddhistr as wllmas Muslim and Hindu populations.

Christianity

Most of the American religions are Christian primarily Protestant. America was founded by Christians and the ethos of the country is strongly Protestant Christianity. For years the Roman Catholic in Europe prrserved tge unity of the Church with the primary exception of the Great schism with Eastern Orthodoxy. Heretics were burned and Crusades were waged against groups like the Cathars. Priests explained theology to the faithful who not encouraged to read the Bible or ask questions. The Bible was kept in Latin which prevented most people from reading the Bible if they wanted to do so. This all chaznged with the Reformation. Luthur asked a lot of questions, although he did not like others questioning his answers. He did, however, strongly encourage the individual to read the Bible and translated the Boble into German. Other translations followed in vernacular languages. And with Bible reading, many different denominations appeared. Protestants were not at first much more tolerant than Catholics, only so many Protestant dernominations were founded that there proved to be no option to toleration. The American churches developed around the Protestant Puritantism of the Massachuseets Bay Colony and the Anglicancism of the Virginia. Over time other denominations were established in Anmerica brought by subsequent English settlers and continental immigrants, especially from Germany. And Catholcism became important beginning with the Potato Famine and large-scale Irish immigrartion. Immigration from southhern Europe added more Catholics as well as other Eastern European dominations. Jews entered America in large numbers for the first time. Evangelicas significantly increased the number of denomimations, founding often quite small churches. Immigration reform opened American to expanded immigration from Mexico and thge rest of Latin America who were mostly Catholic.

Hinduism

Hinduism and Islam was virtually unknown in America until immigration which ended the prioritization of northern Europe (1975). Unlike Buddahism there was no localized regional community. Mpst Hindus as would be expected have come from India. They are a religion that hace grown raodily in recent years. Judaism is tesecoind most important rekigiin in America, reacging about 2 percent. Islam, Hindism, and Buddhism are all vying for third place. arnd gradually moving toward the 1 percent level. The most motable aspect of Hindus in America is that they havethe highest education and income levels of all religious groups in the US: 36 percent of the Hindus said their annual family income exceeded $100,000, compared with 19 percent of the overall population. And 77 percent of Hindus have a bachelor's degree compared to 27 percent of all adults and 48 percent of the Hindus have a post-graduate degree. [Pew Research Center]This academic excellense shines in the annual national Spelling Nee compeitions. And in the Howdy Modi reception in Texas drew many Hibsus and made national news (2019).

Islam

Immigration reform opened American to non-European religions like Budhism, Hinduism, and Islam.

Judaism

The Jews were not a national group and came from many countries. The economic and social impact of Jews on America varied coincerning their origins, but my far the most important wre the Russian and other Eastern European Jews. The vast oproportion of Jews who emmigrated to America came from Russia and eastern Europe, but primarily Russia. (Large areas of Poland at the time were part of Tsarist Russia.) The reason of course was the terrible oppression visited upon the Jews by the Tsarist regime and the Cossacks. Not only were there legal restrictions, but vicisious programs massacred Jews in the thousands. The primary impetus for Russian immigration to America was the pogroms directed at Jew in the wake of the assaination of Tsar Alexander II (1881). A substantial proprtion of the Russian immigrants were Jews. This was the largest group of European Jews to come to America. Earlier Jewish immigrants had been primarily German, but they were realtively small in number compared to the numbers of Russian Jews that began to arrive in America during the 1880s. This same oppression drove Jews into Western Europe, especially Germany which under Bismarck had emancipated the Jews. The Jews are notable for several reasons. Notably the Jews were most likely to stay in America. Few returned to Europe. The Jews were also the immigrant most willing to aid new arrivals. They actively support relief agencies for the new arrivals. The most important impacts of the Jews is surely the impact on American intellectual and political thought.

Sources

Pew Reserach Center.(May 2015).

Created: 7:51 AM 12/10/2010
Last updated: 12:29 AM 5/24/2020