THE GROWTH OF RELIGION

Freedom of religion first began when The Founding fathers came to the New World. In doing so, they created the Bill of Rights, which included an amendment stating that citizens have the right to freedom of religion. One of the first major religious groups were known as the Protestants. American Protestants believed that through conversion to Christianity, past sins would be forgiven, and avoided. This idea is very interesting because it illustrates how Christan's believe in Jesus. Many believe that Jesus died for their sins, and therefore their sins are forgiven. The Protestants illustrated that even if one was not originally Christan, their sins could still be forgiven if they converted to Christianity. Protestant's influenced a new religious group within the 19th Century known as the Mormons. During this time, many Mormon's believed that corrupt churches needed to be reformed. They also believed that the end of the world would come when Jesus Christ appears on earth again, otherwise known as millennialism. Perfectionism, the idea that people could live sinless lives, is was also part of Mormon's beliefs. Religion continued to change drastically during a period of great immigration. Before the 19th century, most immigrants came from English, Scottish, or German backgrounds. However, during the period of the 19th century, many Catholics and Jews immigrate4d into the United States. The number of the Catholics immigrating grew so much that Catholicism was the largest denomination within the country. However, in many ways this large income of new religious influences posed a threat to Protestants. This could be because new religious influences took away some of the power that Protestant's had, and threatened a way of life that they were used to living. Judaism has never been a large part of America's population. Two major groups of Jews came to America. The Sephardic Jews, and the Ashkenazim Jews. Sephardi Jews originally came from Spain, where Ashkenazim Jews originated primarily from Germany. However, the Holocaust caused over 2 million Jews to immigrate to the united states. Again, because Judaism was another religious influence coming to the United States, Jews faced hostility from both Christan's and Protestant's who felt that their power and originally way of life was being threatened. However, during the 19th century, Jews were not the only ones who were being out casted because of their religion. Slaves were often forced and influenced to follow the Bible. They slaves believed that the bible made them equal because they followed the same beliefs, and had the same God as their masters. For example, Nat Turner used the idea of religious equality and freedom as an influence over his actions. However, what is more interesting is the way slave owners looked at influencing Christianity. The believed that "it helped them maintain discipline over their slaves." Included in this struggle for religious reform were the Native Americans. The US government forced Native Americans onto reservations. Native Americans however found a new way to support their religions. They created something called "ghost religions" which included preforming rituals they believed that their lands would be restored, and believed that spiritually their ancestors would come back to earth. Religion again transformed after the theory of evolution was brought to attention. Many religions were uncomfortable with the idea that evolution did not correspond with their beliefs. One of the most well known groups were called the Fundamentalists. They rejected Darwin's theory of evolution, and even went so far as to ban the teaching of evolution in schools. This idea connects to the issues of church and state. By banning the teachings of evolution, church was in many ways influencing the state. After World War II, many Jewish immigrants arrived in America, increasing the Jewish population more then ever before. Islam presented itself in America around the time of the 1960s. The Islamic religion has many different Muslim groups, however, they all believe in the five pillars. Light was truly shined on Islam during Civil Rights. Malcom X was a strong leader of the blacks, and used the religion of Islam to influence many of his beliefs and actions. He believed that Islam provided true freedom and equality. Even today, religious beliefs and conflicts are growing. The pledge of Allegiance includes the controversial words, "Under God." "President Dwight Eisenhower stated, 'Everybody should have religious faith, and I don't care what it is." However, who is one man to say what a whole country should believe in?

"Religion in the United States." American history. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010.
.