Presentation: The Role of Religious Fundamentalism
In the United States of America at present, many of the contemporary issues affecting the country and its citizens that have been significant throughout history and continue to affect many people today, go back to religion. One of the reasons that religion still plays an important role in America today is that so many politicians are religious and therefore their decisions are influenced by their beliefs.
https://www.pewforum.org/2019/01/03/faith-on-the-hill-116/
From this graph, we can see that the majority of Congress members are Christian, with only two Jewish Republicans and 61 out of 282 democrats not identifying as Christian.
It can be argued that politicians that follow a religion are more likely to vote one way on issues because it is the belief of their religion. Furthermore, the differences between the republicans and the democrats are important as these are two groups that are literal representatives of the American population and therefore we must take into account their personal beliefs, as they are likely reflective of the beliefs of their voters. And when making decisions on issues such as abortion or education or foreign policy, these politicians may vote one way based on their personal beliefs rather than the safety of their voters.
Reagan’s Influence
When discussing the role of religious fundamentalism in America today, the influence of Ronald Reagan is essential. Reagan was president from 1981-1989 and is often viewed as one of the most influential voices in modern conservatism.
Reagan’s main influence in education was his support for prayer in public school. He argued that ‘The Law of this land has effectively removed prayer from our classrooms and announced that a proposal to amend the constitution to support school prayer would be submitted to congress. [i] However, this bill wasn’t successful, suggesting that his impact on religion was not as strong as in other issues.
An issue that Reagan did have an important role in was the abortion debate. He introduced two important bills- on either side of the debate. Firstly the 1967 Therapeutic Abortion Act, which allowed abortions “if the mother was in physical or mental distress as a result”[ii]. He later became more pro-life, introducing the Mexico City Policy, which was effectively a ‘gag rule’, which banned federally funded clinics from providing or discussing abortions. This same policy has been lifted and reinstated whenever the U.S. Presidency has changed hands.[iii]
The Abortion Debate
One of the most divisive issues in religion and politics is the abortion debate, which has split the country for decades. A 2019 Pew Research Centre study shows the divide between the two sides;
https://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/
https://www.pewforum.org/fact-sheet/public-opinion-on-abortion/
For decades this debate has split the country, with religious individuals on one side, facing more liberal individuals on the other. Brenda D. Hofman argues that the abortion debate is crucial because it isn’t typically debated between political parties or groups, but “rather the most prominent voices have come from within the institutional structures of various Christian faiths seeking to define the role of the Church in influencing abortion law reform in the post-Roe v. Wade era”[iv]. This could mean that it is not just the debate surrounding the debate that is important but also how it is debated, including who stands on which side and the language which they use.
Additionally, it is important to examine lawmakers often use religious language when discussing abortion laws. In 2019, various new and restrictive abortion laws were passed by state governments in the southern states of America. These laws brought the debate back into public discussion and due to this, the public became more aware of the views of individual politicians, as displayed in these videos. The first video presents the views of the people passing these laws, whilst the second shows the response of their opponents…RPReplay_Final1586174385 RPReplay_Final1586175047
Religious beliefs are at the forefront of the pro-life movement and are consequently hugely influential in the recent restrictive laws that have been passed. It can also be seen that if abortion laws can be influenced heavily by religion, so can any other kind of law, domestic or otherwise.
Education
Another example of religion’s influence on American politics is the support for separation of church and state within the constitution along with strong Christian culture which has created a long history of conflict over religion in public schools.
https://www.redefinedonline.org/2020/01/espinoza-may-not-be-the-game-changer-some-are-predicting/
One of the earliest examples of this is the sectarian conflict between Protestants and Catholics, discontent about Protestant bias in public schools eventually led to 37 states making ‘Blain Amendments’ which would prevent states from funding any religious legal institutions.
Additionally, there were multiple legal cases on government-sponsored prayer during the 40s and 50s, but one of the most significant cases was 1962 Engel v. Vitale. The catalyst for this case was the New York State Board of Regent’s 1951 policy which encouraged schools to recite a prayer to God each day. Arguments against the policy focused on the constitution and documents written by founding fathers advocating the separation of church and state. The separatist rhetoric from the founding fathers and the constitution, along with the strong precedent set by recent cases involving religion in schools, resulted in New York’s policy being ruled unconstitutional on a vote of 6 to 1. This ruling was one of the most significant events in regards to religion in American schools as the precedent it set effectively prevented any school from instating a mandatory session of prayer.
In 1925, John Scopes, a substitute science teacher, was tried for teaching evolution in Tennessee- resulting in-laws which banned the teaching of evolution- the ban lasted until 1968.[v] However, creationist teaching remained popular and in 2012, 46% of Americans believed that humans were created in the last 10,000 years.
Conflict over religion in schools has been present throughout American history. The main change between historical and modern debates over religion is that conflict was originally between religious groups. The legal system has had much success at keeping education secular, but pushback continues.
Islamophobia
There is marked and extreme tension between different cultures and religions in America and it is sometimes used to try and justify or excuse discrimination or racism. For instance, most noticeably since the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York City in September 2001, many right-wing extremists, religious Republican politicians have used this attack to fear monger and create an environment of racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia towards Muslim people and people from Middle Eastern descent, who may be automatically associated with terrorism and violence. Additionally, certain people might unfairly presume that they are all extremist, fundamentalist terrorists or a kind of violent danger without any evidence, because of the harmful stereotypes perpetuated about Muslims.
It is important to discuss the differences in the response to terrorism and gun violence. On average 100 people are killed through gun violence in the USA every day, a much higher figure than those who die from terrorist attacks. However, there is resistance to make changes to gun laws, whilst anti-terrorism laws continue to be put into place. This is important as it demonstrates that threats to American culture and religion are viewed as more dangerous than the deadly aspects of American culture.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/27/obama-is-right-that-guns-kill-more-americans-than-terrorism-so-do-lots-of-things/
In addition, when it comes to holidays and celebrations, this lack of interest or knowledge about other religions and cultures is noted once again. For instance, only Christian holidays tend to be widely recognised in the U.S.A, whereas festivals, holidays and celebrations associated with different religions are rarely even mentioned unless they happen to fall at a similar time to a major Christian holiday.
Overall, religious fundamentalism plays an important role in America today through various issues, which create a divide throughout the country and influences politics and culture within the country.
[i] Ronald Reagan, Remarks at a White House Ceremony in Observance of National Day of Prayer, (1982), Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum
[ii] https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/05/19/trump-says-hes-an-antiabortion-champion-like-reagan-history-says-not-really/
[iii] https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/12/06/503187530/will-trump-bring-back-the-reagan-rule-about-abortions
[iv] HOFMAN, BRENDA D. “Political Theology: The Role of Organized Religion in the Anti-Abortion Movement.” Journal of Church and State 28, no. 2 (1986) p 226
[v] 1968 Epperson v. Arkansas case ruled that the ban on teaching evolution was unconstitutional.
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