American Churches: Difference between revisions
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[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]]--a church located in America.
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In the United States, the First Amendment puts an extremely strong prohibition on the government regulating religion or endorsing one, up to and specifically forbidding a government church. This is known as the principle of "separation of church and state." Now, this doesn't give churches unlimited freedom to do anything they want -- church buildings still have to comply with building codes (although they're generally exempt from height limitations), and anyone claiming something ridiculous and illegal (like, say, [[Human Sacrifice]]) as part of their religion will be laughed out of court (and in the case of [[Human Sacrifice]], promptly convicted of murder). And while the involvement of religious organizations in politics isn't forbidden by the Constitution, incorporated churches can lose their tax-exempt status if they do so (as they would then be considered a political lobbying group), causing them to keep a low profile in politics. Nearly all religious-based lobbying is done by non-profit groups for exactly this reason.
The government can't decide that your religion is unworthy, isn't right, or is a cult simply because people think that it's heretical or blasphemous. To do that, they will go after something else: too many guns and paedophiles at Waco, too much polygamy and forced marriages of young girls to older men at that Fundamentalist Mormon compound in Utah. But if a bunch of adults decide to hold Satanic services involving devil worship, short of finding something actually ''illegal'' going on, there ain't a damn thing the government can do to stop it. So if you want to start a cult that says the world is [[Time Cube|cube-shaped]] and your deity is a talking lizard, you're A-OK.
A government agency, state or federal, can deny a permit to operate virtually any business, be it a pawn shop, a liquor store, or even a non-profit operation like a thrift store or a charity, but by law, it can't even require a church to ''have'' a permit. You might not be able to invite 10 people into your home for a Tupperware party, due to hard rules on commercial activity, but you can always invite 10 people over for a prayer meeting. Churches are also exempt from taxation, as this is considered a violation of the separation of church and state (although see above for one of the big exceptions). Thus, churches in the United States have a great deal of power in the way they operate themselves without fear of the government shutting them down, unlike, say, Falun Gong in China or a Christian church operating in Saudi Arabia.
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In the United States, [[Christianity|Christian]] churches tend to fall into the following groups:
* The '''Roman Catholic Church''' is the largest single denomination in not only the United States, but the world (although Sunni Islam is catching up with the second one). Historically, Catholicism was the religion of [[The City]] in general, and of [[Melting Pot|immigrant ethnic groups]] ([[The Irish Diaspora|Irish]], Italians, Poles and, more recently, Latinos) in particular. The association with immigrants and the supposed decadence of big cities, combined with America's longstanding Protestant tradition, led to widespread anti-Catholic prejudice in the 19th and early 20th centuries, with many claiming that the Catholics were agents of [[The Pope]] who were trying to subvert American society. However, outside of a few diehard fundamentalists (such as [[Jack Chick]]), this attitude has mostly disappeared, the pivotal moment being the election of [[John F. Kennedy]] as America's first Catholic President in 1960.<ref>And even then, this was a ''huge'' deal at the time; many Protestants were still concerned that Kennedy would be a puppet of Rome. He had to give [https://web.archive.org/web/20120419122244/http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Remarks-of-Senator-John-F-Kennedy-at-American-Society-of-Newspaper-Editors-Washington-DC-April-21-19.aspx a speech] specifically affirming that his first loyalty was to the US Constitution, and that his actions as President would not, and should not, be bound by the dictates of the Church. This speech wound up becoming a major landmark in the aforementioned separation of church and state.</ref> Historically, Catholics have generally been concentrated in the Northeast, Midwest, and in Louisiana<ref>due to large scale European immigration in the later part of the 19th century in the former, and the historic French influence in the latter</ref>. More recently, a mix of Latino immigration and internal migration has made the Church more popular in California, the Southwest, and Florida.<br /><br />American Catholics are often perceived as being more liberal than the American mainstream, dissenting from the Church in Rome on many social/cultural issues (such as gay rights, allowing priests to marry, birth control, and the ordination of women and gays) while supporting activism for social justice projects. However, the culturally conservative direction taken by the Church in the last few decades under Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI means that many recent converts tend to have more conservative views on social issues than the stereotype suggests. The growing Latino contingent within American Catholicism also tends to hold more traditional values.
* '''Mainline Protestant churches''' include the Methodists, the Lutherans, the Presbyterians, the Episcopalians (the American branch of the Anglicans), the United Church of Christ and other well-established, or "heritage", churches. These churches are the more liberal of the two Protestant groups, and will often take moderate or liberal positions on social issues. They are generally concentrated in the Northeast and the Midwest. Lately, these churches have been seeing steep declines in membership as people gravitate to either the more conservative evangelical churches or toward more secular outlooks. At the same time, some of the churches have been battling conservative defections due to their liberal social positions, especially with regards to homosexuality. The Episcopal Church's election of an openly gay bishop, for example, caused some parishes to break away and align themselves with more conservative Anglican denominations in Africa.
* '''Evangelical churches''', as defined by [[The Other Wiki]], are Protestant churches that are distinguished by four key traits -- a focus on personal conversion (becoming "born again"), spreading the message of [[The Bible]] (evangelizing), placing high stock in Biblical authority, and a focus on Jesus' death and resurrection. Examples of such churches include most subgroups of Baptists, the Missouri Synod Lutherans, and the Presbyterian Church of America <ref>not to be confused with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which is mainline Protestant</ref>. They usually adhere to conservative social values, and are very often [[The Fundamentalist|fundamentalist]]. <ref>As always, there are exceptions to every rule. A number of more liberal, mainline churches call themselves evangelical (such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America), and a substantial minority of individual evangelicals, particularly younger ones, reject Biblical literalism.</ref><br /><br />They are the largest of the major Christian groups in America, and are most heavily concentrated in an area known as the [[wikipedia:Bible Belt|"Bible Belt"]], consisting of [[Deep South|the South]], [[Everything Is Big in Texas|Texas]] and parts of the Midwest. They have grown quite strongly in recent years, due to their focus on missionary activity. If a character is described as a "born-again Christian," then he or she is most likely an evangelical -- the two terms are largely seen as interchangeable in American usage. Lately, they have become the stereotypical American churches.<br /><br />They are also responsible for the growth of what are often called [http://en.wikpedia.org/wiki/Megachurch megachurches]. While a more traditional church will have from a few dozen to a few hundred parishioners return every week, with "extracurricular" services largely limited to Sunday schools, bake sales and grade schools for some of the larger ones, a megachurch has a few thousand or even tens of thousands, and its services will often be more comparable to a rock concert than an old-time congregation. Megachurches are likely to have their own [[American Educational System|K-12 schools]], fitness centers, day cares, shops selling Christian merchandise (some of it likely pertaining to, or created by, the head pastor/minister), and ministries targeting various [[Subculture|subcultures]], making them one-stop shops for born-again suburbanites. The trend began in the middle of the twentieth century and is associated with the rise of the Religious Right and the growth of the evangelical and Pentecostal movements, as they tend to focus on conversion and personal morality/salvation. These churches have been the target of criticism by both Christians and non-Christians alike, for drawing parishioners away from traditional churches, for their "big box" feel and perceived focus on consumerism, their use of secular business models to bring in worshipers and dollars, and their tax-exempt status<ref>These churches bring in millions of dollars annually, tax free, and their leaders also get tax breaks. It has caused some friction. Think "money changers in the temple".</ref>.
** Related to the Evangelical movement is '''Pentecostalism''', which writers often lump in with the evangelicals due to a lack of familiarity with either one. Pentecostalism is based around a direct experience with God, and often includes faith healing, speaking in tongues, and getting "imbued" with the Holy Spirit. Often associated with loud, charismatic preachers (indeed, a subset of Pentecostalism is called the "charismatic movement," although the word has a [[wikipedia:
*:Despite the fact that Hollywood screenwriters often lump Pentecostals and evangelicals together (most likely due to their shared social conservatism), the two groups differ on a great number of theological issues, which has led to some friction between them. Pentecostals and Charismatics believe in faith healing, speaking in tongues, and a continuing tradition/gift of prophecy (think mystics). Evangelicals believe in personal revelation and experience. Both believe in biblical inerrancy/literalism and baptism/rebirth in Christ. Pat Robertson (Charismatic) makes doomsday predictions and believes he speaks with the voice of God. Evangelicals confine themselves to agreeing with him when, ex post facto, he says a certain city was punished for not punishing homosexuality. To confuse things further, there are [https://web.archive.org/web/20130810123041/http://www.ancient-future.net/charismatic.html charismatic Catholics], too.
* The '''Orthodox churches''' include the Eastern Orthodox (Russian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, etc.) and Oriental Orthodox (Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Ethiopian Orthodox, etc). <ref>The two are separate because the Eastern Orthodox Church accepts all seven ecumenical councils while the Oriental Orthodox only accept the first three; they're known as the Non-Chalcedonian churches because they rejected the Council of Chalcedon.</ref> They are both descended from the Orthodox Church of the Byzantine Empire, which split with the Roman Catholic Church in the 11th century following disputes over the respective authority of the Pope versus the Eastern Roman Emperor and Patriarch of Constantinople, doctrinal disputes over liturgy and the use of icons, and just plain West vs. East bigotry. The two, Pope and Patriarch, mutually excommunicated each others' followers around 1055.<br /><br />Orthodox Christians make up less than 1% of the American population, and are associated with particular ethnic groups even more than the Catholics. Basically, if someone is from Eastern Europe or the Balkans, they're more likely than not Eastern Orthodox, and vice versa. Copts aren't as common in America as they are in Canada. <!-- (America's little brother) NO. This description of Canada pushes the Beserk Button of one of the admins. Do NOT put this back in without explaining exactly what is meant by the term, at which point it will be replaced with a more accurate term. --> They're mostly from Egypt, Turkey, and Syria. There are purportedly 700,000 to 1 million Copts in America, but in very clustered communities. <ref>Mostly in New York, New Jersey, California, and Michigan. If the last one sounds weird, Michigan has a large population of Arabic-speakers -- for the Egyptian Copts -- and Armenians.</ref> The most common denominations of Oriental Orthodox in America are the Armenian Apostolic (mostly in California) and Ethiopian Orthodox (mostly in the Midwest) churches.
* The '''[[Mormonism|Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]''' (or the LDS Church, or simply the Mormons) is a Nontrinitarian orientation (which basically means they don't believe in the Holy Trinity), and is based mostly in the state of Utah, although there are also significant populations in California, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona. They are stereotyped as having deeply conservative social views -- a view that is usually [[Truth in Television]]. Owing to their history of persecution and hard life on [[The Wild West|the frontier]], they also believe in self-sufficiency -- the Church recommends that all Mormons keep a few months of supplies on hand, and the Church itself has a massive stockpile of food and supplies in the event of a disaster. They also put more emphasis on helping people find jobs and become self-sufficient than on handing out charity or operating soup kitchens.<br /><br />Their religious beliefs often conflict with those mainstream Christianity, particularly with regard to their belief in [[The Book of Mormon (
* '''Jehovah's Witnesses''', like the LDS Church, are Nontrinitarian, evangelical, and conservative, and are known to come off as strange to the majority of Americans. They are infamous for their [[Knocking on Heathens' Door|door-to-door preaching and proselytizing]] (so much that it even got them [[Hollywood Jehovah's Witness|their own trope]]), and they keep track of how much time they spend in those activities, trying to be the most passionate and zealous missionaries they can possibly be. They don't observe Christmas, Easter, or birthdays, which are pagan in origin, or national holidays like Thanksgiving or Independence Day. However, they do celebrate the Lord's Evening Meal, held on Passover, which is similar to Eucharist, but they don't believe in transubstantiation or consubstantiation. They do not participate in the military or warfare in general and refuse to salute national flags, which has gotten them in lots of trouble (especially in public schools, what with the Pledge of Allegiance). They're also famous for refusing to use certain blood products, even if they're dying. This means no blood transfusions or emergency surgery that requires transfusions of blood or blood products from another person. Finally, they feel that [[The End of the World as We Know It]] is imminent, and have, in the past, tried to pin down the exact date of the Apocalypse. They stopped doing this when they realize that it was earning them more mockery than converts, but eschatology is still a major part of their belief system.
* Much less common than the above, but still prevalent in America, are '''Anabaptists'''. They are the descendants of the Radical Reformation, alongside the Protestant Reformation, who believe that being baptized and joining a church should be a choice, offered only to adults who had the knowledge to make such a decision. This sounds sensible now, but was pretty revolutionary in the 16th century.<br /><br />Surprisingly, this is not some liberal hippie denomination, but actually the "plain people": Amish, Hutterites, and Mennonites. Each group is distinct from the others, but they all share core beliefs. They're famous for being [[Actual Pacifist|actual pacifists]] (believing that [[Turn the Other Cheek]] isn't just a suggestion), and also refusing to swear oaths, participate in politics, or drink any alcohol. The more conservative groups dress in plain clothes, keep technology use to a minimum, live in their own separate communities, and refuse to pay Social Security or even for insurance. More moderate branches, particularly the Mennonites, blend in more with society, though they still stick to their theology. Unusually for a Christian group, Anabaptists have their own language: Low German, also known as [http://www.mennolink.org/doc/lg/index.html Plautdietsch].
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Other religions are also well-represented in the country, although all of them are clear minorities of the United States population.
* '''[[Judaism|Jews]]''' are primarily concentrated on the East Coast (particularly the New York and Washington areas, where they make up a double-digit percentage of the population in some counties), South Florida (where many of them go to retire), and California, with small enclaves elsewhere in the country. Their disproportionate presence in New York and Los Angeles explains why Jews are [[You Have to Have Jews|so well-represented in the entertainment and financial industries]]. They tend to pull for the Democrats in large numbers -- the only Democrat since [[Franklin D. Roosevelt|FDR]] who earned less than 70% of the Jewish vote was Adlai Stevenson in 1952 and 1956 -- and usually have social views more liberal than the American mainstream. <ref>They were heavily involved in the [[Civil Rights Movement]], and it was a Jewish woman who wrote ''The Feminine Mystique'', the book often credited with kick-starting the second wave of feminism.</ref> In America, as in most other places, Jews are [[Once-Acceptable Targets]] -- anti-Semitism was prevalent in America as late as [[The Great Depression]] (during which time populist radio host Father Coughlin blamed the Jews for the stock market crash), but slowly began to fade after the atrocities of [[World War II]] were brought to the surface.
* There is significant debate of the number of '''[[Islam|Muslims]]''' in the United States, with most estimates ranging from as low as one million to as high as seven million. Two-thirds of the Muslim community is foreign-born, while most of the rest consists of African-American converts (where we get the stereotypical "[[Malcolm Xerox|black Muslims]]"). Almost one-fifth of [[American Prisons|American convicts]] are Muslims, most of whom converted to Islam while in prison (again, the "black Muslim" stereotype). They tend to be concentrated on the East Coast, in Detroit, in Houston, and in California.<br /><br />Thanks to the 9/11 attacks, Muslims have become [[Acceptable Target|acceptable targets]] in many parts of the United States, [[Defector From Decadence|which has caused many of them to support the Democratic Party]]. <ref>Interestingly, before the attacks, most Muslims voted Republican due to their affluence and social conservatism.</ref> Even so, they tend to be rather well-integrated compared to their European counterparts, having a higher average income and educational attainment than the national average. The first Muslim member of [[American Political System|Congress]] is Keith Ellison, an African-American Democrat from Minnesota elected in 2006; he was followed by another African American, Andre Carson (Democrat of Indiana), after a special election in 2008. And no, despite [[Conspiracy Theorist|what you may have heard]],
** The '''Nation of Islam''', whose more prominent members have included [[Malcolm X]] and Louis Farrakhan, and Muhammad Ali, is an American offshoot of the religion of Islam. As with mainstream Islam, the NOI preaches adherence to the five pillars of Islam, personal modesty, eschewing pork, and many other similarities. They differ from mainstream Islam in that they also preach black supremacy and that their founder, Wallace Fard Muhammad, was the Christian Messiah and the Muslim Mahdi (much the same thing). With its own religious text, doctrinal differences with traditionalists, and American origin, the Nation of Islam can be seen as analogous to Mormonism, and its reception has often been similar (frosty at best, hostile at worst).
* '''[[Atheism|Atheists]] and other non-religious people''' (not a church, but here for completeness) make up about 15% of the American population, with their numbers being highest in the Western states and the Northeast.<ref>The title of "least religious state" often varies between Vermont, Colorado, Oregon and Washington depending on the year and the survey.</ref> The vast majority of non-religious people tend to be either liberals (they voted about 71% for [[Barack Obama]]) or libertarians, although there are a few prominent conservative atheists. They have long been an acceptable target in American culture, often being stereotyped as [[Hollywood Atheist|bitter, elitist, amoral, un-patriotic]], and [[Dirty Communists|possibly Communist]].<ref>An example of the type of treatment that atheists get in America -- former President [[George
* '''Agnostics''' are people who are open to the idea of an afterlife and/or a higher power, but who don't ascribe to any one religion. Tend to get lumped in with atheists by some religious communities, despite the difference. Most common in the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest.
* '''[[Buddhism|Buddhists]]''' make up 1-2% of the American population. About 75-80% of American Buddhists are Asian, while most of the rest are white converts (although, as noted below, not entirely white). This latter group is typically stereotyped as consisting largely of [[New Age Retro Hippie|New Age Retro Hippies]] and [[Granola Girl|Granola Girls]], while the former group is usually stereotyped as... well, Asian. There have been precisely three Buddhists in Congress, all Democrats: Mazie Hirono, a non-practicing ''Issei'' Japanese-American from Hawaii, and Hank Johnson, a Black convert from Georgia (yeah, it's kind of weird) were elected in 2006; Colleen Hanabusa, a practicing ''Yonsei'' Japanese-American from Hawaii was elected in 2010.<ref>For the record, the reason there aren't more Buddhist congresspeople despite the relatively large number of Asian representatives is that most Asian American politicians are Christians.</ref>
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Useful Notes/The United States]]
[[Category:Useful Notes/Religion]]
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