The “New Pluralism” of the Later Twentieth Century Chapter 15

New Religious Movements Many religious strains began to crop up in the American landscape in the latter third of the 20th century Several of the groups reflected newly introduced “Eastern” influences International Society for Krishna Consciousness combined Hindu practices with an appeal to college-age persons Gurus or yogis like Maharaj Ji and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi often gained celebrity status The Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity or Moonies (eponymous label after leader Sun Myung Moon) drew influences from Buddhism, Reformed Christianity and Chinese religion and became known for aggressive proselytization

New Religious Movements Some groups drew on Jewish and Christian traditions Children of God, known primarily for the communal living arrangements, adopted Christianity and adapted it in unorthodox ways The People’s Temple founded by Jim Jones derived its roots from more classic messianic Christianity; it ended in tragedy with a mass suicide in Guyana in 1978 These new religious movements were often pejoratively called “cults”, leading to a counter-cult movement that saw such religious strains as dangerous, both to life and belief Not all new religious movements were dangerous of course, but the stigma was often too great, making such groups vulnerable to hostile rhetoric at best and being targeted for eradication at best

Religion and Immigration post-1965 In 1965, Congress lifted the restrictive immigration measures enacted in the 20’s in the Hart-Cellar Act; new immigrants brought with them, in the pattern of earlier immigrants, their religions Hinduism and Buddhism began making a space for themselves in America, fusing their ethnic and religious identities together These movements in particular became very attractive to some people (generally white, usually Protestant Americans) who would often adopt certain practices of Hinduism or Buddhism without necessarily subscribing wholesale to the tradition itself

Islam in America Islam also experienced great growth in numbers in the years following 1965 Considered the third Abrahamic tradition along with Christianity and Judaism, Islam shares certain core beliefs (such as monotheism and the historical truth of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible) with these traditions (for more on specific Muslim practices see p. 222) “In Muslim cultures, Islam has as many diverse forms as American Protestant Christianity has denominations” (222) This internal diversity is often ignored in times of conflict between American and Muslim cultures, such as the conflict sparked by September 11 and the ensuing wars with Afghanistan and Iraq The stigma of being a Muslim in post 9/11 America has led to decreased efforts at proselytization, in spite of the fact that is a classically proselytizing tradition

Immigration from Latin America Perhaps the greatest insurgence of immigrants (often underestimated due to lack of documentation) is from Mexico, South and Central America and the Caribbean Most are Christians, mainly Roman Catholics, which has had a tremendous effect on the nature of American Catholicism (though there were elements of Caribbean religion, i.e. Santería, that “planted” in the U.S. (225)) Hispanic Catholicism incorporates more exuberant song and dance as well as a vibrant devotional culture, including myriad festivals and saints days

Issues with First Amendment Practices With the greater influx of new (often unfamiliar) traditions, the courts suddenly found themselves dealing with a new host of free exercise and establishment issues The primary question was: how do you curb certain religious practices without silencing the right to religious exercise and enforcing an “established” set of religious norms?

Religion in the Courts Examples of cases: Conscription cases brought tacit religious assumptions to the fore, given that certain people, based on religious views, could be precluded from the draft; with the growth in religious diversity, alternative pacifist stances arose; the courts would eventually drop the religious objection from conscientious objector status Blue laws, which were upheld for short period, were seen as privileging Christians by making Sunday the day off Whether or not creationism could be taught in school became an issue of whether creationism was a viable scientifically neutral theory or a religious one being taught on state-run education programs The posting of Ten Commandments in classrooms was seen as a violation of Church and State (though the verdicts of the numerous cases were by no means uniform in decision)

Pluralism in Christian Worship The Second Vatican Council promoted liturgical renewal, as a means of making worship services more accessible to the masses during mass Among Protestant circles, “seeker services” were a popular way of attracting those people “who had dropped out of organized religion” and were looking for a worship experience that spoke to their needs exactly This reflected a general trend in American religion, whereby the personal spiritual quest, which blended multiple influences, often trumped established traditions