Jane Geiger – Chapter 15: Religiously Diverse Networks
With this chapter from American Grace- How Religion Divides and Unites Us, there is careful emphasis placed on the statistics to demonstrate religious diversity and opinions within the United States. Americans are beginning to live in more diverse neighborhoods, both culturally and religiously, but 93% of Americans believe all of the country is living areas strongly divided by race. 96% say the divisions in American society are based on economic lines, 97% say divisions come from political divisiveness, and 72% say religious lines. This chapter focuses mainly on the way in which American see religious diversity, growth, and isolation within the United States.
The majority of religious Americans of all backgrounds believe that people of other religions can still go to heaven. That percentage lessens for Christians when the other religion in question is not another branch of Christianity, but hovers around 50%. 80% of Americans believe that there are basic truths in every religion, but 85% of Americans believe that “morality is a personal matter and society should not force everyone to follow one standard.” This highlights the belief that Americans want government to stay out of religion and for it to be a primarily private matter.
Three main principles from the article are the Aunt Susan Principle, the My Friend Al Principle, and description of Social Capital. The help explain religious interaction and the ways in which they can become positively associated. The Aunt Susan principle operates under the idea that everyone has an “Aunt Susan” in their lives- someone who epitomizes goodness in your particular religion, but have a different religious background from your own. The My Friend Al Principle is similar in the way that it focuses on social interactions with individuals of a different religious group. In this case, two individuals find a common connection such as a love of sports, reading, or shopping, and then find that one individual is of a particular religious group. Because the two can relate in other realms, the religious group of the other individuals is believed to be not that bad or different. This is especially common with individuals practicing marginalized religions such as Islam, Mormonism, or Evangelical Christianity. Finally, Social Capital references the norms of trust and reciprocity that arise out of our social networks. According to Gordon Allport, everyone must ensure that all groups within society have equal status, share common goal, have intergroup connection, and the support of authorities and laws.
All three of these ideas hinge on the belief that a religiously diverse social network will lead to an overall more positive assessment of various religious groups, and therefore should be highly encouraged. This can not only be applied to religion, but the way in which Americans interact within individuals of different races, sexual orientations, and political parties.
DCSI - American Politics 