[Nikki20069]

I think most Americans are Christians, or claim to be, though the country has no official religion. Still, though, the words ‘In God We Trust’ are on our currency, and the Pledge of Allegiance (repeated by schoolchildren every morning) includes the phrase ‘One Nation Under God.’ Both these phrases were added in the 1950s because of McCarthyism, but many Americans become very defensive if there is talk of removing them. Another example is that our schools and public offices are generally closed on the major Christian holidays. I am not Christian and would prefer this to be a strictly secular country, but I definitely feel like I am in the minority on this. Nearly all the country’s elected officials are Christian, and I think it would be very difficult for someone who is not Christian (or maybe Jewish) to get elected to a high office. Because so many public officials are Christian, they often seem to forget that there are a lot of non-Christians in this country. This leads to things like ‘National Days of Prayer’ that say they are for everyone, but which have a decidedly Christian slant. It may be easier for people of other monotheistic faiths (Islam or Judaism) to handle this kind of bias, but it can be difficult for pagans, agnostics or atheists.

I think the degree of religiosity and the particular brand of Christianity that is most prominent vary from region to region within the country. Cities tend to be a little less religious than rural areas, and the coasts a little less than the center of the country. There are also a lot more Jews in the northeast than in most of the country, so that religion comes into play more there. For example, in the northeast, many schoolchildren get vacation days for the major Jewish holidays, in addition to the major Christian ones. There are pockets of people of other religions throughout the country (Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Buddhists), but these are smaller, and usually only affect the local politics.

User Detail :  

Name : Nikki20069, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 33, City : Seattle, State : WA, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

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