9/11 changed America's attitude toward religion
POSTED BY: Niki2
UPDATED: Thursday, August 1, 2024 18:05
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I've never heard the term "Christo-Americanism", but it is an apt term, to me, of what's been happening in America since 9/11.
The re-emergence of "Christo-Americanism":
"One of the sobering lessons of the decade since 9/11 is that religious prejudice is not always rooted in raw ignorance," says Thomas Kidd, author of "American Christians and Islam."
"Some of America's most vociferous anti-Muslim critics know quite a lot about Muslim beliefs, but they often use their knowledge to construe Islam in the worst possible light."
Many of these public attacks against Islam were encouraged by conservative Christian leaders such as Rev. Franklin Graham, the son of Rev. Billy Graham, who called Islam "wicked," and Pat Robertson, the Christian broadcaster who declared that "Islam is not a religion," says Charles Kammer, a religion professor at Wooster College in Ohio.
Kammer says Graham and Robertson helped fuel the rise of "Christo-Americanism," a distorted form of Christianity that blends nationalism, conservative paranoia and Christian rhetoric.
"A segment of the religious community in the United States has been at the forefront of an anti-Islamic crusade that has helped to generate a climate of hatred and distrust toward all Muslims," says Kammer.
Other strains of Christo-Americanism have swept through America before.
After 9/11, some political leaders said terrorists hated the U.S. because of "our freedoms." But America's record on granting those freedoms to its citizens is mixed, says Lynn Neal, co-editor of the book, "Religious Intolerance in America."
In the 19th century, the U.S government passed numerous laws preventing Native American tribes from practicing their religion. Mormons were persecuted. Roman Catholics were once described as disloyal, sexual deviants, Neal says.
"Religious intolerance is not a new feature of the American landscape. Despite being the most religiously diverse nation on earth, despite having a first amendment that protects religious rights...we as a nation and as citizens have often failed to live up to those ideas." http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/03/four-ways-911-changed-america
s-attitude-toward-religion/?hpt=hp_c2
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"Some of America's most vociferous anti-Muslim critics know quite a
lot about Muslim beliefs, but they often use their knowledge to
construe Islam in the worst possible light."
I think the radical jihadists do a fine enough job of that on their own.
" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "
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Originally posted by AURaptor:Quote:
"Some of America's most vociferous anti-Muslim critics know quite a
lot about Muslim beliefs, but they often use their knowledge to
construe Islam in the worst possible light."
I think the radical jihadists do a fine enough job of that on their own.
" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "
Hello,
I can't argue with this. The radicals of every religion are poor representatives of the whole. They foster perceptions of the religion that focus on twisted extremes of behavior based on selected passages and interpretations.
--Anthony
_______________________________________________
“If you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all”
Jacob Hornberger
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.”
Mahatma Gandhi
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9/11 changed a lot of things about the US, or so it looks from the other side of the world. A hardening of attitudes towards other nations and religions, a tolerance of torture and imprisonment without trial or representation.
I used to wonder what Osama's endgame was re 9/11, it seemed such a far fetched plot I can almost understand the conspiracy theory. But sometimes I think the jihadists one. America seems hell bent on tearing itself apart from the inside and bankrupting itself with its pointless wars against terror. Maybe OSama won?
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Well, Osama basically got everything he wanted. The Bush administration saw to that before they stopped looking for him and disbanded the Bin Laden Unit that was tasked with hunting him down.
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Originally posted by AnthonyT:
The radicals of every religion are poor representatives of the whole. They foster perceptions of the religion that focus on twisted extremes of behavior based on selected passages and interpretations.
--Anthony
Uh huh. Nice sentiment. But only ONE religion's radicals blow up centuries old statues and fly planes into very tall buildings, all in the name of their god™.
" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "
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"But only ONE religion's radicals blow up centuries old statues and fly planes into very tall buildings, all in the name of their god™."
Yes, the mainstream xtian US chooses to 'bomb people back into the stone age' from the air by the tens and hundreds of thousands, which makes us better.
Remember when teachers, public employees, Planned Parenthood, NPR and PBS crashed the stock market, wiped out half of our 401Ks, took trillions in taxpayer funded bailouts, spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico, gave themselves billions in bonuses, and paid no taxes?
Yeah, me neither....
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Christianity has been on the rise for a long time. Waco was the govt. out of control trying to kill that rise, perhaps because they were afraid of it. I remember being approached by the new Christians in the 1980s, and '90s, repeatedly. It's because of the obvious failure of secular society.
That's what a ship is, you know - it's not just a keel and a hull and a deck and sails, that's what a ship needs.
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Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
"But only ONE religion's radicals blow up centuries old statues and fly planes into very tall buildings, all in the name of their god™."
Yes, the mainstream xtian US chooses to 'bomb people back into the stone age' from the air by the tens and hundreds of thousands, which makes us better.
No they don't. Our military isn't under any direction or influence by any one religion, and there's no intent to engage our enemy on behalf of Jesus Christ or any other fictional character.
Where do you even come up w/ such nonsense ?
" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "
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Quote:
Originally posted by AURaptor:Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
"But only ONE religion's radicals blow up centuries old statues and fly planes into very tall buildings, all in the name of their god™."
Yes, the mainstream xtian US chooses to 'bomb people back into the stone age' from the air by the tens and hundreds of thousands, which makes us better.
No they don't. Our military isn't under any direction or influence by any one religion, and there's no intent to engage our enemy on behalf of Jesus Christ or any other fictional character.
Where do you even come up w/ such nonsense ?
" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "
Hello,
I wish I could agree, but when I tune into my local country music station (some very nice music there. Tells stories. I like that.) I often hear 'patriotic' songs that focus on the themes of Retribution in War. These, alongside inspirational songs thanking God or praising him.
I can't help but think there is a common audience to both viewpoints.
--Anthony
_______________________________________________
“If you are not free to choose wrongly and irresponsibly, you are not free at all”
Jacob Hornberger
“Freedom is not worth having if it does not connote freedom to err. It passes my comprehension how human beings, be they ever so experienced and able, can delight in depriving other human beings of that precious right.”
Mahatma Gandhi
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