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Bowling Green, KY Daily News – August 21, 2004
Americans taking up many different faiths
By Jason Dooley
Religious diversity in the United States is growing rapidly and is likely to continue to do so for the next several years, according to population data.
As the trend continues, communities will have to answer serious questions about how to continue to thrive while still encouraging diversity, Western Kentucky University religion Professor Larry Snyder told the Bowling Green Noon Rotary Club.
“What kind of implications does this have for building a cohesive community, and how do we applaud diversity and still build communities?” he asked. “In some ways, we’ve never seen anything like this in our history.”
In the 2000 census, Warren County reported 3,955 foreign-born residents, up 4.3 percent from the previous census and the second-highest total in the state, he said.
About 5 percent of Bowling Green’s population reported Muslim as their primary religious affiliation, a high percentage in this country, Snyder said. “These folks see themselves as very much a part of the community, but they want to hold on to their religious identity and they see no problem with being both American and Muslim,” he said.
Nationally, the trend is also strong.
Islam has been the fastest-growing religion in the United States recently, with estimates of the number of Muslims in the country ranging as high as 12.5 million, although the actual number is probably between 3 million and 6 million, Snyder said.
Estimates of the number of active Buddhists in America run between 2 million and 4 million, with about half of those being converts from Protestant faiths, he said.
While Christianity is still the predominant religion in America, other religions continue to grow, Snyder said.
“We’ve assumed for a long time that the American religious landscape has been dominated by Christianity because for the most part, that’s been true,” he said. “But the number of Americans who identify themselves as something other than Christian has been growing in recent years, not by huge numbers, but by 2 percent or so each year.”
The growth of more diverse religions is going to force everyone to confront questions about their religious and cultural identities, Snyder said. “This raises the question, ‘What does it mean to be a Christian or a Hindu or a Buddhist or a Muslim or a Jew or whatever living in America?’ ” he said. “That’s a question that’s going to be increasingly important to all of us.”
Another trend nationally is the growth of “ethnic Christians,” immigrants who ascribe to various Christian faiths and bring those beliefs when they relocate to America, Snyder said. “Some have argued that these outnumber any other religious group in the United States right now,” he said. “The number of Hispanic Protestants is at about 7 million; by some estimates, that’s more than the number than Jews and Muslims combined.”
While Mexican immigrants, many of whom are Catholic or Protestant, make up the largest portion of ethnic Christians, many immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa, Korea and China also bring Christian values with them, Snyder said….
In a recent survey, 25 percent of Americans reported they were very familiar with Buddhist teachings, and 30 percent said they were very familiar with the Muslim belief system, he said.
Those numbers are up markedly from previous generations, showing a shift in the American culture that began in the 1960s, when Congress repealed the Immigration Restriction Act, allowing many more people to enter the country from Africa, Asia and Europe, Snyder said.
Part of the reason for the increased understanding and interest in Islam in recent years has been increased media attention on the Muslim world, for reasons both good and bad, said Muaz Redzic, imam at the Islamic Center of Bowling Green. “Once a thing is being exposed, even negatively, in the media, that draws attention, and so people would really like to know more about it,” Redzic said. “Even negatives could have some positive results and help lead people to the true understanding of the faith of Islam.” ….
http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/stories/public/200408/12/0dYk_news.html
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