Tolerance of Religious Diversity un United States

Review of Material Advance Training (LK III) HMI Badko Jawa Timur 

With the theme "Religious Pluralism in the United States Finding Strength in Diversity"

The United States is a superpower. The country with the strongest economic power in the world. A country that upholds democracy. The country that controls the economic, military, political, cultural, technological and religious circulation. 

At present the United States is indeed in an unstable government condition. The issue of the impeachment of United States president Donald Trump is so hotly discussed. So that the power of the United States is disrupted automatically, due to internal conflicts.

The United States is known as a multi-industrial country. Because many international-class private companies are located and developing in the country. With so many companies in the country making the United States the king of the world economy. 

In other words the United States grips the world with its economic power. One proof is the recognition of the United States currency, namely the United States dollar as a world currency.

The United States of America also claims to be the most advanced technological civilization in the world. The number of figures creating the latest technology tools also exist in the United States. Call it the founder of Facebook, Amazon.com, WhatsApp and many others. 

So naturally the United States is a foreign destination because of the country's progress. destinations to the United States from a variety of backgrounds. Some just want a career, some are because of Education, some are because of developing technology and so on.

Not only that, a pluralistic life in the United States or better known as multi-ethnicity, a gathering place for cultures, ethnicities and races from various regions makes the United States a destination for immigrants to come and settle in this country. 

The pluralism in the United States was formed because of the need of various groups (immigrants who came to the United States) to equalize the Movement frames of the various immigrants. therefore the United States was born and grew from this diversity.

Diverse life in the United States also applies to aspects of religion. Various kinds of religions exist in the United States. The majority are Christians. But other religions also grow and are well-maintained in the country. 

There are Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and other religions that exist in other parts of the world in that country. However, with the diversity of religions in the United States, the United States has not closed itself to other religions. 

In fact, the United States provides open space for adherents of religions other than Christianity to continue to carry out and carry out worship in accordance with the religion it adopts. Because of this, the United States is an example of a country with a high tolerance.

Table of the diversity of religions in the United States

 

Christian 

70.6%

Non-Christian 

5.9%

Evangelical Protestant

25.4%

Yahudi

1.9%

Mainline Protestant

14.7%

Muslim

0.9%

Historically Black Protestant

6.5%

Buddhis

0.7%

Catholic

20.8%

Hindu

0.7%

Mormon

1.6%

Another World Religion

0.3%

Orthodox Christian

0.5%

Other Religion

1.5%

Jehovah's Witness

0.8%

Other Christian

04%

 

(Sumber)

From the table it is actually already very visible that the United States of America is one of the countries that have a diversity of religions. Although adherents of religion in the United States are the majority of Christians, but again the United States does not question the existence of other religions in the country. It also seems very clears, the number of non-Christians is very much different from Christians.

Religious diversity in the United States of course also has to do with the spread of religion in the world. The factor of the existence of other religions in the United States and is certainly accepted because the United States was born from various ethnic groups who immigrated to the United States. So, like it or not, like it or not the United States must accept the presence of these religions.

But what's interesting in the United States, the development of Islam in the United States is increasingly growing well and well. The phobia of Islam actually happened in the United States in the case of the September 11, 2001 attacks. After the attacks of 9/11/2001, Islam was considered a terrorist religion, so the fear of Islam is quite high.

After quite a long period of time, Islam is growing very well in the United States. Evidenced by the existence of the first boarding school in the United States named Pondok Pesantren Nusantara Madani USA, which was built by Imam Shamsi Ali, a Muslim scholar from Indonesia who now lives in New York.

The form of religious diversity in the United States is not a threat to the United States itself. It is even this diversity that arises tolerance, mutual help and mutual respect in the United States. It can be seen from a variety of Joint activities from various different religious bases. 

So that the United States often brings up important histories in the process of the United States journey. Because the United States upholds religious freedom and maintains values of tolerance. So that the diversity of religions in the United States is one of the strengths in the United States.