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Events
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Islamopedia: Mapping Islamic Thinking Online
November 30, 2009
Jocelyne Cesari of Harvard University will present Islamopedia, a collection of rulings and religious... |
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The Role of Religion in the Public Square of a Pluralist Democracy
December 14, 2009
Clergy Beyond Borders will be holding a conference at American University on the topic of "Human Righ... |
Publications
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Berkley Center Annual Report 2008-2009
October 15, 2009
This report outlines the Berkley Center's major activities during the 2008–09 academic year, includ |
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Luce/SFS Program Annual Report 2008-2009
October 15, 2009
This report provides an overview of the Luce/SFS Program on Religion and International Affairs progr |
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The Future of U.S. International Religious Freedom Policy: Recommendations for the Obama Administration
March 10, 2009
Building off three symposia on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the International Religious F |
UNITED STATES
ON THIS PAGE
From the Colonial Era to the FoundingThe 19th Century
The 20th century
Religion in the United States Constitution
US AND CANADA
CanadaUnited States
United States DRAFT
Religious Adherence in United States, % of Population
Cross-National Data: Religion Indexes, Religious Adherents, and Other Data. Association of Religion Data Archives. 2005.
From the Colonial Era to the Founding
The emergence of the United States was marked by a paradox: the first country to fully guarantee religious freedom and institutionalize religious pluralism uprooted a native American population with its own diverse spiritual traditions. Initial colonial settlement took place under different religious auspices: Puritans were prominent in New England, for example, Anglicans in Virginia, Quakers in Pennsylvania, and Catholics in Maryland and French Louisiana. A first Protestant Great Awakening took place in the 1730s and 1740s, at a time when the colonial population and economy were steadily growing through immigration, expansion, and the exploitation of African slaves in the southern colonies. While the rebellion against the British and the successful war of Independence (1775-83) were driven mainly by economic and political interests, the Bill of Rights incorporated into the United States Constitution (1791) began with a religious freedom clause designed both to prevent the establishment of a state religion and to guarantee free religious exercise. The subsequent consolidation of the new state through further economic growth, the incorporation of French Louisiana, and the forced expulsion of Native Americans, generated a powerful, religiously diverse, Protestant-majority country.
The 19th Century
The fundamental conflicts that culminated in the Civil War (1861-65) – the institution of slavery... >>more
The 20th century
The 20th century saw a shift from a Protestant towards a more inclusive religious and political l... >>more
Religion in the United States Constitution
The United States constitution was adopted in 1787, but broad constitutional protection for relig... >>more
First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exerc... >>more
Declaration on Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Article 1
1. States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and lin... >>more
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Article 2
1. Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities (hereinafter ... >>more
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Article 3
1. Persons belonging to minorities may exercise their rights, including those set forth in th... >>more
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Article 4
1. States shall take measures where required to ensure that persons belonging to minorities m... >>more
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Article 5
1. National policies and programmes shall be planned and implemented with due regard for the ... >>more
Article 6: Federal Power
All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shal... >>more
Article 6: Federal Power
... The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legis... >>more
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Article 6
States should cooperate on questions relating to persons belonging to minorities, inter alia, exc... >>more
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Article 7
States should cooperate in order to promote respect for the rights set forth in the present Decla... >>more
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Article 8
1. Nothing in the present Declaration shall prevent the fulfilment of international obligatio... >>more
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, Article 9
The specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system shall contribute to... >>more