tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post3093641328288337167..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: It's mine! (America, that is)Paul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-47133737944655789922011-07-20T18:11:19.678-06:002011-07-20T18:11:19.678-06:00Thanks for all the comments!! Incredibly helpful....Thanks for all the comments!! Incredibly helpful.Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755286304057000048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-53577841021963755522011-07-14T11:55:25.199-06:002011-07-14T11:55:25.199-06:00The General Social Surveys asked God-and-country q...The General Social Surveys asked God-and-country questions (at least one). These items are analyzed in "America as a “Christian Nation”? Understanding Religious Boundaries of National Identity in the United States" by Jeremy Brooke Straughn and Scott Feld in the journal Sociology of Religion. Here's the abstract: <br /><br />Abstract<br />Though predominantly Christian since the time of its founding, the United States has become more religiously diverse in recent decades. Yet since the mid-1990s, the proportion of Americans who see their country as a “Christian nation” has reportedly increased. Though initially paradoxical, these trends are less mysterious if the idea of a “Christian America” (CA) is understood, not as a description of religious demography, but as a discursive practice that seeks to align the symbolic boundaries of national belonging with the boundaries of the dominant faith community. Using data from the 1996 and 2004 General Social Survey, it is shown that the growing prevalence of CA was restricted to Americans of Christian faith, thereby widening an existing religious divide over the meaning of American identity.<br /><br />Here's a URL: http://socrel.oxfordjournals.org/content/71/3/280.abstractJohn Schmalzbauerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00721182948295833977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-59336975388088903882011-07-14T11:53:22.688-06:002011-07-14T11:53:22.688-06:00Great column. See the 2007 First Amendment Center...Great column. See the 2007 First Amendment Center poll that found that 55% of those polled believed "The U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation." The questions that poll asked aren't as detailed as those you suggest; I'd love to see a poll like that, too. Here is the 2007 data.<br /><br />http://www.firstamendmentcenter.com/news.aspx?id=19031Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03438296074407656197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-86280686678422421872011-07-14T11:51:39.043-06:002011-07-14T11:51:39.043-06:00Many representative surveys have asked some of tho...Many representative surveys have asked some of those. For example, here's a search on "<a href="http://www.thearda.com/Archive/Browse_s.asp?searchterms=%22christian+nation%22&p=EDBCQRST381264597AP&c=ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO&t=Search+Data+Archive&pg=Browse_s.asp" rel="nofollow">Christian Nation</a>" that brings up results from surveys over the last 15+ years from Pew and others relating to whether America is/should be a Christian nation at <a href="http://www.thearda.com" rel="nofollow">theARDA.com</a>.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-72403007377265474142011-07-14T11:29:21.258-06:002011-07-14T11:29:21.258-06:00John Fea has had some great things to say about th...John Fea has had some great things to say about this. Many evangelicals don't seem to draw then line between where their faith ends and their patriotism begins.Randallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16755286304057000048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-39285356755548807362011-07-14T11:12:38.952-06:002011-07-14T11:12:38.952-06:00Randall, wow, I would really like Pew to ask the G...Randall, wow, I would really like Pew to ask the God-and-country questions too. Do you think they will if we ask nicely and even use "pretty please"? I would love to see the responses. <br /><br />While road tripping this summer, I listened to contemporary country music stations, and God-and-country appear again and again in songs of a wide range of artists (Toby Keith has made a small industry out of this). Or the bumper stickers proudly proclaiming "one nation under God." Or one of my new favorite examples is Tapestry Productions (their Hero Series), which includes firemen, police officers, soldiers, emts, and even a President (G.W. Bush)surrounded by Christian imagery and flags.<br /><br />How do Americans envision the nation's relationship to the divine? And how does that get bound to patriotism?Kelly J. Bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14328894784072518452noreply@blogger.com