tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post8439335726534186950..comments2024-03-26T11:33:59.219-06:00Comments on Religion in American History: Pluralism is a WoundPaul Harveyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13881964303772343114noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-20543149746947652352012-08-13T08:40:43.497-06:002012-08-13T08:40:43.497-06:00Thanks, everyone, for the comments. I like how you...Thanks, everyone, for the comments. I like how you parse out diversity, pluralism, and difference in your comments, Per. It's always important we define terms in these discussions. I also find myself in partial agreement with Anonymous' point, but from a different angle. The experience of Native Americans suggests that this country has been rooted in religiously-inflected ethnic cleansing. But I think Anonymous presumes too much of a coherent motive. And to KMJ, I had the same assignments in college. I wish high schools would pick it up too. But one can imagine the PTA fights.<br /><br />Finally, I had actually signed on to share this new op ed in the NYTimes which makes many of my same points in a more expanded fashion.<br /><br />http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/us/if-the-sikh-temple-had-been-a-muslim-mosque-on-religion.html?_r=3Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10762487595483265718noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-64855610878355415622012-08-11T12:22:57.719-06:002012-08-11T12:22:57.719-06:00Excellent, troubling essay, as are the comments. I...Excellent, troubling essay, as are the comments. I wish that World Religions was a required course in American high schools and that, in lieu of a final exam, each student would attend an unfamiliar religious service, interview one of the participants afterwards, and then give a class report on it. Such an assignment is often given in college courses on World Religions (I used it myself for 2 years in teaching at a junior college in SW Michigan and students responded with enthusiasm), but given this country's many problems with pluralism and/or "Otherness," it would make more sense to start this process earlier.KMJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-38483157281513795392012-08-11T10:38:45.837-06:002012-08-11T10:38:45.837-06:00This country has had ethnic cleansings from the be...This country has had ethnic cleansings from the beginning. On all the white supremacy websites they are saying the white race claimed this continent, everyone else (even the natives) have to leave. In the past 100 years its let up a little but this country was founded on wasps rounding up everybody else. There were a lot of nazi sympathizers here during WW2 because the dream of the elite here was also for a eugenicly pure white race and even the rural poor whites were sterilized here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-82239013054693212432012-08-09T11:00:56.759-06:002012-08-09T11:00:56.759-06:00That should that that we are "...far from rea...That should that that we are "...far from really living well with difference." I'm a wiz with typos and other mistakes. Maybe a champion even.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37589721331585843.post-67631628228499180862012-08-09T10:49:55.164-06:002012-08-09T10:49:55.164-06:00Chris, great piece. I think recognition and unders...Chris, great piece. I think recognition and understanding are good first steps but I worry that they don't in an of themselves have the power to reconcile the growing tensions that modern pluralism is bringing us. As Marty points out we have long had a "commitment" to pluralism (born out of understanding) but as you point out we are from from really living well with difference. This is why, as I recently mentioned in my blog, I've started reading Rethinking Pluralism, by Adam Seligman and Robert Weller. They take a very different, action oriented approach to the problem of pluralism. I'm hoping others will join me in reading this book as well, particularly now when the problem it addresses seems so timely.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com