ETHNICITY AND RELIGION CHAPTER 5 Copyright 2010 Pearson
Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All rights reserved.
Slide 2 Ethnic Diversity The United States is ethnically diverse
Germans are the largest ancestral group o 1/6 th of Americans said
they had at least some German ancestry Germany is one of twenty-one
European nations from which at least 1 million people claim to have
ancestry Slide 3 Immigration from Germany, Ireland, Italy, and
Poland Slide 4 Why Dont We Study Whiteness? Two aspects of White as
race are to be considered: o The historical creation of whiteness o
How contemporary White people reflect on their racial identity
Established English immigrants, as the political founders of the
U.S., came to define what it meant to be White o White Anglo Saxon
Protestant (WASP) Other groups regarded as White today were not
always considered White in the eyes of the English o Irish,
Germans, Norwegians, and Swedes o Irish viewed by English as
socially and culturally inferior Slide 5 As European immigrants and
their descendants assimilated and distanced themselves from other
oppressed groups such as American Indians and African Americans,
they came to be viewed as White Transparent racial divide of the
South during slavery allowed ignorance of how Whiteness was
constructed Whites dont think of themselves as a race or have a
conscious racial identity Contemporary White Americans give little
thought to being White o Little interest in studying Whiteness or
considering being White except that it is not being Black Slide 6
White Privilege The social identity of Whiteness exists if one
enjoys the privilege of being White Peggy McIntosh study on the
privilege of being white o Considered financially reliable o Taking
a job and your race is not questioned (anonymity) o Never having to
speak for all or represent all of ones race o Seeing ones race
represented widely in the media o Race does not work against you in
court or medical care etc. Slide 7 Slide 8 The Rediscovery of
Ethnicity Principle of third generation interest Marcus Hansen
(1952) What the son wishes to forget the grandson wishes to
remember Hansens contention that ethnic interest and awareness
increase in the third generation, among the grandchildren of
immigrants The civil rights movement played a role in
reinvigorating Whites about their ethnic heritage o White ethnics
(Irish, Poles, Germans, Italians, etc.,) only a half step above
Blacks in social status, viewed this emerging consciousness as
working for them also Todays growing popularity of genealogy
researching your family tree or history o Ancestry.com Slide 9
Symbolic Ethnicity Expressions of ethnicity involving symbols of
ones cultural heritage Much of ethnicity today is expressed
symbolically o Food Irish stew, paczki, sauerkraut, gnocchi o
Clothing kilts, lederhosen, kerchiefs, sarafans, wooden shoes o
Festivals and holidays Oktoberfest, St. Patricks Day, San Gennaro
Day o Ethnic organizations Emerald Society, Sons of Poland,
National Italian American Foundation, Independent Order of Vikings
o Supporting specific political issues or issues confronting the
old country Slide 10 Ethnicity that does exist may be more a result
of living in the U.S. than importing practices from the past or old
country o participate to reconnect with an ethnic past they never
actually experienced Ethnicity Paradox o Maintaining ethnicity can
be a critical step toward successful assimilation Facilitates full
entry into the dominant culture through economic and psychological
strength and positive self- esteem Ethnicity gives continuity with
the past in the form of an affective or emotional tie Slide 11 The
Prejudice of Ethnics White ethnics have often been portrayed as
bigoted hard hats o the bastion of blue collar racism dominating
labor and industry o Ethnic neighborhoods and racial conflicts
White Ethnics have distinguished themselves from both Blacks and
White Anglo-Saxon Protestants o Catholics, Orthodox, Jews White
ethnics have been antagonistic to African Americans o economic
competition o attempts to ally themselves with socially dominate,
upper class whites Slide 12 The German Americans Slide 13 In the
late 1700s religious dissenters from Germany arrived to the United
States People with German ancestry were roughly 10% of the
population in 1800s in the United States mid-1800s not enough
viable farming land and available work in Germany led to more
emigration o attracted by free land grants in America during the 19
th century many German men left to avoid military conscription
Slide 14 Twentieth-Century German America Fought in World War I and
World War II o fighting against the Fatherland o faced suspicion
and bigotry during the war years Post-World War II, many East
Germans escaped to the democratic west (including the U.S.) during
the Cold War period of communist control In the last ten years,
immigrants from Germany have been 5,000 to 10,000 people annually
Slide 15 The Irish Americans Slide 16 Diversity based on o Time of
entry o Settlement area o Religion Fled not for a better life but
from certain death o Potato crop failure and famine Reawakened old
religious hatreds in the dominant New English aristocracy o
memories of their treatment back in Ireland at the hands of the
dominant Protestant British Slide 17 According to dominant Whites,
Irish worse than Blacks, because unlike slaves or freed Blacks, who
knew their place, the Irish did not suffer their maltreatment in
silence Employers mixed immigrant groups to prevent unified action
by the laborers Began to experience slow advancement as white
identity overcame immigrant status Past issues with immigration led
to Irish support of protests for procedures to allow illegal
immigrants to apply for citizenship Slide 18 The Italian Americans
Slide 19 Concentrated not only in time but in geography Received
their jobs through ethnic labor contractors Padrone Catholic church
very important to their lives With assimilation began constructing
a social identity as a national group and successfully became
indistinguishable from other Whites Controversial aspect involved
organized crime as typified by Al Capone (1899-1947)
Characterization as criminals, even in the mass media, is another
example of respectable bigotry o glorified/vilified in film and TV
- The Godfather, Goodfellas, Sopranos Slide 20 Current popular
shows promote the exaggerated personality and behavior of
Italian-Americans (Guidos) Jersey Shore Immigration was slowed by
the National Origins System o Italians considered new immigrants
and faced tighter quotas Even becoming educated did not ward off
prejudice Politically, Italian Americans have been more successful,
at least at the local level, where family and community could
translate to votes Geraldine Ferraro, 1 st Italian to get a cabinet
position Slide 21 Constructing Social Identity Among Italian
Immigrants Over time, Italian Americans moved from seeing
themselves in terms of their provincial or village identity, and
then they successfully became indistinguishable from other Whites.
Slide 22 Polish Americans Slide 23 Experience similar to Irish and
Italians Primary reason for their exodus was changing political
status of Poland Had to adjust to a new culture and urban way of
life Predominant in coal-mining occupations, which paid little and
were dangerous Polonia -meaning Polish American o More common in
Midwest cities such as Chicago Slide 24 Religion played an
important role among immigrants and their descendants
Jewish-Catholic distinction was most distinguishing factor among
Polish Americans o Other divisions are Kashubes and Mazurians Made
use of a rich structure of self-help voluntary associations
Stigmatized as outsiders and stereotyped as simple and uncultured
Many have retained little of their cultural tradition Slide 25
Religious Pluralism Pluralism used in US to refer explicitly to
religion The United States reflects a society based on religious
pluralism Over 1,500 religious groupings o Denominations o Sects o
Cults In 1900: o Ninety six percent of the nation was Christian o
One percent was non-religious o Three percent was of other faiths
In 2001 o Seventy-six percent of the nation was Christian o
Fourteen percent was non-religious o Four to six percent was of
other religions Slide 26 Diversity of beliefs, rituals, and
experiences reflects nations immigrant heritage and First Amendment
prohibition against a state religion The vast majority of religious
people belong to a denomination Denomination is defined as a large
formally organized church or churches not officially linked to the
State Four non-Christian religious groups in US whose numbers are
comparable to any large denomination o Jews, Muslims, Buddhists,
and Hindus all number more than 1 million Slide 27 One notable
characteristic of religious practice in the US is its segregated
nature at the local level Legacy of racism in religious expression
leads to segregation in worship that allows churches to be
identified as Black or White Even with broad representation,
tendency is homogenous Religion in the US is an ever-changing
phenomenon Slide 28 Racial and Ethnic Makeup of Selected Religions
in the U.S. Other includes self-identified mixed race. Evangelical
includes Baptist, Lutheran, and Pentecostal among others. Mainline
Protestant includes Methodist, Lutheran (ELCA), Presbyterian,
Episcopal, and United Church of Christ, among others, but excludes
historically Black Churches. Slide 29 Income and Denominations
Denominations attract different income groups. All groups have both
affluent and poor members, yet some have a higher proportion of
members with high incomes while others are comparatively poor.
Slide 30 Education and Denominations There are sharp differences in
the proportion of those with some college education by
denomination. Slide 31 Religion in the United States Civil Religion
o The religious dimension in US life that merges the state with
sacred beliefs Robert Bellah (1967) o The emergence of civil
religion - the interrelationship between the State (Secular) and
sacred beliefs Functionalists view religion as reinforcing central
American values that may be more patriotic than sacred Slide 32
Diversity Among Roman Catholics Social scientists tended to ignore
diversity within the Roman Catholic Church in US Roman Catholic
Church experienced growth through Latin America immigration Despite
its ethnic diversity, has been a powerful force in reducing ethnic
ties of its members, making it a significant force in assimilation
Slide 33 Diversity Among Protestants Often portrayed as a
monolithic entity Sharp differences in religious attitudes Four
generic theological camps o Liberals: Unitarians, United Church of
Christ (Congregationalists), and Episcopalians o Moderates:
Disciples of Christ, Methodists, and Presbyterians o Conservatives:
American Lutherans and American Baptists o Fundamentalists:
Missouri Synod Lutherans, Southern Baptists, and Assembly of God
Slide 34 Women and Religion Religious beliefs have often placed
women in an exalted but protected position Exception in the United
States o Christian Science church Majority of practitioners and
readers are women Largest denomination, Roman Catholicism, does not
allow women to be priests Largest Protestant denomination, Southern
Baptist Convention, voted against ordaining women Women play a
significant role as volunteers Notable rise in female clergy in
last 20 years Women continue to face sexism after ordination Slide
35 Religion and the U.S. Supreme Court Religious pluralism owes its
existence to the First Amendment FOUR ISSUES: o 1. Issue over
prayer in school o 2. Secessionist minorities o 3. Creationism and
intelligent design o 4. Public display of religious symbols Slide
36 Secessionist Minorities o In conflict with the rest of society
in that they reject assimilation and coexistence in some form of
cultural pluralism o Amish o Native Americans o Polygamists
Creationists o People who support the literal interpretation of the
Bible and have formed various organizations to crusade for
creationist treatment in schools and universities Slide 37 Edwards
v Aguillard (1987) o Ruled that states may not require the teaching
of creationism alongside evolution in public schools if the primary
purpose of such legislation is to promote a religious viewpoint
Intelligent Design o The idea that life is so complex it could only
have been created by a higher intelligence Supporters advocate a
more accurate account than Darwinism o Kitzmiller v. Dove Area
School District Judge found intelligent design to be a religious
belief Slide 38 Limits of Religious Freedom: The Amish Practice
self-segregation Yoder v. Wisconsin (1972) o Allowed Wisconsin
Amish to escape prosecution from laws that required parents to send
their children to school to age 18 Conflict theorists observe that
as long as the Amish remained totally apart from dominant society
in the US, they experienced little hostility Slide 39 Rumspringa o
Running Around Young Amish test their subcultures boundaries during
a period of discovery Attend barn dances where taboos like
drinking, smoking, and driving cars are commonly broken Growing
area of Amish-English clashes is over young Amish children working
as laborers Old Order Amish developed a pluralistic position that
has become increasingly difficult to maintain as their numbers grow
and they enter the economy in competition with the English or
non-Amish
