America's Fear of Organized Religion

Religion is intertwined in all of my life’s most significant revelations, joys, disappointment and risks. Though sometimes at odds with my social beliefs, my Catholic faith has always been a significant part of my identity. But in America, it is not something I talk about very openly or casually. Those who are close to me are aware of my relationship with religion, but even with some of my closest friends I grow uncomfortable articulating the extent to which my faith informs my values and my decisions.

In America, organized religion seems to be something reserved only for older generations, rural or less educated communities, and conservatives. While I have many peers who define themselves as vaguely religious, fewer and fewer seem to associate with a clear religious organization. I do not question the validity of non-affiliated belief systems, but there is a difference between merely believing in a higher power and following a set of religious observances (such as holy days, religious rituals, etc.). Many Americans seems to see very little difference between those who are devout to the rules of one’s faith and those who adopt fanatical or extremist views. These hushed conversations surrounding religion mean that the voices heard most often are the shouts of those who decry all religions except their own, their close-minded opinions clamoring to be heard in a country where religion is glaringly present but rarely discussed.

A country partially founded to establish religious freedom, it appears as though our American forefathers quickly grew anxious that religion would hinder the new nation’s development and scrambled to establish a clear divide between church and state. In a country as diverse as America I believe that organized religion cannot be allowed to influence politics, but I do not think that means faith needs to be cut out of the national conversation.

After being in Senegal for almost two months, I have seen the joy and ease with which the religious dichotomy is handled. If my host family or my own Catholic faith is mentioned in conversation with a practicing Muslim, this news is almost always greeted with a positive “I love Catholics.” And, I have never once heard my Catholic host family say anything derogatory or offensive toward Islam, which is not something I could say for many American homes.

In struggling to keep religion out of US policy, we have grown scared to discuss the presence of faith in one’s life. As a religious person, I know that my beliefs ultimately influence aspects of my personality and my opinions on certain topics. In a country with as varying a religious spectrum as America we cannot have each president’s religion influencing his or her policies. But, we are so fearful of the role religion might play we expect our leaders to clearly state where their relationship with religion ends. After winning the election, John F. Kennedy publicly declared his allegiance does not lie with the Pope, and when running for president Mitt Romney had to carefully articulate his relationship with the leaders of the Mormon Church.

However in Senegal, a former president visited his marabout (Muslim spiritual guide) upon winning the election, and continued these visits throughout his presidency. While this caused less of a shock than it would in America because roughly 92% of the population belongs to the same faith as the president, it is still not talked about with disdain by my Catholic family. His relationship with his spiritual leader is ultimately part of his identity, and while he kept Senegal a secular state he did not stop openly practicing his religion. By making his faith public, he is in effect normalizing the devout practicing of one’s religion. And it is not just Muslim politicians practicing their faith. Senegal’s first president after independence in 1960, Leopold Senghor, was a practicing Catholic who managed to lead the country despite his faith being in the extreme minority.

When we do not allow people to live and speak openly about the light religion provides in their lives, we are not only missing out on key moments for human connection but also unavoidably labeling religion as something so divisive it cannot be discussed. And, sadly, many internalize religion’s supposed divisiveness and use it as an excuse to commit hate crimes and to distance themselves from those of other faiths.

In 2012, an FBI report found that 7,164 people were victims of hate crimes in America. Of this number, 18.7% were targeted because of their religious affiliation (2012 FBI Hate Crime Report). That means that nearly 1,340 lives were lost because some believed a difference of faith was justification for violence.

I could not find a study sharing similar numbers for Senegal, but I can be fairly confident that the number of crimes committed motivated by religion would not be in the thousands. In Senegal, religion (both Islam and Catholicism) is celebrated. Allowing everyone’s faith to be out in the open allows for a harmonious sharing of beliefs. For example, the vibrantly decorated car rapides used by everyone as a form of public transportation have Alhamdulillah and Societe Muslman written across the front. As a Christian I do not find this offensive, or “in your face,” but I can only imagine the uproar if something similar appeared in America.

I do, however, recognize that the countries are not the same. America is roughly 25% Evangelical Protestant, 23% unaffiliated, 21% Catholic, 15% Protestant, and 6% non-Christian faiths (PEW). With no majority and a large portion affiliating with no clear organized religion we cannot start throwing religions phrases on the side of the Washington, D.C. Metro. But there is room for growth, and there are practices to be learned from Senegal. One of the ways is by the visual presence of what it means to practice one’s faith.

During the current Lenten season, many Catholics are not sheepish when declining a meal or a treat as they observe fasting or abstinence. Similarly, five times a day one is almost sure to hear the call to prayer from the nearest Mosque and it is not hard to find someone rolling out a prayer mat in observance. I can recall being in New York just a few months ago and overhearing two young teens ask if a practicing Muslim was about to “do yoga” when he set up to pray. I do not know if they were trying to be funny, or if they have had such little exposure to world religions that they genuinely did not know what was happening. This type of American under-education needs to be quickly remedied because it creates an environment where presidential candidates can make immigration proposals so extreme that they involving barring all members of one faith from entering the country. The best and easiest way to educate is to show and talk about the faith you practice. One of the biggest barriers to this is probably the 23% unaffiliated portion of the American population, but encouraging discussions around one’s faith, whatever form that may take, is possible.

In Senegal, both Catholics and Muslims support each other’s religious days of celebration. For example, on the celebratory Muslim holiday of Tabaski (Eid al-Adha), the surplus created by the animal sacrifices is often shared with Catholic friends. One Catholic teacher said that his freezer is full of meat from all his Muslim friends for weeks after the holiday, and in return he gifts them a dessert, ngalax, that Senegalese Catholics often make on the Sunday following Easter. There are opportunities for similar cross-religion connections in America surrounding Jewish Seders, Easter dinners, and more.

I believe that America’s lack of discussions surrounding religion cause others to view America as inherently anti-religious. Therefore extremist religious groups view America as a place where no religions are truly practiced and they then label American citizens as the enemy. While one should never cater to the demands of fanatics, it can be said that America is not a safe environment for one to devoutly follow their faith in a public manner.

I recently heard that many colleges across the nation are creating prayer rooms, primarily designed to be a place for Muslim students to pray in peace. While giving them a private sanctuary is a start, there are no secluded prayer rooms on the streets of Dakar. Fruit sellers and commuting office workers alike pray wherever they happen to be, and just inches away a Catholic might be waiting for the bus and doing the rosary. America should strive to create universities where separate prayer rooms are not needed, as everyone feels welcomed to practice his or her religion without fear of ridicule or hate.

My identity is complex, and therefore all facets of my personality work together to create me. I wish that all parts of “Susannah” could be more openly present in America, and it is a relief to be in a country where religion is not often the elephant in the room. Upon returning home, I am looking forward to working to facilitate conversations surrounding religion and learning about others’ faiths and sharing my own.