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In the United States, especially in New York City, we have encountered a significant religious diversity throughout. There have been many positive and negative features that have led us to believe that we live in a society in which we can say connects to a metaphor called ‘melting pot’. This comparison connects back to the word diverse because in our society, it means that many types of people blend in together in the same place as one. The countries in the world are made up of people who are all either the same or different in the sense of their religion, race, and culture. In New York, despite the resemblance or dissimilarity, majority of the people can coincide in the same community. I have experienced how the differences amongst people are way less meaningful than unification.
The religions of New Yorkers are easier to identify than other American states. According to the American Religious Identification Survey in 2001, there was an estimation of the highest percentage religions in New York City in which it was calculated based of individual’s response on their religious affiliations. The highest religion that made up the New York City population was Catholic with a 62 percent followed by the Jewish with a 21.9. The Mainline protestant were 6.5 percent, but Evangelical protestant was only 4.2. The percentage they found on Muslims was about 3.5, while the Eastern Orthodox was 1.4. The 0.4 percentage was for other religions not mentioned. The numbers of religion were presented from the five different boroughs that our city had which is Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx. It is known that Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn have more Jews and Muslims living in their community rather than the rest. Staten Island and the Bronx have more people who are Catholic instead. Manhattan has the Mainline Protestant, and Brooklyn has more people who are Evangelical. This is considered to be a positive feature because it demonstrates how people are entitled to their own. The different boroughs are a melting point due to its diversity and differences amongst what people believe. No matter the location, certain religions find a place in NYC where they can call it home.
“The city that never sleeps” is probably one of the main states that celebrates people’s religion. During time of the year, we have certain holidays that is stated by the government that schools should close, and adults who are part of the religion that is being celebrated aren’t required to go to work. One of the holidays that people are part of is the Rosh Hashanah, which begins the evening of September 20-September 22, and it stands for the Jewish Civil New Year, the first Holy Day. Eid al-Fitr takes place from June 3- June 4. It is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims that marks the end of Ramadan, which is known to be the Islamic holy month of fasting. During this month only, Muslims can’t fast. One of the most known festivals that occur in New York City is named Diwali, November 7th is a Hindu festival of lights in which people from the different boroughs come together to honor Rama-Chandra, a savitar that got reincarnated after 14 years of being exile. This illustrates how New York City religious diversity is celebrated. Each religion has a day in which the city is honoring for.
There might be many positive outcomes to religious diversity, but not all religions experience the good of it. A negative feature would consider to be discrimination amongst other people for their physical presence, where the come from or even in regard to their belief practices. A religion that I have seen get discriminated in New York City would be Muslim. Not only sometimes do they mistake this religion for another, but there are hate crimes against them. Around the time period of when 9/11 occur, Muslims found it really hard to find their own place in this society. They were being categorized as less of a person because of where they came from. There were certain laws that were signed to not allowed Muslims-American to become US citizens. The act of Naturalization in 1790 blocked them and it only allowed the white people to become citizens. They were considered as ‘different and suspicious’, and as result they were always being watched by the Federal Bureau Investigation. They were seen as the enemy, terrorist. These were people who lost family members during 9/11 and were still being questioned on their type of character.
Situations in which certain religions are being differentiate from others doesn’t make NYC religiously diverse. Religious diversity is as important as religious literacy even for people who are not religious. According to Stephen Prothero, the author of the book ‘Religious Literacy’, he believes that everyone should at least know the basics of the top religions. Even if you aren’t part of a certain religion, the point of learning isn’t about starting to believe in them or to begin to accept them it’s more about the understanding you are gaining in regard to what different people base their life on. Many people have different perceptions when they see the word religious and literacy together. People consider it to be something to encourage a person to practice a certain belief, but it has more to do about the knowledge of certain traditions we aren’t aware about. According to Diane L. Moore, a Harvard professor, who has adopted the American Academy of Religion, she educates people to comprehend the basic ideas of what religion is and how it can connect to daily human experiences. Although, a person might not believe in a certain religion, knowing the background information can help you develop another point of view when it comes to other cultures than are different from your own. For example, previously I spoke about how Muslims get discriminated and are viewed as a threat to society, but many people don’t know how they were raised or what type of ritual practices they were strictly to follow because they have to.
Growing up in New York City as a teenager, I got to experience interfaith experiences that I didn’t experience in my own birth country, Venezuela. Attending a public school in the Bronx showed me the amount of diverse people that we surround ourselves with daily and how much we can learn from an individual by just observing how they are. People behaving or speaking another way different from our own doesn’t make them any less equal. During my transition from middle school to high school, I got to meet different type of students who came from different countries, but practiced different beliefs. I build friendships with people who were Catholic and believed in the same God as I did, but I also met people who were Muslims students who prayed to a different God. I lived my life completely different than they did in the sense of how I dressed, what activities I did and what type of food I ate. It was very important for me to gain an understanding of their religion.
Works Cited
- Moore , Diana M. ‘What Is Religious Literacy?’. Religious Literacy Project, rlp.hds.harvard.edu/our-approach/what-is-religious-literacy.
- Beveridge, Andy A. ‘A Religious City’. Gotham Gazette, 12 Feb. 2008, www.gothamgazette.com/demographics/3881-a-religious-city.
- Jones, PHD, Robert P. ‘Religion in New York City’s Five Boroughs’. PRRI, 13 Apr. 2016, www.prri.org/spotlight/religion-new-york-citys-five-boroughs/.
- Eng, Allison. ‘Religious Discrimination’. Discrimination in NYC, macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/bigapplebigotry/religious/.
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