INTRODUCTION
The 1960s saw the rise of a disproportionately large number of new religious movements (NRMs) in America. Many of these movements were rooted in existing faiths, from Judaism to evangelical Christianity to Buddhism, and were often populated by members of the emergent American counterculture. Concurrently, the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1965 was being passed into law, which lifted many restrictions on immigration to the United States and prompted a new influx of skilled laborers from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the following years and decades, these immigrants began to occupy a prominent role in the American religious landscape, including many NRMs. With these events in mind, this essay seeks to situate the Hare Krishna movement—a successful Hindu-based NRM also known as ISKCON, or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness—in the context of immigration and the counterculture at large. Unlike other Hindu NRMs, ISKCON utilizes contemporary English translations of Hindu scriptures and represents a decidedly Western expansion of several Hindu traditions.
Using a variety of primary and secondary sources, this essay discusses the history of the Hare
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Additionally, he continued to sharpen his critique of what he called ‘Western scientific materialism’. These allusions reflected Prabhupada’s increasing acclimation to the cultural propensities and values of American culture. More importantly, though, they aligned his Hindu teachings with the experiences and ideologies of the young Westerners he sought to convert. This augmented his success in proselytizing communities of young, countercultural hippies of the 1960s, with whom he “found an audience willing and eager to disallow the mainstays of American religion—Christianity and Judaism—and accept an Indian
Just the thought of going to India someday changed Howard Thurman. Looking for a new day of transformation of society but, staying true to himself and what he believed would be difficult. He stood for American Christianity, the Religion of Jesus for all people and were not sure how a foreign country would receive him. The decision for the journey to India was made after much discussion with his wife Sue and Winifred Wygall, a good friend who was a national YWCA secretary. His mindset was preparing him for what would one day be a change of traditional Christianity, social and racial inequality. The journey to India affected Thurman’s view of minorities fighting for their civil rights. It even changed his vocal together with his writings on political topics, as well as, becoming the roadway of African American Christian Nonviolence. The way he remodels these issues in public revealed this action.
Congress later passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924 which granted citizenship to all Indians. This citizenship decree was the logical political manifestation of the assimilation program, and brought with it the expectation that Indians would be brought in line with other Americans in the areas of civil and criminal law. The Indian Citizenship Act supposedly gave Indians the privilege of voting, the obligation to perform compulsory military duty when called, and to pay taxes on off-reservation revenues. It is estimated that two-thirds of the Indians had acquired citizenship before the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. Still, some Indian nations did not recognize the Citizenship Act because they did not feel that one sovereign nation
Tomoko Masuzawa’s literary work, The Invention of World Religions, provides a meticulous analysis of how the term “world religions” is categorized and used in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Masuzawa addresses how the categorization of world religions has changed throughout history and how different elements of each religion, such as texts, origin, and ability to expand have shaped the classification of that religion by scholars. By using the works of well-established scholars, she is able to provide an accurate account of how the perception and analysis of these religious occurred in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Institutions within the public domain, such as universities and hospitals, can then shape interaction with their specific audiences to abide by the practices of these world religions in order to connect with the public in a culturally competent manner.
Over the course of history, South Asians have been mistreated and undermined within American society. This is especially evident after the terror attacks of 9/11 in which Americans shunned its South Asian Population, and reduced them to devastating stereotypes. This has created tension and hostility within the South Asian community, thus pressuring them to being more Americanized, and further creating a fixation towards becoming more white. The obsession with American culture has caused many to conform, leaving behind cultural and religious parts of their identities. It is necessary to explore the history behind the mistreatment of South Asians to understand why the change in identity such as those portrayed with Changez in The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Amir in Disgraced have occurred. These main characters of South Asian descent make it is clear that the American dream for immigrants creates a constant struggle between national and transnational identities as racism and hostility are being thrust upon them by American society.
Is religion alone that powerful enough to coerce an abundance of immigrants to start afresh with a new country? One of the main reasons immigrants move to the United States or any nation for that matter is for religious freedom and independence. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, readers follow the lives and narratives of two different women and their struggle to survive their brutal society. Through the book, the subject of religion and its impact on the two women is broached and further explored. In Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, religion serves as justification of several aspects of the Afghan society; religion is used to justify violence, patriarchy, and discrimination against women.
Is religion alone that powerful enough to coerce an abundance of immigrants to start afresh with a new country? One of the main reasons immigrants move to the United States or any nation for that matter is for religious freedom and independence. In A Thousand Splendid Suns, readers follow the lives and narratives of two different women and their struggle to survive their brutal society. Through the book, the subject of religion and its impact on the two women is broached and further explored. In Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, religion serves as justification of several aspects of the Afghan society; religion is used to justify violence, patriarchy, and discrimination against women and other minority groups.
Patel’s life has been a spiritual journey that has helped him to fulfill his yearning for a religious identity, and his personal experiences have shaped his opinion in regards to interfaith acceptance. Patel had many inspirations, however, his first religious inspiration was Dorothy Day. In his novel, Patel reflects upon when he read an excerpt from The Call of Service by Robert Cole, and how he was instantly drawn to Dorothy Day, a catholic that spearheaded the Catholic Worker movement. Patel gained knowledge on Dorothy Day and recognized why Cole “spoke of her in absolute awe” (Patel, 2007, p. 48). The admiration Patel had for Day truly uprooted his yearning for interfaith acceptance, and was significant enough to lead him towards the founding of the Interfaith Youth Core organization. Early in Patel’s life he had attended the URI Global Summit at Stanford, and this had created “a rare space… an open conversation about faith, diversity, and service” (Patel, p. 72-73). The URI Global Summit is major in regards to Patel’s life because the summit also led him to create the Interfaith Youth Core, and this organization has a similar structure to that he had experienced at Stanford that day. Religious pluralism was first experienced by Patel at the URI Global Summit and this exemplifies that pluralism was something he wanted to pursue and spread in a religious aspect. America would be accepting of differences in faith if its citizens were more knowledgeable and open minded to change, like Patel has been throughout the majority of his
Due to the large inflow of immigrants into the U.S. as a result of the 1965 Immigration Act, the U.S. has become a much more diverse country. As a result of increased exposure to foreign cultural groups, as well as a shift towards more educated and skilled immigrants, Americans have become more accepting of immigrants and hold much more favorable opinions towards immigrants than they did before 1965. This change in attitudes towards immigrants was evident in the change in campaigning techniques from the 1968 presidential campaign to the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. In 1968, the effects of the 1965 Immigration Act were not yet evident, as the new residents of the U.S. that had immigrated to the U.S. immediately after the
The focal purpose of the article ‘Americans get an ‘F’ in religion’ by Cathy Lynn Grossman is to explain how ignorant Americans are when it comes to other religions around the world and their own. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs; a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons and sects. Being ignorant to something as vital as religion scares the author of this article
Fifty-two years after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the racial tensions and geopolitical pressures within the United States continue to influence the policies of immigration. Since 1965, there has not been any major advancements in immigration policies, though with current President, Donald Trump, immigration policies are facing reforms. President Trump has followed closely with the ideals of past strict immigration policies in the America first attitude. Trump’s goals are to achieve three key objectives, that are, “to ensure safe and lawful admissions; defend the safety and security of our country; and protect American workers and taxpayers” (Office of the Press Secretary). With his newly proposed travel ban in effect, the country is eager to see how it will impact the United States and its relations with other countries.
An immigrant in terms mean a subject of legal and political subject far from gaining the citizenship and rights. The influx of exclusive classes constituting immigrants admission into the nations was a biggest concern with the idea that the national body should be protected from contaminants of social degeneracy. The idea of deportation played central role in immigration policy. According to the critics, deportation is unjust in the case of separating families. Ironically appeal to prevent family separation was effective in the areas with numerous European immigrants were found. I agree with that statement because intruding into peaceful family privacy is doing wrong. Giving the option to free migration is important in furthering the process of capitalist industrialization of America. This pattern of this trend is still persist in modern day immigration.
“Holy Cow, An Indian Adventure,” by Sarah MacDonald, is a book written describing Sarah’s experience living in India. She goes through many tough times and endures life changing experiences that eventually make her the person she is meant to be. In this book Sarah relates India to western perspective several times. India and the United States do have similarities, India and the United States both are run by a Democracy, they both have very strong cast systems; both have their own “Hollywood” films, and both places have many religions mixed within.
Lisa Lowe, a professor of English and American Studies at Tufts University, boasts many accreditations to her name. She holds her PhD. in Literature from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and her B.A. in History from world-renowned Stanford University. In 1996, Duke University Press published her book Immigration Acts: On Asian American Cultural Politics. In Immigrant Acts, Lowe discusses the contradictions in society where Asian Americans have been included in the workplace and markets of the U.S., but are often distanced from the ground of the national culture via exclusion laws and bars from citizenship.
The Beat Generation comprised a vanguard signaling a significant shift occurring in contemporary American religious consciousness; this dramatic change was confirmed by a rejection of institutional religion… and an affirmation attesting that fresh spiritual insights are discovered through mystical experience, hallucinogenic drugs, and
Meanwhile the articles “Multicultural community organizing: a strategy for change”by Gutierrez, Lorraine and “Multiculturalism and "American" religion: the case of Hindu Indian Americans” by Kurien, Prema relates to each other on the perspective of the voices of those within the multicultural community and what the disadvantages are living in a society that has not completely conformed to different cultures and religions. For example in "American" religion: the case of Hindu Indian Americans” Kurien touched bases on how Hindus were treated so unfairly that it was time for them to speak up so they wrote a letter to the president at time saying “ Hindus are very much a part of our nation…….. Hindus are a peace-loving people. We never