Powerpoint entitled The Religious Landscape of the United States. Covers the top 5 most popular religions in the US. For Intercultural Comm course at Kennesaw State University - Fall 2007. By Heidi Paruta

1. The Religious Landscape of the United States By Heidi Paruta “ We the people of the United States now form the most profusely religious nation on earth,” anthropologist of religion, Diana Eck

2. American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) – 2001 Graduate Center of the City University of New York 1990 – National Survey of Religious Identification(NSRI) - Over 113 thousand home surveyed 2001 - Aris – Over 50 thousand Over 100 types of responses received Categorized into 65 religions Weighted to reflect the entire adult U.S. population

3. 1. Christianity Adherents: 159,030,000 Belief: Jesus. Monotheistic – believe in only one God Sacred Texts: The Bible Worship: Church or Cathedral Leader: Pastor, Preist, Minister Found: *Catholics -Rhode Island *Baptists - Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. *Methodists - Delaware and West Virginia - “the most widespread religious group in the study being present in 3,003 (96%) of the nation’s 3,141 counties or county equivalents” Values: Basis in Declaration of Independence.. Honoring of God-given Life, Liberty and Creativity.

4. 2. Judaism Adherents: 2,831,000 Belief: The Messiah. Monotheistic Sacred Texts: Torah – 1 of 2 groups Worship: Synagogue Leader: Rabbi Found: New York, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland Values: “Be good. Be kind. Be honest. Be ethical. Be moral.” Make the world better by making people better. It's better to do good than to feel good.

6. 4. Buddhism Adherents: 1,082,000 Belief: No “supreme creator of all” but they worship Buddhas – those who have attained perfect enlightenment. Sacred Texts: Tripitaka and Sutras Worship: Pagoda, Stupa, Temple Leader: Monk Found: Washington DC, California Values: *Sila - virtue, good conduct and morality, equality and reciprocity. *Samadhi - meditation which exercises and strengthens the mind. * Prajna, or enlightenment. The “heart” of Buddhism, which is achieved through meditation .

7. 5. Hinduism Adherents: 776,000 Belief: Henotheistic – Belief in one God but worship other forms or manifestations Sacred Texts: The Rig Veda, oldest of 4. Worship: Mandira or Temple Leader: Preist Found: Prominent temples: Penn Hills, Pennsylvania and Calabasas, California Values: *Dharma - righteousness *Artha - economi c success *Kama - sensual gratification *Moksa - Liberation from "samsara." Ends the repeated cycle of life. www.delhilive.com

8. Others.. Nonreligious-27,539,000 – (Most- Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, Idaho. Least- North and South Dakota, The Carolinas, Alabama, Mississippi and Tennesee) Agnostic-991,000 – (Believe in neither the existence nor non-existence in a deity) Atheist-902,000 – (Believe there is no existing deity) www.peacemonger.org

9. Pluralism Defined: A state of society in which members of diverse ethnic, racial, religious, or social groups maintain an autonomous participation in and development of their traditional culture or special interest within the confines of a common civilization Pluralism.org – Diana L. Eck, anthropologist of religion 1. “Not diversity alone, but the energetic engagement with diversity.” 2. “Not just tolerance.. but the active seeking of understanding across lines of difference.” 3. “Not just relativism, but the encounter of commitments.” 4. “Based on dialogue.” -Dialogue does not mean everyone at the “table” will agree with one another. Pluralism involves the commitment to being at the table -- with one’s commitments.

10. References Abrahamic Religions. Wikipedia. Retrieved from www.wikipedia.org on October 25, 2007. American Thinker. Judeo-Christian Values. Retrieved from www.americanthinker.com/2007/10/judeochristian_values.html Eck, D.L. (2007). The pluralism project. Harvard University. Retrieved October 25, 2007 from www.pluralism.org. Glenmary Research Center (2000). Religious congregations & membership: 2000. Retrieved October 23, 2007 from www.glenmary.org . Jacoby, J. Jewish values for a secular world. Retrieved from www.aish.com on October 25, 2007. Kosmin, B.A., Mayer, E., Keysar, A. (2001). American religious identification survey. The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Retrieved October 15, 2007 from www.gc.cuny.edu . Lampman, J. (2002, October 10). Charting America's religious landscape. Christian Science Monitor , 94 (223), 12. Retrieved September 30, 2007, from Newspaper Source database. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved November 1, 2007 from www.m-w.com Peters, W. (1997) Religion in America. U.S. Society and Values, 2(1), 15-17. Retrieved October 23, 2007. Robinson, B.A. (2007). Ontario consultants on religious tolerance. Retrieved October 15, 2007 from www.religioustolerance.org.