Many individuals interpret diversity differently specifically in the United States because of its melting pot of distinct cultures and lifestyles. In his essay “People Like Us”, David Brooks’ argues that although the United States is a diverse nation as a whole, it is homogeneous in specific aspects like interactions between people. To some extent, his observation is true; people tend to stick to what or who they are comfortable with. There are also exceptions where the American people attempt to establish relationships with others because of their desire to expand out of their norm. For instance, Brooks excludes the explanation of diversity integration in the United States, where instead focuses on racial integration as the definition of diversity in America. He also makes assumptions that people purposefully intend to segregate themselves and underestimates their capability of living together because of their location, political values and personal appeal.…
Kottak & Kozaitis. (2003). On Being Different: Diversity and Multiculturalism in the North American Mainstream (2nd ed). New York: McGraw-Hill.…
◆ A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America by Ronald Takaki (There will be several copies of this book on reserve at Geisel Library; photocopies may also be provided.)…
The overall theme that Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the leaders of the Philadelphia Synagogue were using to argue that religious diversity should be accepted is that every man has civil rights that would be impeded by combination of church and state. To expand on this, Thomas Jefferson ecentually explains that each man has the right to choosing his own religion because is protected under civil rights because it is unlawful for one man to hold others accountable for his beliefs. (151) New England had this ideology because they wanted to separate themselves from the ideologies of Church of England. James Madison explains how combining church and state would make them exactly like the Church of England by stating “such a step would only return the nation to the tyrannical rulers”, the exact system they were trying to separate themselves from (152).…
“The U.S is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. This cultural diversity stems from having a steady flow of immigration from different parts of the world for over 150 years, which contributed to the already existing culture.” “The International Education site”…
As a result of their ideas on the role of government in public and private lives, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were two of the most influential Founding Fathers. Perhaps their greatest influence was in regard to religion and the separation of church and state. To this day, their writings are influential to how we perceive the role of government in religious matters. Two of the leading writings from Jefferson and Madison are the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom and the Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments, respectively. Both writings were written in a time of great struggle against Patrick Henry and the issue of a general tax to support churches and they both share similar traits in their wording and clear influence…
Therefore, with confidence, I can say that America is neither a “melting pot” nor a “mosaic.” Though many different cultures have flocked to America, America’s intolerance for diversity is obvious; someone who is culturally different will never be able to walk down an American street without stares. More appalling, however, is the fact that those who are culturally different will face job discrimination if they choose to express their identity instead of cover it. Even on my own campus, diversity is seen as unimportant, as our diversity funding is stripped from underneath us. America will never be a melting pot nor a mosaic until it can learn to accept its own diversity, allowing it to flourish instead of killing it off on its arrival. In today’s political climate, it would make me incredibly happy to see America open its arms to other cultures instead of attempting to shut them out completely. Again, it seems as if history is repeating itself as we travel down a path of a non-inclusive America, disregarding the plight of cultural minorities for the majority’s “gain,” forgetting the importance of multiculturalism and marching towards…
Expressing your religion to another can be very hard for some people to overcome. People view religion in all different kinds of ways. There are many different kinds of religions. Religion can be very hard for some people to get a grasp on and what they believe in. The topic for this paper is the religion of Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson was indeed a religious man. Jefferson believed that there was a creator but the creator did not interact with mankind, In the present day, this would be considered deism. Throughout Jefferson's life, many people debated that he was a Christian and many people debated that he was a deist. Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of this nation, and soon became…
Searching for a new beginning and seeking religious freedom, early Pilgrims travelled to the New World (America) and fleeing religious oppression of the Old World (Europe). The Pilgrims believe “they were carrying out God’s Will and, as a result, they would become a shining example for the rest of humanity” . This new land free from persecution, subjection, tyranny, and oppression were thought to be a God sent example for all of humanity to follow. In America, the importance of separating church and state was the Pilgrims method of being cautious not to duplicate the problems that religion caused in Europe. This was apparent in the development of Article VI of the Constitution that stated “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States”. There was also language to be found in the Bill of Rights that prohibits officially sanctioned U.S. religion—“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof” . America was formed out of the migration of people coming from all over the world and was a country where participation in any religious group was strictly voluntary. With religion being an individual choice of each and ever America, it is not surprising “religion is held in high regard in the United States, …. More than half the U.S. population attends church regularly” (Martin & Rajnandini, 2012, 52). This is an individualistic right that allows Americans to put their own needs and interest ahead of the collective group. As Dr. Seymour Lipset writes, “Americans are…
Thomas Jefferson was very adamant on his stance toward religion and prayer during his lifetime. He has been regarded as the best spokesperson we have for American liberty, faith, and equality for all men and women alike. In the Declaration of Independence the opening line says that all people have equal rights to the Laws of Nature and also the freedoms that Nature’s God allows them. There are certain truths that the Declaration of Independence mentions such as Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness that nobody is allowed to take away from us. He wrote The Virginia Statue for Religious Freedom about people’s freedom of conscience and also the principle separation of the church and state. He believed there is a God and He allows us humans…
I think it would be helpful to remember the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy but also our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn’t the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn’t want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves.…
The Founders believed freedom of religion was important because they thought that religious intolerance was a danger to the community and harmful to religion. Few of the early English colonies in North America permitted religious freedom. Several of the colonies had one religious group that controlled the whole colony. Everyone that lived in that colony had to follow the same religious ideas. The Founders were afraid that if everyone did not follow the same religion it would led to danger. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison were greatly concerned about the dangers of religious tolerance. They were well aware that throughout history,…
Political ties would therefore be strained, and the United States may find it progressively challenging to negotiate with other nations. How can Americans celebrate their diversity, their multicultural societies, and their cross-cultural experiences when they drive away those who create…
Diversity is the main factor in bringing America’s heritages together. America is not defined by a color, yet it is defined by numerous distant factors. Source 2 proves, how America is not defined by one detail; by saying, “Alongside the pain of immigration, then, and the possibility, there…
The commonly used words to describe the multiculturalism in America such as “mosaic” and “salad bowl” does not reflect the level of diversity in the government and in science,…