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There are three large political issues relating to Mormonism: polygamy, race ban, and christianity. This article is relating to the political issue of polygamy in Mormon tradition. Polygamy was highly practiced at the beginning of the religion. While polygamy became discounted over a century ago among Mormon followers, Mormon fundamentalists still practice it. The Mormon church did support marriage among a man and multiple women until the year 1890. Polygamy began it’s practice because Joseph Smith simply stated that G-d had told Mormons to practice it. Even with Joseph Smith said that G-d wanted this, many Mormons were unwilling or skeptical to practice polygamy.

This article from ABC News about Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Warren Jeffs ordered that only 15 men in this group were allowed to have sex with the women who are part of this group. Jeffs was sentenced to a life-sentence in prison in 2012 for raping two underaged girls who he forced into marriage. Even though Jeffs is in prison, he is still leading the group has has a 10,000 strong followers. Warren Jeffs decided that while he was in prison, he was going to go on a hunger strike. This led to him being forced into an induced coma in the hospital. The article talks about how if Jeffs dies while in prison, this may be what he wants so that he is seen as a martyr to his followers. Jeffs had also raped his niece when she was seven years old. What is so tremendously sad about this is that she recounts that she did not know that she was supposed to, or even allowed to tell him no. She recounted how everyone around her never questioned Warren Jeffs on his actions.

It’s crazy to think that there are still people in the United States that believe that rape and polygamy with underage girls is acceptable. The people who are fundamentalists, have grown up this way, not knowing better. I hope that a method could be found for stopping this practice. While we are a nation founded on freedom of religion, there is a line that is not passable. This should be one of them.

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Pictured is Madalyn Murray O’Hair with her son William. O’Hair is an atheist American activist who got prayer removed from public schools. When Madalyn Murray O’Hair moved to Baltimore in 1960, she enrolled her son in public school. When her son told her that he was required to participate in bible readings during school, O’Hair filed a lawsuit against the city school system, claiming that her son’s constitutional rights were being violated. The issue was heard by the Supreme Court and ruled in favor of O’Hair, making bible readings in public schools unconstitutional.

Madalyn Murray O’Hair is also commonly known as “the most hated woman in America.” She received this title because she fought for her beliefs in removing religion from government and public institutions.  O’Hair wanted to remove “In G-d we trust” from US currency, as well as “under G-d” from the Pledge of Allegiance. There was a lot of controversy in the eyes of American citizens who are religious, as well as some people who are very adamant about not changing traditions.

O’Hair also voiced her opinions openly in public, whether it was on television or during rallies. During many of her interviews, she was scrutinized for voicing her support for atheism and not believing in G-d or religion at all. The United States is founded heavily on religion and we can see it everywhere around us, just as O’Hair pointed out.

I personally find O’Hair inspiring. I believe that there is no way to invoke change in our society without speaking up and not giving up, even when you have a lot of people hate you for it. The more somebody has power to make a change, the more people will dislike you. O’Hair never let this stop her from fighting for what she believed in. One day the cat they owned was found hung on their porch. The hatred toward O’Hair and her family was never ending. Unfortunately their lives were ended horrifyingly by murder. O’Hair stuck to being an activist atheist even though her life and her children's’ lives were in constant danger.

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Every Christian church has a different way of conducting their services. One church that we spoke about in class was the black church. Although I have never been, the way service is conducted seems very engaging and high-energy. The high point of the sermon in the black church is called “whoop.” Interestingly, this is word is pronounced “hoop,” having the “w” being silent. Whooping is when the pastor sings his sermon. This is meant to increase the interest of the church goers and get them more involved in the sermon.

This video is an example of a pastor whooping. This man’s name is Pastor E. Dewey Smith Jr. and he explains whooping in the black church. In the beginning of the video while this pastor is whooping, we can see all the church members clapping and raising their hands because this as a call and response type of synergy. One of the church-goers talks about how she enjoys how the pastor first teaches, then whoops. As the pastor said “whooping is like the icing on the cake.” You need the base of the cake to have icing on top. And while everyone loves the icing, the cake is an essential part. This causes people to reflect and bring people to repentance. He emphasizes how it helps people become more appreciative of what they’ve heard, and most importantly experience G-d in a different way.

I was able to see how whooping shows the true passion of the pastor and how much he cares for the sermon and the people in the church. I grew up Jewish and going to Synagogue, so seeing this video and being able to get a glimpse into what happens during church services is really interesting. Because of this video and what we have learned in class, I want to attend black church one day because I think that it would open my eyes to how others conduct service and understand their traditions.

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Religion in the United States is something we see everywhere. References to G-d are everywhere around us, whether that is someone saying “G-d bless America” or hearing it in elementary school in our pledge of allegiance. Religious references are extremely pertinent in politics as many political candidates publicly talk about religion and use it as a way to connect with the vast majority of US citizens. However, over the past couple of years, atheism is becoming more and more pertinent in American culture. The rise of non-believers is growing rapidly and this group of people is starting to gain more and more attention by the media and politicians.

This article is about Barack Obama’s inaugural address and how his speech was monumental for many Americans. In his speech, he not only addressed Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus, he also spoke about non-believers. This is a big first in American society because non-believers have never been addressed by any other president. The importance of Obama talking about non-believers is tremendous because of the large amounts of people who look down on people who do not follow a religion. Obama brought a sense of inclusiveness for people who identify as non-believers. We always hear about freedom of religion and how you can follow whichever religion you want. What we do not hear or read about in the first amendment is freedom to not have a religion. I think that Obama openly mentioning that our nation is one of “Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and non-believers” is changing how people view atheists. While the majority of Americans are Christian, we need to be open and accepting of every other religion as well as people without a religion.

I believe that the next step we need is to remove religion from politics. This is much easier said than done because religion is one of the most influential factors in politics and how people vote. There truly is not a separation of church and state until religion has no relation to politics and voters.

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If you ask any American Citizen: “Who was the first black president?” The answer you will most likely receive is “Barack Obama.” This answer is not incorrect because factually Obama is the first black president. However, to many African Americans, Bill Clinton was their “first black president.” Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize-winning African American author, famously observed that Bill Clinton was the “first black president.” The reason for this is because he related and lived his life very similarly to African Americans. While Obama was the actual first black president, Clinton was the first president in which African Americans could relate and felt a connection to. His communication style got the attention of many African American voters. Clinton would also commonly hang out with other African Americans, create a strong connection with this group of people.

This video is from a debate where Barack Obama was asked whether he believed Bill Clinton was the first black president. Obama responded by saying that Bill Clinton had an enormous affinity with the African American community. Obama points out how even though Bill Clinton grew up in the south while segregation was still taking place, he embodies the ability that people can change and influence a transformation of our society into a more culturally unified society.

While I am not African American myself, I believe that Toni Morrison’s observation is well justified and worthy of notice. I think that it is important to acknowledge Clinton’s connection to the African American community, especially considering the conditions he grew up with. No matter what race a person may be, there needs to be acceptance of everybody, especially if more attention needs to be brought to an underrepresented group of people. Once Obama was elected president, there was some controversy whether he was advocating for black civil rights as much as Clinton did in his first term. Clinton passed more bills that aided African Americans than Obama did. People were frustrated about this because it is more expected for an African American president to be proactive for his community, rather than a white president.

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The Evangelical dimension consists of Christians spreading their faith and beliefs to others.  Pentecostal Evangelicals emphasize the work of the Holy Spirit and the direct experience between people and G-d. As we saw in the movie “Jesus Camp,” people who are Pentecostal are very energetic and driven by the power of G-d, which can be seen when they speak in tongues. A big part of the religion is spreading their message to others to bring people to a more pure form of Christianity. Contrasting the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Evangelicals pass on their beliefs through tracts. Tracts are pamphlets that focus on salvation and moral issues in Christianity, such as drinking, drugs, and gambling.

The picture above is an example of the front page of a tract. This tract is emphasizing the need for revival in our society. It is talking about how people are becoming too encompassed in worldly possessions and not focusing on loving G-d. People pass out these pamphlets because they believe that it is their duty to rescue people who are drifting away from G-d and religion.

I do not see how passing these out can actually change someone’s perspective because it is in essence telling people that they are sinning, which is not what someone wants to hear. However, this is a large part of the religion and is taught to children at a very young age. In the Jesus Camp movie there was a scene where a girl gave someone a tract a bowling alley. After doing so, the cameras captured how happy and accomplished she felt. This sector of Christianity teaches children to commit everything they can to the cause of Jesus Christ. Children are influenced from a very young age on how to behave and how to teach others to love Jesus as well as save people who are sinners.

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Jerry Falwell, known as the American Southern Baptist who founded Liberty University, a fundamentalist Christian university. He advocated for conservative Christian teachings and was homophobic. His beliefs, such as how he blamed 9/11 partially on homosexuals, caused a lot of controversy. In the eyes of most Americans, he is seen as intolerant, which is a clear response for anyone who does not share his conservative perspectives. Falwell spoke about how he believed that AIDS was a punishment for homosexuals. Which brings me to this article I found on The Atlantic. The article is an account from a former student, Brandon, of Liberty University on being gay. What this student struggled with the most was whether G-d loved him. He struggled with loving Jesus and being gay, not knowing if he was allowed to have both these feelings. He spoke about his struggle coming out to his professors and classmates since the school is so fundamentally conservative. He came to realize that many of his professors did not try to “cure” him, rather they were accepting and tried to encourage him to love himself for who he truly is.

This article honestly surprised me. I did not think that in a college founded by Jerry Falwell, that a student who is homosexual could attain the support that this student had received. While many of his classmates were jerks to him, this is expected anywhere you go. All of these people who this student perceived as homophobes, ended up supporting him through his struggles with coming out.

Brandon mentioned that he never told Falwell that he was gay. He also said that even if he did, he would not be afraid of Falwell’s response. Brandon stated: “Would he have thought homosexuality was an abomination? Yes. Would he have thought it was God's intention for me to be straight? Yes. But would he have wanted to stone me? No.”

I think that this article really shows how society is evolving to accepting homosexuals. While it is still a huge social rights issue, we can see the improvements in even the harshest and most conservative environments.

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“Nones” refers to the people who do not affiliate themselves with any religion in particular. This group of people consist of atheists, agnostics, and people who do not identify with a particular religion. The number of people who identify with this group has been on a constant rise, especially with Millennials growing older and entering into the adult population. As this article points out, while it may seem that the United States is becoming less religious, it may be because younger people are increasingly more comfortable coming out as non-religious or atheist. As we learned in class, 15-20% of the US population identify as “none.”

Another possible explanation for the rise of adults who do not affiliate with a religion may be because while the older, more religious generation is starting to dwindle, the younger generation is creating a larger percent of the population. The article states that “nearly eight-in-ten Millennials with low levels of religious commitment describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or “nothing in particular.” This would explain the increase in the “nones” population. We also looked into how this sector of people are most likely to call themselves liberals. This shift away from formal religious commitments weakens well-established religious institutions.

I have noticed a that a large amount of people my age, especially students, do not affiliate with a religion. When religion comes up they say that their parents grew up much more religious than them but they do not go to church or follow their religion anymore. I think that the reason for this change in religious culture is because religion is much less emphasized in the US over the past few years. This results in people feeling less “forced” to believe in G-d since it isn’t pressured all around them.

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One of the most interesting lessons we have learned was about Jehovah’s Witnesses. I had always heard about them but never really understood their religion until learning about them in class. In American society, Jehovah’s Witnesses are a misunderstood community. This poster is a harsh reality of how people quickly judge and disregard Jehovah’s Witnesses. This group is known for walking around neighborhoods and knocking on people’s door to preach their religion. The reason why Jehovah’s Witnesses knock on other people’s door is because the bible says so. They believe that this is the best way to reach people.

This poster calls out many controversial aspects of the religion, such as how they do not donate blood. This issue is a religious issue, rather than a medical one. The bible states that people should abstain from blood. Also, G-d views blood as representing life, which is why Jehovah’s Witnesses do not donate nor do they accept blood transfusions out of respect for G-d. Not accepting blood transfusions has led to many tragedies because these people cannot receive the medical care needed. This results in even the most minor of situations to end up deadly. With medical technology being so advanced and continuing to advance at such a rapid rate, Jehovah’s Witnesses are not able to benefit due to their refusal of blood.

Personally, I do not understand how people can refuse a common procedure that can save their life. However, I believe that every person has the right to make their own personal choices and live their life the way they want as long as it does not cause any danger to anybody else.

What I appreciated the most about their religion is how they are not afraid to speak up and advocate for their beliefs, no matter the expected backlash from others. During WWII, the Jehovah’s Witnesses stood up for the Jewish people and blatantly expressed their disapproval of Hitler. This brave act is worth respect, especially since this led to the persecution of people from their own religion.

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All followers of the Mormon religion live their lives closely following what is written in the The Book of Mormon, which was translated by Joseph Smith. In Mormon theology, Joseph Smith is believed to be the prophet who encountered G-d and Jesus in the year 1820. In 1823 Joseph Smith discovered the golden plates, which he used to translate into the Book of Mormon. This scripture is taken very seriously by all Mormons. In The Book of Mormon, it is emphasized that sexual relations are reserved for a man and a woman who are married. By following this essential part of G-d’s plan, homosexuality is thus looked down upon by the Mormon church. In the Mormon tradition, once someone was discovered to be gay or lesbian, they were excommunicated from the church. Now, since times have changed since the creation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the church is accepting of same-sex attraction. While they are accepting of same-sex attraction, they are still against same-sex marriage and sexual relations between two people of the same gender.

This video is from the Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon is a satirical musical about two young Mormon missionaries who preach their religion to people in Africa. This clip is a song in which the missionaries are singing about homosexuality as a “curable curse,” which is how homosexuality is viewed in the Mormon church. The lyrics repeat “turn it off,” meaning to just shut off your gay thoughts as if they see it as just a temporary mental state or urge.

The view of homosexuals is one that is not accepting and in need of saving. One lyric in the song says: “Well, Elder McKinley, I think it's okay that you're having gay thoughts, just so long as you never act upon them.” Which emphasizes how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are “accepting” of homosexuality as long as you never act upon it and just keep it as a feeling far back in your head. It is highly emphasized that if people profess their homosexuality, many measures will be taken by the church of LDS to provide “direction” to these individuals.