The minnesota congressional delegation. The u. S. Forest service. The United States ceremonial the United StatesNavy Ceremonial band. And also, the lighting of our capitol christmas tree. Merry christmas everyone, and good night. [applause] i our queue and a program is 10 years old. To market decades of compelling conversations were featuring one interview from each year. The president and chancellor of the university of houston on u. S. Competitiveness in the Global Economy and the role of colleges in preparing you for the work place. That starts at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. Then remarks from jeb bush and Supreme CourtJustice Samuel alito as they discussed the Founding Fathers and the bill of rights. It marks a new exhibit at the inional Constitution Center philadelphia. That starts at 8 00 eastern on cspan. On cspan2 it is book tv in primetime with authors who have revered on you have appeared on afterward. Karen armstrong discusses fields of blood religion and the history of violence then James Mcpherson talks about his book embattled rebel. That is on cspan2. Sunday on a day, the washington checker columnist on the biggest binoculars of 2014 award. Upsetats tend to get more at them. They have bought into the method of the liberal media, and think the media is on their side. Inublicans firmly believe the myth of media. It is a reporter from the Washington Post and they will not be fair to me. I hope that over the last four years, i have done enough back and forth, treated both parties with equal fervor, that people say,come to begrudgingly ok, you are someone we can do business with. I know that the Senate Majority pack, which is affiliated with they stopped answering my questions midway through the campaign season. They were not getting a fair shake from me. Aint lost sunday night at 8 00 eastern on cspans q a. Religious,sant on politics, and social issues. History ofok at the christianity, muslims in america, and how religion influences the immigration debate at the Southern Methodist university in dallas. It is an hour and 25 minutes. Morning. It is a great pleasure to be here from st. Louis. I am lori c. Is to briefly introduce our panelists for this session. Im keeping the introductions brief. Ive cut out the nobel prizes and other things they have done to make sure we get to their talks quickly. Here we go. Is a professor of history at San Diego State university. He is the coauthor of the color of christ, the son of god, and the saga of race in america 2012. And the author of w e b to boys 2007. An profit he has been awarded the award in the humanities by the council of graduate schools for the best first book by historian published between 2002 and 2009. The peter seaburg award for the best book in civil war studies in 2006, and the dissertation prize. His writings have been featured on cnn. Com, the atlantic newsweek, and the New York Times. His presentation this morning is entitled in the bowels of a free and Christian Country. Be next presenter will rebekah guest, associate professor of history and new york university. She received her phd and 2006 from harvard university. A historian of early north america, she specializes in the history of race and slavery. She has interest in the history of the atlantic world, and comparative colonialisms in north america and the caribbean. Graduate andn the undergraduate level on aspects of American History. Her first book, the baptism of early virginia, how christianity graded race was published in 2012. She is a crazy cat lady and despite living in new york city remains a rabid red sox fan. Talk today is called baracks main obama, the first muslim president. Where she is an of latinadirector church studies. Her first book latina andecostal identity evangelical self and society won the Hispanic Theological Initiative book award in 2005. She is authored more than a dozen articles and chapters on the subject of latino and latina pentecostalism and has served as a media outlet for the new york. Imes, the wall street journal she serves as an expert on latina history for the pbs series religion in america. Sanchez walshs current projects include a project on the cost of them in america. She will be talking about immigrant sanctuary and divine borders today. Finally Kevin Schultz from the university of illinois at chicago. He is an associate professor of history, catholic studies, and religious studies and a chair of the department of history. His native from los angeles and teaches 20th century American History with special interest in religion, and no racial history, and American Intellectual and cultural life. Monograph, how postwar catholics and jews held america to its protestant promise, of the ideadecline that the United States was a christian nation, and the subsequent rise of the notion the country was premised on judeo christianity. His current work examines the fascinating intertwined lives of William Buckley junior and Norman Mailer as a way to better understand the pivotal decade of the 1960s. He has had essays in several flagship journals including the journal of american histories, the American Academy of religion, and labor histories as well as other distinguished outlets. Distinguish his talk is entitled the blessing of american pluralism. Good day. Is the United States a Christian Country . Was it one in the past . Will it be in the future . If we look high and low, near americanse can serve asking, answering, and debating these questions. They are disputed online. Plastered on billboards. Mentioned during news programs. And addressed by leading politicians. Answers rattlend with disagreement and tension. Instance,ma, for answers them one way before he was president and differently afterward. In 2008 he told a group in washington dc, we are no longer just a christian nation. A are also a jewish nation, muslim nation, a buddhist nation, a hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers. Years later, speaking as president obama, and to a different audience in turkey, obama explained we do not consider ourselves a christian nation or a jewish nation, or a muslim nation. Pluralism had been reconfigured into neither. Or repudiation of particulars most political and christian conservatives share their disapproval of obama right. Speech, cried glenn back. To defend the United States as a christian nation. Book faith and danforth senator john maintain that some people have asked if america is a Christian Country. Be, no. Er must to call this a Christian Country is to say that nonchristians are a lesser order, not fullfledged citizens of one nation. These recent debates and disagreements are not new. The problem of what it means to be, or not to be, a christian nation has been a touchstone of conversations about religion and politics for two centuries. I wanted take us back to the age of revolution and turn our attention to a cast of forgotten founders. A group of men who harnessed the language of Christian Nationalism in poignant and meaningful ways. This small and overlooked code bostonians aof offer a new way of us to consider what is at stake when we address, when we speak, the vexed political problem of the nations religion. Was 1777. The month was january. A particular petition on behalf of a great number of blacks was resented to the newly formed massachusetts a state legislature. It was signed by 8 men and declared we are detained in a state of slavery in the bowels of a free and Christian Country. The bondsman borrowed freely from the language of the declaration of independence was itself only six months old. They have in common with all other men and natural and unalienable right to the freedom which the great parent of the verse have this stowed universe has bestowed on all men equally. They have been unjustly dragged to this land. They have been brought here to be sold like beast of burden. Among a peopleed professing the mild religion of jesus. What these men experienced, they called worse than nonexistence. We could engage religion and politics in their petition from a variety of angles. Their description of the religion of jesus as mild could lead us to consider the potent lies of methodism and its musical inventions of songs like. Gentle jesus meek and mild our what it means have a mild faith in a time of war. The implication of natural rights leads us to wonder about the theological tensions between days him and christianity that animated so much of the revolutionary. Revolutionary time. I would like to zero in on 2 words. And beasts. They discussed this not as abstract ideas or beliefs, that its concepts of flesh and bone. These were human activities that took place with, within, and through bodies. The rhetorical emphasis on bodies encompassed the private and public, the allegorical and literal, the biblical and civil. Ets begin in the bowels at hallmark destination of medieval and enlightenment discourse. Want a structured his poem in for no as a journey that began in the mouth, flowed into the stomach, and culminated in excremental expulsion. Popen luther describes the repeatedly as a starting rear rear end. A farting john lockesame time was putting together his second treatise on government he was pending at chapter on the importance of going to stool regularly for some thoughts concerning education. When slaves situated themselves rhetorically and the bowels of the country they presented the nation as a body. Backdrops christian for this kind of corporal mapping. Paul told believers it is by one spirit we were all baptized in one body. Whether we are jews are gentiles, founder free. Hands and feet, of eyes, of years, it is not one member that many. Bodies are main of many parts, the pieces are equally valued and valuable within the one body of faith family. Parties were crucial civil metaphors as well. European kings were thought to have two bodies. The physical body could decay, but the body politic, that they symbolized, was understood to be timeless, immutable, and composite. The visual front is peace. Presented the top half of the sovereign facing the viewer. The top half of the sovereign was actually hundreds of small individualized bodies. While viewers looked upon the face and chest of the crown sovereign they witnessed only the smallers of depicted bodies. Which we saw from the rear. Members of society based into the sovereign, they constituted the body politic, they were absorbed into the sovereign, and put into motion by the sovereign. Bodies within a body. The apostle paul did not mention the bows in his list of body parts. Did. When discussing the things that we can do commonwealth he lashed out at the number of corporations. It were there were many lesser commonwealths in the bowels of a greater. Theyre like worms in the entrails of a natural man. Place tore terrible be, but they were also a danger to the rest of the body. In colonial massachusetts, and elsewhere, slaves were often feared for poisoning their masters in ways that upset their bowels. Crippling and killing women and men slowly, through what was put into their mouths that then came out at other locations. What took place in and through the bowels could upset the entire body. The reference to bowels took us within bodies. The mention of being sold like beasts of burden makes us think with bodies. Done dehumanization and animal is a are crucial aspects of making a slave culture. Linguistic and physical activities often rendered that enslaved as a can or equal with domesticated animals. Generation after generation of African Americans damped their treatments to that of animals, claiming the ultimate goal of enslavement was to transform humans into beasts. Beasts of burden were particular entities in english husbandry. It differentiated the people who traveled with one beast of burden or more. It constructed a hierarchy of poverty, who should get help. Beasts of burden were recognized as doing one or two things at a time. They could carry things on their back and they could haul cargo. The petitioners were the only one using the language of the aboutof burden to speak human relationships. Scottish minister and historian robertson when he wrote about the discovery of america he denounced native american men for treating their wives as no better than a beast of her group. All the men loiter the women are condemned to incessant toil. The King James Bible was complete to references of beasts and burden. In the book of isaiah too heavy a burden was placed on cattle when they were asked to carry idols. In the book of daniel there are four terrifying beasts. Of revelation the beast was a leading figure. The beast was well known to colonial and revolutionary ministers. For earlier Massachusetts Church leader Cotton Mather and the humanity of slaves, and not their beastly nests, was an embattled point their beastly beastlyness was an embattled point. Izing slaves will render them afraid of speaking or doing anything that may justly displease you. Hes writing to masters. Masters will have more work done better done, then those inhumane masters who have used their negroes worst than their horses. The question of whether negroes have rational souls mather exploded, let that brutish insinuation never be whispered again. They are men and not beasts. Inhumanity, brutish ness are characteristics of slaveholders behaving badly, not essences of the enslaved themselves. For the petitioners, animalization was general and particular. They are not just beasts, but beasts of burden that kerry metaphorical and literal weight. Bid carries heavily on the contents of some whites like Cotton Mather. It is a weight petitioners hoped they could leverage with the legislature. Im close to out of time. I want to suggest that taking the insights of these thationers and our present it may provide new bridges for us to cross the political what if we began where the petitioners did, and bodies connected to other bodies, and then moved to our ideas about whether the nation is or is not christian or religious . From this vantage point, starting with bodies, i would like to suggest that glenn beck, senator john danforth, and barack obama stand together. They respect bodies. In faith and politics, senator danforth expressed profound frustration with the use of teri schiavo, the florida woman who remained hospitalized in a vegetative state for 15 years to make political hay. The sanctityas for of her body and the wellbeing of the bodies around her, family members, friends, doctors. Danforth was not interested in this case with the body politic that was the republican party. Glenn beck cherishes the Founding Fathers like George Washington in part as he sees George Washington as a defender of Jewish Americans and their right to their religious freedom, and that defending their religion is also about defending their bodies to practice that religion. Finally, its clear that bodies loom large in Barack Obamas political and personal imagination. His fathers absent body, the bodies of dead children, of abortion protesters, the bodies of religious communities, they animate the audacity of hope and other key obama writings and speeches. Danforth and beck disagree profoundly on the theract notion of whether nation is religious or christian or what that even means. Where wey agree, we could begin and what we may take from the petitions of the 1770s , its not just that everybody has a body to invoke Martin Luther king jr. , but that everybody is part of an connected to other bodies. When we think of body second and abstracted ideologies first, we run the risk of putting intangibles before tangibles, nonexistent before existent. Problem these massachusetts petitioners, their families and their friends they knew all too well. A struggle to see bodies before ballots, to see bodies before budgets, to see bodies before beliefs. What these forgotten founders of the 1770s they called their struggle a glorious struggle. It was one that valued and needed every body. The time. For thank you for your time and myng to this body connections to lots of bodies here and elsewhere. Thank you. [applause] good morning. Until very recently i lived in houston, texas. This is my first trip act in over a year. Its good to be back home. There are approximately 3 million muslims in the United States, a somewhat controversial and unofficial estimate, since the u. S. Census does not count the population by religious affiliation. American muslims, like every other religious group in the country, are a diverse group. They follow a variety of traditions. Or they sunni, shia, follow homegrown american islams such as a nation of islam. American muslims are racially and ethnically diverse. They are africanamerican, asian, south east, arab and west african descent and an increasing number of the sums identify as latino or white. 11, 2001,ember american muslims lived in relative obscurity. The advent of the war on terror catapulted american muslims into the public eye. The election of barack obama in 2008 further spurred interest and notoriety of american muslims. Obamas middle name, hussein, and hisan father, childhood spent in indonesia filled fueled speculation that obama himself was a secret muslim. The enormous diversity of islamic beliefs and practices in this country, both 9 11 and obamas election have proved to be focal points for often vicious critiques of islam. Islam and christianity arrived on the north American Continent at the same time. Christopher Columbus Crew included conversos. Century, and16th slate muslims accompanied conquistadors enslaved muslims accompanied on keys to doors conquistadors. Thoughtrs might not of of him as muslim unlikely forced him to convert to christianity after his capture, when he would have acquired his new name. 1536, he andand three other spanish survivors walked from presentday texas to the Pacific Coast of mexico. Toebanico was no stranger cultural fluidity. In 1539, he accompanied another entrada into the american southwest using his knowledge of native languages am a cultures, and diplomatic customers to guide conquistadors. He was killed nurse aurora sonora in 1540 near sonora in 1540. Officials were suspicious of muslim converts to christianity. Technically the new world was offlimits to conversos. Estebanicos presence in the americas suggested this was a rule honored in the breach. To usenish continue enslaved african muslims as key parts of their colonization schemes. Saintttlement at augustine contained many enslaved muslims in the late 16th century. Muslims inenslaved north america long before permanent English Settlement began at jamestown in 1607. Most muslims who came to the americas before 1850 arrived as enslavedo did, as people mostly from west and central africa, but occasionally from north africa. Most historians have not attempted to come up with a demographic analysis. Many enslaved people arriving in north america would have been familiar with islam even if they did not identify as muslims themselves. Michael gomez has noted that around 50 of enslaved people coming to mainland north america came from those areas of west africa where islam was either statesponsored or associated culturally significant minority, reflecting the cosmopolitan religious lives of west africans who combined christianity, islam, and traditional west african practice in novel ways. The general problem is that enslaved muslims were an even more invisible minority within the invisible institution of slave religion. Quote, when whites observe Africanamerican Muslim rituals, they often did not understand what was taking place right in front of their eyes. Enslaved muslims were everywhere, and quote, islam was indeed a diaspora can dia sporic religion. Scholars know a great deal about a few specific individuals. In 1788, soldiers from another ethnic group captured [indiscernible] and sold him to european slave traders. He lived as an enslaved man in new orleans for decades, marrying an africanamerican baptist woman named isabella before writing a letter in arabic in 1826 asking for his freedom. He toured the United States, raising money to buy freedom for himself and his children. Countryrs around the chronicled his travels and lifes story. Whonization enthusiasts wanted to emancipate black people and repatriate them to west africa hope that he, who was celebrated as a quote, moorish prince, would aid them in establishing diplomatic ties between the infant colony of free people and liberia and thereby african kingdoms as well as helping convert west africans to christianity. In 1829 he journeyed to liberia with his wife. Though he was unable to fulfill captors and his sponsors in the United States, he died shortly after his arrival there. He was literate and was able to advocate for himself and his family using american ideas about islam and muslims to get what he wanted. Most enslaved muslims were not so lucky. Hand educated muslim in his freedom. Gained his he moved to washington, d. C. , where he owned property until his death. They had compelling biographies that often stand in for the stories of enslaved muslims. Most enslaved muslims were not literate or did not otherwise have the means to make their stories known. Most enslaved muslims worked to keep their faith intact even in the face of persecution, passing on their names, rituals, and prayers to their descendents. Retaining islam as an enslaved people in they new world with a form of resistance and selfpreservation. While the biographies of individuals suggest how enslaved muslims lived, the devotion of most of these people went unrecognized and unremembered by the americans who own them. Owned them. Muslims in enslaved the United States probably rose in the last decade before the close of the transeuphonic slave trade. United states had drastically increased importations of enslaved people in anticipation of the closing of the trade in 1808. Sometimes these muslims were apparent to otherwise blind americans. The presbyterian clergyman noted that quote, the mohammed in africans remaining in the old stock of importations had been known to accommodate christianity to muhamedism. God, they say, is allah, and jesus christ is mohammed. The religion is the same, but Different Countries have different names. Signalervations discomfort with africanamerican spirituality. Despite the visibility of enslaveduslims, most muslims remained invisible to their captors. This was the beginning of an erasure, the presence of enslaved muslims was opec to their captors and remains largely opaque to historians. Refusal to recognize contributes to an ideology in which islam is foreign to the United States. If americans did not learn about enslavedm their property, they learned about it through other means red means. The context of warfare, violence, piracy, and travel. Francisish adventurer drake carried enslaved turks away with him after his siege of [indiscernible] in 1586. Turk was an allpurpose english description or of any muslim person from north africa or the ottoman east. It was a very broad descriptor and doesnt necessarily mean someone from presentday turkey. Converted tomen christianity before the english sent him back to constantinople, where they hoped he would facilitate a number of conversions from islam to christianity. Their hopes were unfounded. Englishmen saw islam as a threat and competitor. Sailors, merchants, mercenaries and travelers in the mediterranean were under constant risk of being captured, enslaved, and converted to islam. An estimated one million europeans were enslaved in north africa and the ottoman empire. Some of these people converted to islam in order to gain their freedom. Others hoped relatives would ransom them. And wrote letters to Family Charitable organizations in england, often at the insistence of their owners in hopes of redemption. Garth african paris he threatened american shores as well. A man was reported unhappily taken by the turks and carried to algier. He was esteemed dead. John smith fought the ottomans of Eastern Europe in the early 17th century and was taken as prisoner of war and enslaved in 16 oh two. Smith reported that his master ordered other slaves to quote, strip him naked and shave his head and beard. A sickle was riveted around his neck. Eventually smith escaped after he quote, beat out his masters brains. Despite this experience, smith had little to say about islam or muslims. After his escape, smith traveled extensively as a free man throughout the north african state, observing the wealth and power of these princely estates and noting that the quote, countries of fez and morocco are the best part of all barbary. They eat well and have all good necessities for mans use. Another virginia colonist drew upon his experience as a clerk in constantinople to draw comparisons between ottoman muslims and native north americans. Of his observations were relatively neutral. He noted, quote, the indian drink is, as the turks, clearwater. The indians spread a mat as the turks do a carpet for them to sit upon. His comparisons were less sanguine when discussing indians marital habits. Chief while polygamousollowed a practice but did not keep all of his wives as the turks in one house. He theorized that these sensual helps weaken the indians body politics. Play. Bing young boys mores merely another than nearly another point of reference for him. An idiom for copperheads in the strangeness and foreignness of native people as well as a way of expressing disdain for native customs that the english new primarily from muslim countries, such as polygamy. In englishted discourses about the new world generally as a point of negative comparison. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, the islamic world occupied a key place in angloamerican [indiscernible] political tyranny. Seemingly senseless violence, slavery, and other questionable practices. Timothy marr has called this rhetorical praxis practice as islamicism. The identification of political was muslimd tyranny practice and muslim peoples generally in particular is thus centurieslong tradition. To call it a political opponent turkish was to intimate oath tyranny and senseless violence senselessranny and violence. American ideas about islam became important the emergence of the latter day saints, who for some decades allowed polygamist marriages. Americans opposed to mormonism likened the Latter Day Saints Church to islam and joseph smith to mohammed. These commenters Link Division of politically to radical islam to an emergent idea of islam but was also tyrannical in the home, especially to women. One commentator, quote, turkey is in our midst. Modern mohammed inhabits mecca at salt lake, where the prophet speaks of his wives as cows. Clearly they koran was Joseph Smiths bottle. There are many, many other commentators writing similar things linking the emerging religion of the latter day saints with what americans thought islam to be. And bya that islam extension mormonism devalued women reverberates even into contemporary discourses about the islamic world and the place of women in it. The conservative christian evangelist Franklin Graham and bill mark have used american notions about the status of women in majority muslim countries to fuel islam a phobic rhetoric. I can talk more about this in the q a. American islamist schism was a complicated interplay of human experiences of the muslim other accompanied by rumor, stereotypes, and the ever present threat of violence here hadwhile americans difficulty seeing enslaved muslims in their midst, they had and continue to have no such trouble understanding islam as inherently tyrannical and misogynistic. Barack husseinlk obama, americas first muslim a satiricallays in way on the ways in which americans doubt the president s religious affiliation and use to supposed muslimness demonstrate his onamericanness. Barack obama became, however unwittingly, if focal point of islam a phobic commentary in the United States. This denies the complex histories of american muslims, but engages on extending islamicist discourses that originated in the 15th and 16th centuries. It has also had the effect of marginalizing and other ring american muslims. Thank you. [applause] good morning. Election a few days ago, this is quite a good topic. How can an administration that began with such traumas with regard to the sheer amount of support it received from latinos and so badly. How could one of the latinos key issues promised as a firstterm agenda item be tucked away until the second term . Luckily, we do not have to weigh in on that question of political strategy. Perhaps a more intriguing question is why would they support president obama at all. Deportations average 400,000 a year since 2000 eight. With the continued militarization of the border, and in 2011 more than 18 billion from border engines, drones why do latinos continue to vote for obama . Keydo representatives of religious groups support obamas immigration efforts and at the same time not support him . There is a disjuncture between obamas actions and reliance on latinos as a significant part of his reelection coalition. Thequestion here is to extent that any religious organization can influence the way latinos vote, which is questionable. The three religious organizations i want to examine here, Roman Catholic church, theno protestants, and latter day saints, all lobbied in one way or another for Immigration Reform. The church did so on a regional level in utah. And latinosts evangelicals lobbied on behalf of the repeal of the obama law h 56. Before examining these cases, just brief history. The problem with Immigration Reform one of them is when you try to move the debate away from the rule of law narrative, which Immigration Reform almost never wins. To focus on compassion and mercy , you might want to offer historical context. This is how latinos find themselves in this place. Intractable mythic narrative of immigration fused together with another mythic narratives about the infallibility of the rule of law. That is what eventually wins out. Latino catholics, protestants, evangelicals and latter day saints had vested interests in passing Immigration Reform. They were incapable of overcoming this narrative that is comprised the history of latino immigration for centuries. The rule of law and chives of civil religion over compassionat to the stranger won out. Latinoerpretations of immigration by stressing virtuous, hardworking t,rratives of immigrants pas the sanctity of the family, and as ammigration itself acts monolith for how this country has been built all were interweave to buy these activists into impassioned pleas to treat latino immigrants humanely and with dignity. These groups did not take into consideration, or did not fully reconcile the rate at which the dominant culture and its political surrogate has in securing their own mythic narrative. The gop today is essentially a party anchored by older whites. These religious leaders are viewed as elites and activists, out of touch with the common people. The oness voters are who vote. The struggle for the mythic immigrant narrative and the rule of law begins on the atlantic foundingand the documents of this nation. It ignores the latin american roots of this nation which have been around longer than jamestown. This mythology, rooted firmly in Christian Nationalism, what some view as civil religion, is used rather effectively to preserve a sense of american difference and diminishes the historic role of latino immigrants to build this country. Latinos have never been viewed as sufficiently american enough. Narratives of illegality, criminality, contagion slowly lead to the erosion of the rule of law in this alternative narrative. It is this fear that the american way of life is being abandoned. Is aule of law trope signifying order. It orders fairness and justice and leads to the idea that to be american means to be lawabiding. Undocumented persons are technically breaking the law, it is questionable whether latinos can ever be good briefly, thered history of mexican immigration to the United States after 1848 becomes much more complicated when crossing the border becomes [indiscernible] usually occurring when economic pressures dictated the precious resources of local, state, and federal governments. Starts in theon 1930s, when nearly half a million mexicans and Mexican American citizens are sent back to mexico. The next deportation occurs in the 1950s, called operation not my word. These narratives, interwoven with the idea of contagion and criminality, have fueled the ugly specter of something that happened recently in marietta, california and elsewhere, where protesters have carried signs alleging that the women and children in those buses were carrying diseases and secretly harboring gang members. These narratives and others challenge the dominant cultures ability to determine the american mythic representation of an era somewhere in the distant past that was free of criminal trespassers who trampled on the rule of law. Sensing a loss of the trope of the rule of law, what Tea Party Activists use to counter the lobbying efforts of catholic, protestant and lds leaders who for their own reasons decided it was time to push once again for Immigration Reform right in the middle of another seemingly endless cycle of xenophobia. Latino mormons. Internalno other debate demonstrates his clashes more clearly than the tensions that arose within the Mormon Church over a specific tenant of the mormon faith called article 12. One article i found in the ironically named center for immigrant rights, a group with very little interest in immigrant rights as self identify an lds member, ronald mortensen, took to task the influence of the lds hierarchy in passing what he viewed as an amnesty of bill and 2011. Lds members will be subject to quote, kings, rulers, magistrates in honoring and sustaining the law. With the lds emphasis on the rule of law, the lds tradition of that america is a divine nation. He laments the loss of this emphasis on law and in effect the loss of his imagined america. Quote, they openly talk the Founding Fathers were guided by the hand of god and the u. S. Constitution was divinely inspired and the u. S. Was chosen land for the restoration of christs true church. Particularly problematic for mortensen and other lds members was that the appalling reality that the church was allowing illegal aliens to be baptized to accept couple recommends and serve an Important Church positions. Mortensen lays blame on the church, who refused to acknowledge they even had an Immigration Reform policy. Mormons are left to try to discern what this change means for the gospel as they have known it, he laments. His case study, where the bill , how thenized in utah lds hierarchy work behind the scenes to secure the passage of that bill, mortensen goes on to identify how the lds call for compassion for the undocumented has shifted his own churchs narrative towards a social justice agenda. Of laws of the rule demonstrates how far the lds church has quote, moved from its american roots. To be holynow seems guided by trying to patronize the ldslarge latino constituency. As the church found it more difficult to gain converts among american citizens, lds officials increasingly focused missionary activity on illegal immigrant community. Latino protestants, both the main line and evangelicals, tried to upend the hb56 law. What happened with them is the same thing that happened with catholics. They simply failed to see this grand narrative taking place, both organizations, the united methodist, episcopal, and two groups that represent latino evangelicals. Both Organizations Mission touched how much the tea Party Controls the republican misjudged how much the tea Party Controls the republican agenda. They failed to convince these alabama pastors this was an issue that should bring them together in terms of lobbying doings, writing letters, grassroots work. If he had done that, they might have known the desires for human treatment and compassion are admirable, but only when the narrative of desirable immigration supports this imagined narrative. I simply did not work. That simply did not work. Lds andholics and latino protestants of all stripes understand is they can count, and they can count how many latinos are in the churches. They can count and understand of this trope of demography is destiny is coming to pass. That is part of the reason the Roman Catholic church has been supportive of Immigration Reform. Try to make its presence known in a strong way in this debate. I took a quick perusal to the National Catholic reporter to find catholics from grassroots parishioners to bishops were involved in immigration debates in one way or another for years. There were lots of stories about parishes in transition and how some of those went well. The loss of the old european immigrant now making a transition to latino parishes. There were a few stories where it was successful undated not limit the loss of their america. There were others then rather than had the parish over to the be shared, they just left. What seems to be this interesting New York Times suggested that people are getting worn down by the issue. Tired of Immigration Reform and immigrants in particular and they resign themselves to the fact that immigrants are here and they are not leaving. See a bit moreo moving of that needle towards reform for drivers licenses, reform for insurance, work laws, exhibit nature. What these stories suggest that when working in a gastric grassroots level, catholics will work on their own to implement. The Catholic Media promoted this idea the church is a welcoming and open place for immigrants. In this local setting, the Catholic Church looks compassionate, the stories of young women singing to these , it gives a very personal level to the idea that youre helping the stranger, the alien, and it lends the religious instabilities can be most really felt on a personal level. Catholic bishops and other concerned clerical organizations are nearly uniformly for immigrant reform and lobbying excessively for it, but it still fails. There may be one of many reasons why it fails. The most prominent catholic haveicians in Congress Done little to further the interests in immigration reofrm. Reform. Goodrnalist had a really piece that autopsies the failure of Immigration Reform and why even conservative evangelicals support leaders like joe hunter, rick moran, are incapable of using the house gop to action. Gop, white evangelicals are largely walled off from immigrants in a religious gerrymandering where white evangelicals find themselves in churches in the suburbs and not the neighborhoods populated by immigrants. Like the gerrymandered districts of the gop, what image l adjusts to not see Immigration Reform te evangelic adjusts sts did not see Immigration Reform is important. An eye towards their eventual resettlement she repeats the claim these children are gang bangers and drug runners, they are crashing our borders. She continues, quote, this explains why the bureaucracy acts to smash the culture of a Royal Community by dropping primitive, hostile aliens in their midst, all in the name of compassion. Just not for americans. She asks for readers to look at a blog entitled Refugee Resettlement watch, who tracks refugees. Under the auspices of dozens of religious organizations. She views a grand conspiracy to bring in jihadists and drug cartels and infiltrate the country. From this one can see despite their good intentions, religious groups were doomed from the start. The very contextualized approach that many did want but did not about not selling to talk in these churches. Failing to see the historical trajectory of latino immigrants cast as a class of unassailable foreigners may have done well to lead the congregations into axioms like the catholic bishops who this past spring held mass across the border, symbolically mexicanscommunion to and mexicanamericans alike and crossing the border themselves to listen to their stories. Thank you. [applause] first i would like to thank all my fellow panelists. I have light bulbs going off in my head, all these great ideas popping in. I want to redo my paper, but im not going to. I am lucky enough to teach at university of illinois in chicago. The title of my paper is the blessings of american religious pluralism. On august 6, 2009 the u. S. Senate voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayors appointment. Hardly anyone thought it was wild to mention her faith. Reporters talked a great deal about the fact that she was the first latino ever nominated to. He court even those who oppose her nomination, for example 31 of the then40 republicans in the senate, did not bother to mention her faith at all, instead choosing to criticize her for being an activist judge. Hardly anyone pointed out that once she was sworn in two days later, she would become the sixth catholic sitting on the bench, not only giving catholics a super majority on the countrys highest court, but taking the spot of the last remaining protestant. What she was sworn in, all the noncatholics on the bench were jews. Nothing was really said about this. Of the super majority of catholics on the court, the bombastic and militantly watchful catholic conservative bill donohue said barely a peep was made. For the first time in American History, not a single protestant sat among the constituents of one of the three branches of the american government. Hardly anyone seemed to notice at all. Amongme today is this the many transformations that happened in the age of obama, and despite the bombast and rhetoric coming from the religious right, surely one of the most vital themes as to be the almost casual way in which the country has come to accept religious pluralism. Im arguing against anybody else who has spoken so far. Evidence for this is everywhere. Religious discrimination is down in the United States, even as it has risen sharply in other countries throughout the world. The u. S. Equal Employment Opportunity commission reported a sharp rise in claims of religious discrimination during the george w. Bush years, right after 9 11, before noting a gentle decline starting in 2009. The claimscentage of were found to lack merit, which suggest there is more fear than there is bona fide abuse. Perhaps the most compelling comes from thece fact that the loudest claims of religious discrimination these from some of the largest, most powerful religious groups in the country, including evangelical protestants and american catholics. What have they been complaining about . Not that they themselves had been prevented from worshiping , but insee fit americas quest to honor its minority faiths, the country has curtailed the rights of large groups from imposing its beliefs onto others. Was ever forced to practice contraception under president obamas Affordable Care act, but some catholic employers were asked to contribute to the contraceptive efforts of employees who might. No protestant had been asked to denounce their own faith, just to honor the right of others to practice theres. Speaking to past eras of religious discrimination, including burning of churches, denying of employment, forcing certain people to live in certain neighborhoods depending on what their religious beliefs were, this is an era marked not by heavy brutalities based on discrimination, at least religious discrimination. , thiss surprisingly general acceptance of americas religious pluralism is more ideological than demographic. In this case it is the ideas that matter and not the numbers. There hasnt been any significant uptick in the number of religious minorities in the United States. Anyone who looks at the numbers, it is clear that the United States is still a profoundly christian nation. Somewhere in the range of 76 to 78 of americans claim to be protestant or catholic. Of americans claim to be protestant, and 25 claim to be catholic more or less. Among the nations of the world, the United States isnt that religiously diverse. A pew study from 2012 ranks the United States as the 68th most religiously diverse nation in the world, more diverse than iran or afghanistan but far less diverse than vietnam or nigeria or new zealand. H some might say celebration of , theeligious diversity vast diversity we have among the nonchristians on the one hand, there is some truth to that. On the other hand, this acceptance must be viewed with great caution. Majority of vast americas nonchristian , the vast, 25 majority of those claim to have no religion at all, a group that is rapidly approaching 20 of all americans. We will hear about this later. All the other religious minorities put together, jews, muslims, hindus, buddhists, jains when you put them all together, they totaled just 5. 3 of the population. Thelmost every faith in world can be found somewhere in the United States, america can still make little claim to being among the most religiously diverse nation in the world. Indeed, it is 68th. During theanged first years of the 21st century is americans have become far more accepting of religious traditions that are not their own, including profoundly towards people who claim no religion at all. If america is not terribly diverse, it is increasingly accepting of the idea of religious pluralism. Care aboutns, we all where these ideas come from and the idea of americas religious pluralism has a history. There were some iterations of it in the early instances of American History, all the way back to the maryland toleration act of 1649 to James Madisons memorial against religious assessments of 1785 to the First Amendment of the u. S. Constitution. Throughout the 19th century, the United States was largely controlled by what historian [indiscernible] has called a moral establishment that made protestantism legally regulated region of the land. People could be cited for blasphemy even if the state had no blasphemy laws. The moral codes of protestantism were nonlitigious excepted as common law. Even though there were constitutional protections against establishing religion as the law of the land, he argues that the protestant majority could effect its will through the courts and through the culture. The first instances of this idea of americas religious pluralism take lice in the first decades of the 20th century, place in the first decades of the 20th century, when the massive industrialization going on at the time created scads of urban plight. Protestants fashioned what came to be called the social gospel , and much to their surprise, they found on those main urban streets catholic and jewish groups doing much of the same work. The first instances of working together take place in the fields, filling sandbags during floods or feeding hungry in times of economic recession. These initial interfaith activities bled into some of the first conversations of religious goodwill. Many began to ponder write down these thoughts ponder, write down the thoughts, but maybe america cannot not just consider itself a protestant nation any longer. It was in reaction to the rise of open nativism that happened throughout the United States in the immediate postworld war i ands, when anticatholic racist, antisemitic ideas continued to take hold in american life. This is when the ku klux klan has its most dramatic revival, when Woodrow Wilson is busy segregating washington, d. C. The ultimate achievement of the nativists in this 1920s era was the spearheading of the drive to and widespread immigration, which culminates in a landmark immigration restriction act of 1924 and even worse ones of 1929. Several movements rise up to push back. Thesest successful of movements is called the Goodwill Movement for religious tolerance in america, led by liberal protestants working together with catholics and jews. The most successful was the National Conference of christians and jews. Is to reimagine what the United States was, to pull it away from a vision of america centered on white, protestant nativism and focus more on a general acceptance of andidea of pluralism especially religious pluralism. America could honor this timetested ideal of equality and liberty, no matter which faith you got there by. These organizations did crazy, foolish things that are fun for us to find in the archives. Sent a rabbi, priest and miniter into small towns where they had never seen a rabbi or priest and they would do that on stage shtick to dispel the myths about these minority faiths. They went on to found the religious news service, which is still active today. Their biggest victory comes during world war ii, with an enemy like hitler, the National Conference of christians and jews is not have to result to saccharine to make its point. In making these arguments that we no longer can be seen as a protestant nation because that is what hitler looks like, the goodwill organizations were wildly successful during the second world war. It was one of two nonmilitary groups admitted onto every military base in the country and in the world, the other being the red cross. The actively aided chaplaincy corpse, they provided literature to soldiers, and they provided Business Card sized prayer cards they would give to each soldier in case your comrade happened to be dying and he was of a different faith. On one side was a protestant and on the back were catholic and jewish prayers. After the war, catholics and jews, having a taste of equal place at the table, they did not want to let go. In fraternities and colleges and nearly all aspects of american life, throughout the 1950s groups of protestants, catholics articulated and fought for acceptance of religious pluralism. Fraternities had to change their charters. We should either get rid of the faiths tonvite all celebrate on city hall. In the early 1960s, the court responded to this vision of with two Banner Corporation is that outlawed forced fair and bible readings prayerpublic schools and bible readings in the public schools. The overriding story is the courts declaration that the United States government should not prioritize one faith over any other and should allow them free reign to practice as they see fit. Girl is and had arrived pluralism had arrived. 1965 and is before incredibly important. In 1965 lbj ushered in Immigration Reform, which to nearly everyones apprise who voted for the bill actually allowed large numbers of people from africa, asia, and latin america to come to the United States, bringing with them their faith. In came sikhs, large numbers of andims, hindus, and more, hardly any of them when they came were persecuted for their faith. This is celebrated by a book called the new religious america to get a country she argues had gone from a ifaithant nation to a tr nation to a wildly diverse nation at the end of the 20th century. The book is mostly a celebration. American diversity had come. The numbers just dont hold up to this argument. Less than 6 of all americans are of a faith that is not protestant, catholic, or nothing. What has won is this idea of americas religious pluralism. Although he operated in a subordinate role to greater social trends, president obama has played a role in this almost casual acceptance of americas religious pluralism. In his inaugural address of 2009 , obama becomes the first president to acknowledge a wide swath of faiths, including the nons, people with no faith, as importing constituents in the american project. We are a nation of christians and muslims, jews and hindus and nonbelievers, he said. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this earth and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the pass,treds shall someday that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself. In addition to this stirring rhetoric, once you start quoting him its very hard to know how to stop in addition to the rhetoric, obama almost ofediately, within a week becoming president , recrafted president george w. Bushs office of faithbased initiatives which bush had designed to funnel money to religious organizations providing social services to the hungry or the poor but which quickly came under attack for a way for president bush to funnel money to his friends in the religious right. When obama comes into office in 2009, 1 of his first acts was to broaden the number of recipients as well as establish an expensive Advisory Council to ensure there is no favoritism at play. In come muslim groups trade income groups. Nowhere has this understanding of american pullers pluralism shaped obamas presidency more than in its dealings with predominantly muslim countries. Obama sought to reconcile relations with certain middle eastern countries, especially turkey. At a joint press conference with the president of turkey, obama reflected on the similarities between the two nations, specifically citing a common, if contested, tradition of religious pluralism. You have heard this before although he said, we have a very large christian population, we do not consider ourselves a christian nation or a jewish nation or muslim nation. What the professor left out was the last line, this affirmation of americas religious pluralism. We consider ourselves a nation of citizens bound by ideals and a set of values. Closer to home this is my concluding point obama endorsed religious pluralism in 2010 when he supported the right of new yorks Muslim Community to build an Islamic Community center two blocks from the site of the recently destroyed world trade center. As a citizen and president , i believe muslims have the same right to practice their religion is anyone else in the country, he said, affirming american religious pluralism. This is america, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. Diverse or not, american pluralism has triumphed in the age of obama. As with so much else, president obama has grabbed onto that history not as a leader, but in an effort to continue its success. Despite all the clamoring from the religious right, a movement backned to bring america to a fabled time when christians were the sole arbiter of american life, american religious pluralism is now the de facto mode of american selfawareness. The in small part explains animosity and anger coming from conservative christians today. Thank you very much. [applause] i think we have a few time time for a few questions. Im looking at jeff, asking that. Ok. One of the things that struck me going through the papers this morning is this juncture between myth and rhetoric versus reality came out strongly in this last paper, for instance, but i would like to address my question to professor sanchez in particular. West asioned diane someone who wrote about conspiracy theories and she referred to the office of refugee settlement. That is interesting to me, because in all of this reticle rhetoric about the rule of law dealing with child migrants, no one seemed to recognize that there is a law about refugees. All about laws that, you know, we should be protecting the border more, and that is the rule of law, and so forth, but they seem to ignore the fact that refugee policy, which would apply to some of these child migrants, is also part of the rule of law. Thiswondering how does cognitive dissonance keep americans acting in this way to mark how was it that we continue to believe this is a very religiously diverse country when in fact it is not . Or are we continually deluding ourselves about these things when the facts seem to show otherwise . I would be interested in your comment. Ok. The debate was the unaccompanied minors whether they should be called refugees at all. Dehumanizing of this rhetoric is saying that they are covers for gun runners and particularly the children are carriers of disease. That is not new. That has been used several times before, predominately at the beginning of the 20th century to enforce mass fumigation of mexican migrants over the border, where they were stationed along the border here, to fumigate mexican workers going back and forth to work, mostly on railroads and other jobs on the border. So we do not talk about worker rights, we do not talk about health. If you spin that to say it is a matter of public health, then you essentially have a right to fumigate mexican workers