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ON COMMON GROUND Guide for Teachers and Students
of these religious traditions--as ardent secularists, as ethical humanists, or as committed atheists
Since the U.S. Census Bureau does not ask about religious affiliation, there is a sense in which we do not know who "we" are religiously. At last count the Encyclopedia Britannica yearbook (1996) noted 5.5 million Muslims, which means there are more Muslims than Episcopalians, more Muslims than members of the Presbyterian Church USA, and almost as many Muslims as Jews, estimated at 5.9 million. Hindus were estimated to be 1.3 million and continued immigration from South Asia will certainly see this rise. For Buddhists, the matter is more complex. It was estimated that there nearly 600,000 Buddhists, but one suspects this includes largely Buddhists with roots in the many cultures of Asia. What about all the firstgeneration Buddhists, native born Americans who have come to identify themselves as Buddhist through years of meditation practice with Americas growing numbers of Buddhist communities? These numbers may easily be one or two million, perhaps more. Baha'is are said to be 379,000; Sikhs are 363,000; and Jains about 4,000. The difficulty of being certain about any of these statistics is perhaps best revealed by the Jains, who have a computerized database of every Jain family in America and number themselves at not 4,000, but 25,000.
Of course America's population is still predominantly Christian--with Catholics, Southern Baptists, and United Methodists forming the largest denominations. But the news of the 1990s is that our religious minorities are not followers of the passing gurus of the 1970s, but new Americans who have brought their faith with them to this land and are in the process of creating the educational and religious institutions to pass it on to succeeding generations. Large or small, America's growing religious minorities have reshaped the religious landscape for us all.
For Teachers and Students: Questions and Projects
As we begin our exploration of ON COMMON GROUND, let us use the Home page to take stock of any questions we might have and our own assumptions of what our "common ground" might be as Americans. Reflecting on our own experience—what we already know or think we knowcan be helpful as we begin expanding our awareness of our new multireligious surroundings.
1. Voices of America
In the movie Voices of America, we see many striking images of Americans-Jewish, Native American, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, and Muslim. We hear Americans of different religious backgrounds talk about what America means to them. Listen carefully to the various voices: an Orthodox Jew, a Muskogee Creek Indian, the dean of religious life at Wellesley College, a Christian theologian, and a Muslim law professor. What are some of the things they have to say about America and its traditions of religious freedom? What are the things you agree with? Which ones surprise you? Which ones do you disagree with?
2. What America Means to ...
The opening sentence of the movie Voices of America begins, "What America means to an Orthodox Jew is...." Put yourself or one of your relatives in that sentence, using the same words, "What America means to a Catholic immigrant from Mexico, a Russian Jewish
