America is Good for Religion

There are a number of people who are very involved in trying to make sure that their "religious" views should be everyone's religious views. They feel that "Religion is good for America.” But this is open to debate because in my opinion -- “it is America that is good for religion.”

Did you know that there are estimated 40,000 Christian Protestant denominations in America? Judaism is split into Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Renewal, as well as Secular Jews. And then there is the Roman Catholic Church and a Reformed Catholic Church. Of course, we should not forget the Greek Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox Church, Zoroastrians, and Muslims.

In this country, there is the freedom to "think outside the religious/spiritual box" so to speak. Usually, the children of immigrants become American in culture and attitudes. When Jews came in large numbers from Europe in the last century, one of the first things their Rebbes taught them was baseball, because baseball was American, and American was good!

SHHH! Don't tell the Imams, the same thing is happening to Islam in America. When my kids were growing up, I saw some Muslim classmates with traditional dress and there were others in jeans, with makeup, hair uncovered. (America at work) A recent article in the Dallas Morning News talked about one 26 year old Muslim who prays regularly, observes the Ramadan fasting and is openly gay. He is part of a small, but growing number of American Muslims, challenging the long-standing interpretations of Islam that defined the culture and world of their parents. The Muslims in newspaper article believe that one can be gay and Muslim; that the sexes can pray together, that females can preach and that Muslim women can marry outside the faith -- and they can also point to passages in the Quran as proof texts! 

Every religious group has had to struggle with what it means to their culture, their memes, their country to be, a Jew, a Christian, a Muslim or, an anything in America! The traditions of religious freedoms in this country provide the opportunity and legal protection for its citizens to re-examine the Sacred Scriptures (Tanakh, Christian Bibles, Quran, etc.) and openly speak about different interpretations even though they challenge rules and notions which for centuries were set in stone – meaning controlled by authoritarian religious institutions in other cultures.

Nearly 40% of the 2.75 million Muslims in the U.S. are American born and the number is growing. Many people are worried about ISIS, but if I were ISIS -- I'd be worried by iphones, Twitter, Old Navy, and McDonalds. God Bless America!

Choose Life By Doing TOV!

Rabbi Jeffrey Leynor