Les Français ont parfois associé le mot "religion" avec les mots "conflits" et "guerre", qui sont des mots qui ne reviennent pas chez les Américains. Au contraire, j'ai vu des mots comme "calming", "happiness". Pour vous, est-ce que la religion serait synonyme de paix, et en quoi est-ce le cas? Que représente pour vous votre religion? Vous apporte-t-elle quelque chose de particulier qui ne pourrait vous être apporté par aucun autre moyen?

De plus, qui est Pat Robertson?

You are right to see such a difference. There are many people who agree with your views of religion being the cause of war and hate, but there is something in this country known as the "moral majority" which tends to blind many people. The moral majority consists of Christians, usually those who are fanatical, who try to make religion a part of everything (including schools and government). They try to advocate religion should be the only focus in life and are quick to deny any wrongdoing by the church. Pat Robertson is one of the fanatical people and is often on television with an evangelical show preaching. There has also been a recent shift away from the negative aspects of religion in light of terrorism and 9/11 back to viewng religion as safe and steady.

The war on terrorism is viewed by many people as a war on religion. And thus when people think of the USA, they tend to view it as anti-religion. This image however is the work of only a few radical individuals. if anything 9/11 has bought people closer togethor, making them aware that it is only through joint cooperation that the war on terror can be won. That is probably why many of the american responses have to do with calm, hope and happiness

Pat Robertson is one of those guys on the tv who preaches religion, and personally my eyes and ears bleed whenever i see anyone like him or hear any of them. They televise religion in this country to get more people to pay attention to it.

jacques

Religion is a very touchy topic in the US and I do think that people like Pat Robertson and other evangelicals on the radio and tv take advantage of the huge power that the media has on the American public. I have no problem with people showing and expressing their religion but doing it in this very harsh way is very offensive to many people and turns them away, more than gets them interested in becoming Christian or any other religion.

I feel that some of these differing views of religion must result from the very different histories of the two countries. Certainly the French religious wars left some sort of lasting mark on the society. In the same sense, the founding of America on religious (or at least Christian) pluralism and harmony has propagated positive attitudes toward the subject.

The question is, how big of a role does this history play in the present?

Many of the French responses to religion had either "conflits" or "tolerance," and one even had both. Why do you associate the same word with such opposite actions?

En France, beaucoup de personnes prônent la tolérance religieuse. Un des principes français fondamentaux est la liberté de culte. Chacun a donc le droit de pratiquer la religion qu'il souhaite. Ainsi, chacun doit respecter les convictions religieuses des autres, quelles qu'elles soient. Pourtant, il arrive parfois que des synagogues soient brûlées, ou que des croix gamées apparaissent sur les murs. C'est aussi pour cela que l'on parle de conflit. Puis, il y a peu, un débat a eu lieu à propos du port ou non du voile islamique dans les écoles françaises, ce qui constituait également un conflit par rapport à la religion.

Je suis d'accord avec les propos de Lucie. Il est vrai que l'on parle beaucoup de tolérance et je pense qu'il est normal de respecter les convictions de chacun. Pourtant, religion est aussi synonyme de conflit, mais je pense qu'il y a un manque de compréhension ou un manque d'écoute. J'ai l'impression qu'en France, nous entendons parler des communautés religieuses beaucoup plus qu'aux Etats-Unis. Pourtant, les Juifs sont très importants et influants notamment à New-York. Mais de façon générale, comment ces communatutés sont-elles considérées?

J'ai associé ces termes ensemble car ce sont les deux enjeux majeurs de la question religieuse.

En effet, la religion poussée dans ses excès a souvent été une cause de conflits, c'est d'ailleurs toujours le cas de nos jours.

De plus la tolérance est indispensable pour éviter les conflits, discrimination, antisémitisme. Apprendre à comprendre et connaitre les différentes religions mène à la tolérance.

L'exercice d'association de mots ne se limitait pas aux synonymes et périphrases, ainsi je pense qu'un mot impliquant de tels enjeux pouvait etre associé à des termes aussi opposés que "tolérance" et "conflits".

Elodie

entièrement d'accord avec Elodie.

I think that one of the other reasons why we don't see the more violent aspects of religion is the fact that in our short history, the United States has never had any wars based on religion. While some people could argue that the war on terrorism is a war on Islam, this is untrue. Throughout the history of Europe and particularly France, there have been numerous religious conflicts, fought on European soil. The fact that the United States didn't exist during the Protestant Reformation, or the Crusades seems to have affected how we view religion.

In America, the relationship between politics and religion is a questionable one. Sometimes, politicians speak opinions based on their own personal religious beliefs, thus rendering their ideas disputable. For example, Alabama state senator Hank Erwin stated in an interview that he believed the devastation caused by hurricane Katrina to be a result of God's wrath. The proposal of such an idea resulted in immediate debate. Is the inclusion of controversial opinions of religion in such instances an issue in France? Where is the line drawn between politics and religion?

bonjour,

En France il y a bien longtemps que l'Etat et l'eglise sont séparés.Par l'Etat j'entends tout ce qui est politique .Elle est indépendante et séparée de l'Eglise.Il est rare que dans des discours politique, les politiciens parlent ou evoquent Dieu.

Quelle place prend la religion dans le systeme politique?

Generally, Americans like the idea of keeping religion seperate from the state. However, politicians let their personal views leek into their work. This can help them gain supporters, or lose them. For example, if someone was against the issue of abortion because of religious beliefs, they are more likely to gain support from those with a similar view.

Je ne connais pas Pat Robertson

Quelqu'un pourrait-il m'expliquer qui est cette personne?

Pat Robertson is a preacher that has show(s) on television. He is an evangelical christian. There is more elaboration on this in other posts on religion.

Je ne comprends pas pourquoi les Américains font sans cesse référence à la Bible. Je suis étonnée lorsque j'entends ce genre de propos chez George Bush et je ne parviens pas à imaginer notre président disant "que Dieu bénisse la France". Pourquoi la croyance en Dieu est-elle aussi forte? Peut-on vraiment croire que des catastrophes naturelles ou tout autre phénomène aient un rapport avec Dieu?

Dear Camille,

It's very interesting to me that you are surprised by this. I can tell you for sure that the vast majority of Americans do not believe that God causes natural disasters. There is definitely a stereotype of Americans as "Bible thumpers", but like any other stereotype, it is true in a few specific cases and generalizes the rest. Like people of any other nationality, Americans subscribe to various faiths, and some feel far more strongly about their religion than others.

However, America has a long history of ensuring religious freedom, and the country supposedly has one of the highest percentages of citizens in the world who consider themselves "religious". Therefore it makes sense that using religious terms in politics appeals to a lot of people. Although using religious terms in political speech can definitely be politically isolating, I would guess it is worth it to politicians like George W. who are looking for underlying commonalities in the American belief system to appeal to a wide audience.

This issue has actually become quite politicized - using religious words in political speech is a very sensitive issue for some people. For example, some Americans choose not to say the words "under God" when reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. So it's definitely not okay with everyone to throw around religious terms like "God". In my opinion, it just helps politicians appeal to a more massive audience.

Est-il fréquent que des programmes religieux soient diffusés à la tv?

Ces programmes apparaissent-ils sur les chaines privées ou publiques?

En ce qui concerne la religion, le dimanche matin il est possible de suivre la messe sur une chaine publique. Il existe aurement des chaines privées( sur le cable) catholiques telles que "Ktéo" ou encore musulmanes.

Elodie

Religious services are shown on the Catholic channel which is a fairly standard channel. that is the only channel that I know of that is religious in this way. There are also a number of television shows that have religious themes like Touched by and Angel, Seventh Heaven, and Joan of Arcadia. A person can tell they are religious but they refrain often from saying words like God and the Bible, probably to be able to appeal to a larger audience.

There are also religious talk shows and programs on the radio, and there is a christian radio station.

Coucou,

Quel est le pourcentage de musulmans aux USA? Quels sont les comportements à leur égard depuis le 11/9? Existe-t-il une forme de discrimation consciente ou non dans la vie quotidienne (emploi, logement...) depuis la catastrophe?

Que pensez- vous de l'idée "d'axe du Mal" transmise par G.W Bush dans ses discours?

Elodie

Dear Elodie,

The issue of prejudice towards Muslims since 9/11 and issues surrounding the protection of their civil rights are certainly still pertinent to those in the Muslim-American community.

As I recall, Muslims only make up about .5% of the American population. This means that Islam is not something most Americans actually see on a daily basis.

It becomes hard to fully understand a religion and way of life when people only experience it through news and media sources.

After 9/11 when the media publicized that the perpetrators of the attack were Muslim, people began to associate terms like “jihad”, “hatred” and “violence” with Islam, thus clearly making misinformed assumptions.

But while I know there is prejudice against Islam in America, and that some people use discriminatory practices (ie employment and housing discrimination like you mentioned) against Islam, I personally don’t feel it is stronger than that present in other Western countries. I would note that Madrid and London experienced a backlash against Islam (parallel to that in the United States following 9/11) after the terrorist attacks they experienced.

I think it’s also important to say that Americans are becoming far more accepting of Islam all the time. I’m sure that this is partly due to efforts to educate people on what about the Muslim faith is factual and what is merely a stereotype. But there will always be people who discriminate, no matter what culture you're in.

Lindsay

PS: about the "d'axe du Mal" (I think this means "axis of evil"), I don't think the idea is very relevant anymore, but I could be wrong.

Certainly there is discrimination against Muslims in America, and this has been going on since before September 11th. Terrorism didn't begin on September 11th and Islam has been associated with "jihad" and terrorism for decades. September 11th was a shock much larger than any other terrorist attack which made everyone in the country and around the world more aware of terrorism. This has led to greater discrimination against Muslims, even those who are Americans, who are held at Guantanomo Bay without going on trial before a jury. Also, I believe "the axis of evil" is an idiotic term because in politics I don't believe there is good or evil and it implies the moral superiority of the U.S. It reminds me of similar phrases used by religious extremists against the U.S. such as "infidels"

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by GOD TV. Do you just mean religious television?

Here in the US, for most of the country, religion has made its way into most parts of society, from politics to schools (some schools have controversy over teaching evolution because it contradicts Adam and Eve). For the most part, what role does religion play in France? Truly how separated are "church and state". What about in school? I seem to remember a controversy about wearing shawls to school. Is this typical?

En France, la séparation de l'Eglise et de l'Etat est quelquechose de très important. La liberté de culte est respectée mais la religion ne doit pas intervenir à l'école. Il est par exemple interdit de porter des signes religieux ostentatoires (par exemple, nous avons le droit de porter une croix latine ou tout autre signe religieux, mais il faut que celui-ci soit très discret).

Il est également vrai qu'il y a eu une controverse sur le port du voile qui est donc normalement interdit puisque c'est considéré comme un signe religieux.

Pourtant, la religion a toujours un rôle en France, mais j'ai l'impression qu'on n'entend plus par religion ce qu'on entendait il y a 20 ans. Aujourd'hui, beaucoup de personnes l'associent à l'extrémisme.