Prof. Juhem Navarro-Rivera, Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society & Culture, explains the increase in secularity among U.S. Latinos since 1990.
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Prof. Juhem Navarro-Rivera, Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society & Culture, explains the increase in secularity among U.S. Latinos since 1990.
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Demographics study of Defense Manpower Data Agency data compiled by Understanding Secularism’s partner organization the Military Association of Atheists & Freethinkers (MAAF).
To see slideshow visit MAAF
by Daniel G. Blackburn, Thomas S. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Biology at Trinity College, Hartford
In 1925, John Scopes was put on trial in Dayton, Tennessee, for mentioning the idea of evolution in a biology class that he taught at the local high school. The trial became a media circus, and gained national attention because of what it seemed to represent—a clash of science vs. fundamentalist religion, a conflict between local autonomy and national interests, and an intellectual battle between two great orators, Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan. John Scopes was found guilty and fined, but the verdict was overturned on a technicality— an anticlimactic outcome to the historic conflict.
by Barry A. Kosmin, Research Professor in the Public Policy & Law Program at Trinity College and Founding Director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture
The idea of separating the institutions of the state, government and public life from the direct involvement and influence of organized religion arose during the Enlightenment. It became a feasible proposition as a result of the two great revolutions of the 18th century. In fact the American and French revolutions produced two intellectual and constitutional traditions of secularism and the secular state – a “soft secularism” and a “hard secularism”. Canadians, of course, rejected both these revolutions and so historically they are heirs to the Lockean tradition of religious toleration rather than of secularism per se.
Public Opinion and Support for the Separation of Church and State in the U.S. and Europe
by Barry A. Kosmin, Founding Director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC) and Research Professor, Public Policy & Law Program at Trinity College & Ariela Keysar, Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC) and Associate Professor, Public Policy & Law Program at Trinity College
ARIS 2008 is the third in a landmark time series of large, nationally representative surveys that track changes in the religious loyalties of the U.S. adult population within the 48 contiguous states from 1990 to 2008. The 2001 and 2008 surveys are replicas of the 1990 survey, and are led by the same academic research team using an identical methodology of random-digit-dialed telephone interviews (RDD) and the same unprompted, open-ended key question “What is your religion, if any?” Interviewers did not prompt or ofer a suggested list of potential answers. Moreover, the self-description of respondents was not based on whether established religious bodies or institutions considered them to be members. To the contrary, the surveys sought to determine whether the respondents regarded themselves as adherents of a religious community. Te surveys tap subjective rather than objective standards of religious identification. Te value of this unique series of national surveys, which allows scientifc monitoring of change over time, has been recognized by the U.S. Bureau of the Census Te Bureau itself is constitutionally precluded from such an inquiry into religion, and so has incorporated NSRI/ARIS fndings into its officially publication the Statistical Abstract of the United States since 2003.
American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS 2008) Summary Report
By Barry A. Kosmin & Ariela Keysar, Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society & Culture with Ryan T. Cragun, University of Tampa & Juhem Navarro-Rivera, University of Connecticut
The aim of this report is to provide detailed evidence and reliable statistics on just who the Nones are, their sentiments, the process by which they have grown, and their place in contemporary American society. Data from 1990 is presented to highlight selected characteristics where change over time is particularly notable. We also try to predict the future trajectory of the Nones and so their likely impact on where society is headed.
by Juhem Navarro-Rivera, Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (Trinity College); Puerto Rican & Latino Studies Institute/Political Science (University of Connecticut), Barry A. Kosmin, Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (Trinity College) & Ariela Keysar Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (Trinity College)
The ARIS Latino Report is the third major report based on the findings of the American Religious Identification Survey, ARIS 2008, and the earlier surveys in the ARIS time series. In this report we focus on three aspects of U.S. Latino religious identification – growth, diversity and transformation. First, we investigate the current demography and profile of Latino religious identification and how they have changed since 1990. The comparison of the patterns of Latino religious identification in 1990 and 2008 is based on a unique data set covering two very large representative national samples. Secondly, we analyze the differences among different religious groups of Latinos, according to national identity and origin and acculturation variables such as language use. The answers to questions regarding language preference and national origin were asked in English or Spanish to a subsample of 959 Latino adults in 2008. Finally, we discuss the impact of the changes in Latino religion on American society at large and for the main religious groups to which Latinos belong.
US Latino Religious Identification 1990-2008: Growth, Diversity & Transformation
Juhem Navarro-Rivera is a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture, Trinity College, Hartford, CT and Adjunct Professor of Latino Studies and Political Science at the University of Connecticut
Barry A. Kosmin is Research Professor in the Public Policy & Law Program at Trinity College and Founding Director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture
Ariela Keysar is Associate Professor, Public Policy & Law Program at Trinity College and the Associate Director of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture
by Sofia Rodriguez Lopez, Research Fellow, History, Geography and Art History Department, Universidad de Almería (Spain)
In order to measure the presence of secularism in Spain we must, first of all, consider the influence and impact of religion, in this case the established Roman Catholic Church, on civil society and public institutions, particularly as they affect the status of women. Then we shall analyze this problem by looking at the historical development of public services such as education and public health, which are traditionally considered to be the domain of the Church, and how they have undergone a process of secularization. Finally, we will determine the current relationship between women and the Catholic faith in Spain at the individual and collective levels.
Secularization Versus the Weight of Catholic Tradition among Spanish Women
by Camille Froidevaux-Metterie, Maître de conférences en science politique (Associate Professor of Political Science) at Universite Paris II Pantheon-Assas
The “veils quarrel”—also known as the “scarf affair”—is a useful point of entry into the problem of laïcité in France today, not only because of its topicality, but also because the issue epitomizes the challenge to which the French State, in its secular form, is confronted. When approaching the problem of some young veiled girls in the public schools, our country must consider the five million Muslims who live in France, half of whom have obtained French citizenship. Despite the fact that the right to family reunification—given to immigrants in 1976—has recently been repealed, and also that President Nicolas Sarkozy wants the process to be restricted, we must keep in mind that its implementation has entailed the permanent settling of hundreds of thousands of families, whose children, whether born in France or not, do not want to go back to the country of origin of their parents. Contrary to what was expected—i.e., that the immigrants, who arrived in the 1950s to participate in the industrial boom would go back home once their work was finished—there is a strong trend towards permanent settlement.
The Ambiguous Position of French Muslim Women: Between Republican Integration and Religious Claims
by Boutheina Cheriet, Professor in Comparative Education and Research Methodology, University of Algiers;Former Deputy Minister in Charge of the Family & Women’s Affairs, Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria.
What is the best way to examine the problem of citizenship and gender in the emergence of civil society and its dialectical relationship with a monolithic state in Algeria? One way is to analyze the Algerian debates over personal status in order to capture the nature of the relationship that links the triad of state, civil society and citizenship. This allows us to investigate the ambivalence that characterizes the nature of the state and women’s access to citizenship.