Religions in U.S.A. The Washington National Cathedral, located in the capital.

1. Religion and the U.S. Government Separation between church and state the Bill of Rights - no state religion, and complete freedom of belief and religious practice or non-belief The First Amendment : no national religion; no governmental assistance to religious groups; no interference with religious institutions or Practices. Churches and states are separated from each other

Believers of God The vast majority of Americans have always been believers in God Many official American ceremonies and documents make reference to God Sessions of Congress and state legislatures begin with prayers. The national motto (printed on U.S. currency) is, "In God We Trust."

Witness swearing over the Bible George W. Bush swearing in over the Bible

Most people are religious Christianity is the major American faith; almost 80 % of Americans now are Christian

Data updated According to the CIA,the following is the order of religious preferences in the United States: Christian: (78.5%) Protestant (51.3%) Roman Catholic (23.9%) Mormon (1.7%) other Christian (1.6%) unaffiliated (12.1%) none (4%) other or unspecified (2.5%) Jewish (1.7%) Buddhist (0.7%) Muslim (0.6%) CIA Fact Book. CIA World Fact Book (2002). Retrieved on

2. Protestants in the U. S. A. 90% of all the churches in the U.S. are Protestant. About two-thirds of the Protestants had their origins wholly or mainly in Britain: Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians (mainly from Scotland), (smaller ones) Unitarians, Society of Friends, and the Salvation Army.

The Protestant Church The Protestant Church is one of the three main divisions (the Catholic, the Eastern Orthodox, and the Protestant Churches) of Christianity The Protestant Episcopal Church- derived from the Church of England Baptists are one of the largest Protestant bodies

3. Catholics in the U. S. A. The largest single religious group is that of Roman Catholics More than one-quarter of all Americans are now of Roman Catholics faith. A survey in the early 1990s, Roman Catholics represent 26.2% of the U. S population Most of the early Catholics stayed near the East Coast, Anti-Catholic prejudice was strong before the 1960s

Catholics have their own institutions such as schools, hospitals and colleges to preserve their faith. But these institutions attract a large number non-Catholics by the discipline and education offered in these schools. Not easy to run for the costs in education and began to seek help, but the government cant help because of the Constitution Catholics (2)

4. Judaism and Jewish in the U. S. A. The third major religion in the United States is Judaism Nearly 6 million Americans are Jewish During the Sabbath, observed from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday, Orthodox Jews do not work, and they do not travel, except on foot.

Judaism Jewish tradition imposes certain dietary restrictions, prohibiting pork and certain seafood, forbidding milk products at meals with meat or poultry. Reform Judaism does not impose these restrictions. Jewish Giants: Karl Marx (founder of socialism and communism), Albert Einstein (one of the founders of the atomic age), and Sigmund Freud (founder of psychoanalysis)

Hsi Lai Temple (lit. Coming West Temple), a Buddhist monastery in Los Angeles, California.

5. American Character of Religion Religious freedom Value religions for different reasons The protestant work ethic

Tendency Are Americans religious?" Recent surveys suggest that 95% of Americans believe in God, and only 2% never pray Americans have never believed in waiting for God to do the job. In the American outlook, faith in God lives side by side with a strong belief in freewill and an admiration for self-reliance God helps those that help themselves

Thank You so much Paper Presented at Interfaith Youth Forum Palembang 2012 Gugun