(NAME-MCE) My Solution to the Problem

[Blumenfeld, Warren [C I]]

Dear Bill,
 
Since you asked about my solution to the problem of religous imposition, I suggest that we continue to ensure that we as a nation respect religion by keeping it within the private sphere, where everyone continues to have the freedom to worship or not as they see fit. But I would propose to keep religion out of the public/governmental spheres. Take it off of our currency, delete it from the pledge of allegiance, take it from our public and governmental celebrations and official functions like the presidential inauguration, congressional gatherings, judicial hearings; and keep it out of the commerical sphere--shopping malls, public street decorations, etc. The commercialization of religion not only cheapens religion, but it also imposes religion on others. 
 
Most of the religious hegemony evident in this country is Christian hegemony. The concept of "hegemony" (Gramsci, 1971) describes the ways in which the dominant group, in this case Christians in general and predominantly Protestants, successfully disseminate dominant social realities and social visions in a manner accepted as common sense, as "normal," as universal. The dominant group (in this instance, Christians) reiterates its values and practices while marginalizing and subordinating those who do not adhere to Christian faith traditions. 
 
Based on Peggy McIntosh's (1988) pioneering investigations of white and male privilege, we can, by analogy, understand Christian privilege as constituting a seemingly invisible, unearned, and largely unacknowledged array of benefits accorded to Christians, with which they often unconsciously walk through life as if effortlessly carrying a knapsack tossed over their shoulders. This system of benefits confers dominance on Christians while subordinating members of other faith communities as well as non-believers. These systemic inequities are pervasive throughout the society. They are encoded into the individual's consciousness and woven into the fabric of our social institutions, resulting in a stratified social order privileging dominant ("agent") groups while restricting and disempowering subordinate ("target") groups.
 
As there is a spectrum of Christian denominations and traditions, so too is there a hierarchy or continuum of Christian privilege based on 1) historical factors, 2) numbers of practitioners, and 3) degrees of social power. In this regard, in a United States context, though the gap in privilege between Christian denominations is apparently shrinking, white Protestant denominations may still have some greater degrees of Christian privilege, relative to some minority Christian denominations, for example, African American, Latino/a, and Asian churches, Eastern and Greek Orthodox, Amish, Mennonites, Quakers, Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, adherents to Christian Science, and to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and still in some quarters, to Catholics.
 
Religion and spirituality are private matters between individuals and families. Religion and religious practices should not be imposed upon those who do not as members of dominant groups may believe. We truly need to separate religion from government, and religion from the public square.
 
Best,
Warren Blumenfeld 
 
Date: Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:11:24 -0400
From: "Bill Howe" <bill at billhowe.org>
Subject: Re: (NAME-MCE) U.S. & Christian Privilege
To: "'NAME-MCE - National Association for Multicultural Education
        EmailDiscussion Group'" <name-mce at nameorg.org>
Message-ID: <4E24C406F7F843CEA4C229249A750557 at multicul6c1705>
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Warren:

What is your "solution" to this "problem"?




-----Original Message-----
From: name-mce-bounces at nameorg.org [mailto:name-mce-bounces at nameorg.org] On
Behalf Of Blumenfeld, Warren [C I]
Sent: Monday, April 13, 2009 12:28 PM
To: Blumenfeld, Warren [C I]; name-mce at nameorg.org
Subject: (NAME-MCE) U.S. & Christian Privilege



U.S. & Christian Privilege

by Warren J. Blumenfeld



As spring peers forth from the soil and tree limbs, the annual Easter egg
roll, sponsored by the President of the United States and the First Lady,
thrills elementary and pre-school age children each year, a tradition dating
back to 1879. Introduced by a beautiful rendition by Fergie of the Star
Spangled Banner, this year, Barack and Michelle Obama invited 35,000
children representing 42 states. Also, in school classrooms throughout the
country, students and their teachers dip hardboiled eggs into brightly
colored dyes, and display Easter eggs of pink, yellow, blue, green, red, and
lavender. An excitement wafts through the classroom as students imagine
sharing their treasures with parents or caregivers, as teachers reward the
good work of their charges with delicious gleaming chocolate bunnies.



Many people (most likely the majority) consider these events, played out in
Washington, DC and in some schools in the United States, as normal,
appropriate, and joyous seasonal activities. Upon critical reflection,
however, others experience them as some of the many examples of
institutional (governmental and educational) (re)enforcements of dominant
Christian standards and what is referred to as "Christian privilege," though
presented in presumably secularized forms. They represent some of the ways
in which the dominant group (in this instance, Christians) reiterates its
values and practices while marginalizing and subordinating those who do not
adhere to Christian faith traditions. I ask then, is this country one that
truly separates religion from government? If not, how do we make it so?



Warren J. Blumenfeld is co-editor of Investigating Christian Privilege and
Religious Oppression in the United States, 2009, Sense Publishers



Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld
Department of Curriculum & Instruction
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-3192
Office Phone: (515) 294-5931
Office Fax:     (515) 294-6206
Home Phone: (515) 232-8230