Tuesday's elections brought two historic firsts for religion in American politics: A Buddhist senator and a Hindu representative -- both from Hawaii -- will join Congress.This Huffington Post article tells us that the 2012 elections brought about two historic firsts for religion in American politics. For the first time in American history, a Buddhist senator and a Hindu representative were elected to Congress. Anju Bhargava, the founder of Hindu American Seva Charities, is quoted in the article as saying, “These are all signs of dharmic communities being accepted in the country.” Bhargava believes that the results of this year’s election evidence the American inclusion and acceptance of these faiths as well as the followers of these religions. Do you agree with Bhargava? Do you think that the election of these two women points to the acceptance and inclusion of dharmic communities?
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Buddhist politics in the US (Samantha's Guest Post)
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I think that the election of these two women does point to a change in American acceptance towards people of different religions. In decades past, I don't think that people with such different religious beliefs would have been elected to public office. However, the United States has been moving towards more and more religious acceptance, and discrimination towards people who are different is becoming more uncommon. I think that while this is a small and seemingly insignificant step towards acceptance of dharmic communities, it's something that shouldn't be overlooked when it comes to the country's acceptance of people of different religions.
ReplyDeleteI think the election of the Buddhist and Hindu in Hawaii is a definite sign that both of those religions are becoming more accepted in American society. As America becomes more diverse and less of a Christian Nation, people of different faiths are facing less discrimination and resistance. There was a time when electing a Catholic or a Mormon to Congress would be unthinkable, but today neither case would be unusual. Now that people have begun to understand and tolerate dharmic communities more, they are more comfortable electing a member of such a community to an elected office. I think this trend will continue in future elections as people learn more about these religions.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting to think that we as a society are coming such a long way in terms of religious tolerance, with the election of these two women. But I would like to point out that both of these women are from Hawaii. Not to sound skeptical but I think it would have been a bigger election win for religious acceptance if just one of these women, be it Hindu or Buddhist where from the “Bible Belt”. With the strong Christian views here in the South, the evidence of America becoming more religious tolerant would hold a lot more weight if say North Carolina or Alabama voted a Buddhist or Hindu women into the US Congress. I realize a change like this cannot happen overnight and this is just a start but it is good to the acceptance of dharma cultures in some communities.
ReplyDeleteI think the election of these two congresswomen does not show a change in America’s acceptance of other religions. I believe that since these women come from one state, Hawaii, which is isolated, it does not reflect the views of the rest of the United States. Hawaii has a lot of Asian-American residents which are more likely to practice one of these religions. It makes since to have these two congresswomen come from here because of this demographic makeup. I think that America will (in the future) come more open to Buddhism and Hinduism but as of now, these two are probably one of the least tolerated religions because it is just now becoming more popular.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a definite sign that religious acceptance is becoming more common in America. The election of a Buddhist and Hindu is a definite sign that we are progressing forward for tolerance of other group's beliefs. One of the commenters on the post made a remark saying that the Democratic party leads the way again for diversity, which has been given a lot of notice throughout America. I think once people begin with learn more about different beliefs, advancements will occur, and future trends will begin to take place.
ReplyDeleteGiancarlo Lookman
ReplyDeleteI slightly agree with the author. Obviously, if the people of there respective states had a real issue with their religion, they wouldn’t have been elected. However, those candidates more then likely did not campaign solely on there religious preference. Voters of those states most likely put the issue of the candidates’ personal religion on the back burner; that does not equate to a general acceptance of American culture of these religions. I would like to believe that American’s are open and understanding of different religions but there is no proof of that in those two elections; they are just two people out of 535 and that doesn’t show a general acceptance of anything. On the same leg, there were several African Americans that were GOP congressional candidates, but this doesn’t mean that there is a swing of African Americans voting Republican. Though their elections are exciting and historic, they are only 2 seats and as much as people want them to represent a change in American acceptance, it doesn’t actually prove anything.