The Role of Religion in the United States and Egypt - Essay Example

Comparative Culture The Role of Religion in the United s and Egypt Martin Sharkey Western International Comparative Culture The Role of Religion in the United States and Egypt Religion is one of the major determinants of culture. Huntington (1993, 1996, cited in Chapter 9) has divided the world into cultural zones, based on religious beliefs; these zones have distinctive cultural differences that are the justification for such a division. In this paper I will discuss the role of religion in two different world cultures – USA and Egypt. Religious Unanimity and Diversity During the 19th Century the United States were dominated by Protestant conservatives (Chapter 9). By the 20th Century, as the USA became an international power, its cultural and religious identity became more complex, mostly because of the streams of immigrants into the country. This introduced a variety of religious movements to make the US culture a diverse mixture of faiths and traditions. Conversely, Egypt today is predominantly one-religion country. According to a census in 1986 94 percent of Egyptians are Sunni Muslims. The largest religious minority is Coptic Orthodox Christians; some estimates suggest that Christians amount to 10 percent of the population (MS Encarta, 2003). The Egyptian religion is strongly influenced by Christianity, since Egypt was predominantly Christian before the Arab invasion in 641 (MS Encarta, 2003). Although united by language and belief, the modern day Egyptians not a homogenous society and comprise of Bedouin Arabs, nomadic tribal people, and Nubians (Arabnet, 2006). Worldview The major difference between Egypt and USA is the perception of the spiritual and real-life worlds. The worldview in Egypt is influenced by the Islam (Chapter 10). Whereas the Arab world makes no distinction between religion and real life, in America faith is separated from everyday life, despite the high percentage of religious population (Chapter 9). Human Nature and Work US puritan ancestors believed that men were born evil but had the potential to be good, through self-control and self-motivation. The Protestant religion teaches that self-discipline and hard work contribute to the "goodliness” of individuals (Chapter 9), which is reflected in the beliefs about human nature, and in the attitude towards work. Similarly, the Islamic belief proclaims hard work as a cherished virtue (Chapter 10). Muslims believe that people are born good and develop into positive directions (Chapter 10). Time The Americans view time as a key resource (Chapter 9). Their present efforts and resources are oriented to the future. Unlike the US, time has different dimensions in Egypt; it is not a linear adherence to schedules and deadlines, but rather an abstract mixture of people and transactions (Chapter 10). Social Relations The equality in the United States is proclaimed by Constitution, while the Islamic guiding document proclaiming equality is the Koran (MS Encarta, 2003). Still, status and financial power in both cultures are the sources of social inequality. The United States places strong emphasis on status-defining factors like money, and power (Chapter 9). Similarly, the Egyptian society comprises of the ruling minority of Afrangi, high government officials and academicians, and the ruled majority of natives, Baladi (Tehuti Research Foundation, 2003). The individualistic American society is much different from the group-oriented Islam, where family traditions are highly cherished (Chapter 10). Spiritual and civil equality are proclaimed by Islam, and according to Muslims women are equal to men (Egypt Magic, n.d.) in that they have the same right to education, property, professional and public life. The American perception of inequality stems from the fact that equal rights do not mean identical rights. Religion and authorities As a Western Christian country, USA separate religion from the state (chapter 9); faith is a matter of personal choice. The lack of obligatory state religion and the diversity of faiths have added to the fact that today the country is the most religious nation among industrialized countries (Chapter 9). Similarly, Egypt also is trying to separate religion from authorities. Unlike other Islamic cultures, where church and state are united by the Koran (Chapter 10), in Egypt there is a constitutional ban on religious parties (MS Encarta, 2003). This division, however, has proven a challenging mission. Many Egyptians today support the Muslim Brotherhood and other illegal political movements; also Islamic Jihad militants are active in the Upper Egyptian provinces, aiming at establishing a government based on strict Islamic law (MS Encarta, 2003). Religious Tokens The usability of religious tokens is visible in the religious institutions, the holy books and the traditions. Analogous to the Christian church, the Muslim mosque is the most important place for public expression of religiosity (MS Encarta, 2003). The Bible is the holy book of the Christian world. Similarly, the Islamic faith has the Koran or Qur’an (MS Encarta, 2003). As much as these books serve the similar functions of representation of the ideology of the beliefs, they vastly differ in their usage today. Whereas the Bible is primarily a spiritual guide to Christians, the Koran does not separate religion from state (MS Encarta, 2003) and also discusses a range of societal aspect, such as the system of law, and everyday life (Chapter 10). USA today is a center of cultural and artistic diversity (MS Encarta, 2003); similarly Egypt is the cultural capital of the Arab world (Arabnet, 2006) taking advantage of modern technologies and western-type institutions like opera, theatres and museums. Religious discrimination Both the United States and Egypt have religious minorities. The US legal system proclaims equal treatment on the basis of ethnicity, age, sex, race or religion, still practical realization of this value has had variable success (Chapter 9). Similarly, in Egypt human rights organizations have claimed that the Egyptian government discriminates against Coptic Orthodox (the largest Christian minority). Although state policies deny the existence of discrimination (MS Encarta, 2003), there remains the question of granting rights to religious subgroups . Conclusion Very different in their religious practices today, both Christianity and Islam have similar grounds. Both Islam and Christianity trace their roots to the prophet Abraham (Egypt Magic, n.d.). Both religions worship one God, both religions commit to prayer, peace, compassion. Despite difference in geography and history, both countries have become influential centers of the world and by doing so they have the power to influence each other. Further internationalization of modern life and globalization of culture make acceptance and understanding easier for contrasting cultures and religions. References 1. Arabnet (2006) Egyptian culture Retrieved February 8 2006 from http://www.arab.net/egypt.htm 2. Egypt Magic [n.d.] Islam in a Nutshell Retrieved February 7 2006 from http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/islam.htm 3. Microsoft Encarta (2003) Egypt. People and Society. Microsoft Corporation 4. Microsoft Encarta (2003) USA Culture Microsoft Corporation 5. Tehuti Research Foundation (2003) Discover Ancient Egypt. Who are These Modern-day Egyptians? Last updated March 28 2003 Retrieved February 7 2006 from http://www.egypt-tehuti.org/articles/modern-egypt.html 6. Textbook, Chapter 9 7. Textbook, Chapter 10 Read More