The Role of Religion in the USA and Iraq - Essay Example

As Corrigan et al. (2003) suggest, one of the founding principles of this Constitution is that there will be no official state religion. The first amendment to the Constitution clearly states "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof  ". Thus there is no official "American" religion, nor can the practice of any religion be banned. While more than 80% of the American population professes to be Christian, there are literally hundreds of religious practices freely in America (Corrigan, 2003).

While many Americans accept a religious belief as a guiding precept within their lives there is, in general, a great deal of tolerance regarding the practice of opposing beliefs. America was in part founded and populated by successive groups of people who were escaping religious persecution in their home countries, and thus tolerance is ingrained within even the most devout believers of one faith or another (Shea, 2003). In contrast, more than 95% of Iraqis are Muslim. This figure alone might suggest that religion could be used as a unifying force within a country that appears on the surface to be hopelessly fragmented.

Unfortunately, this is not the case. Iraq is divided between three different religious blocs: the Sunni, the Shia, and the Kurds. For many years the mutual antipathy between these three groups was kept essentially frozen by the dictatorial, brutal regime of Sadaam Hussein. This situation has changed with the American invasion of Iraq and the subsequent fragmentation of the country into rival factions, often based upon religion. Thus many Iraqis feel more allegiance to their religious group than they do to the country of Iraq.

They feel Sunni, Shia or Kurd in a deeper way than they identify themselves as Iraqi. The Sunni were in the minority but were privileged with this Hussein regime as he was a Sunni. The Sunni now find themselves virtually powerless (Algar, 2004). The Shia enjoy a majority position as far as numbers and have a number of charismatic religious leaders, but they are torn by internal strife. Thus many Iraqis essentially want a secular society based upon some version of Western democracy, while the more theocratic elements in all three of the major groups would like to see a theocracy built up.

In many ways religion in Iraq is presently being used, both intentionally and unintentionally, as a catalyst for violence. Al Qaeda deliberately uses its supposed fight for Muslim values against the West as a potent recruiting tool for new fighters. Both Sunni and Shia forces have killed one another in the name of defending their own particular brand of Islam. The Kurds seek independence at least partially based upon religious differences. To conclude, religion is an important aspect of life in both America and Iraq.

But because the one is a stable, powerful country and the other one a region essentially on the brink of civil war, the comparison ends there.