Background:
This unit includes the topic of Christian hegemony. In this context, the term “Christian” includes Catholics, Protestants, and evangelical Christians (including Baptists and non-denominational Christians). As Adams and Joshi explain, Christian sects (such as Seventh-Day Adventists, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and Jehovah’s Witnesses) are not included in the group labeled “Christian” when we are thinking about Christian hegemony. These sects have been targets of hostility from other Christians and are still considered part of the subordinate group (not the dominant group). (Note that historically Catholics were a subordinate group in the U.S. but are currently included in the dominant group of Christians). Also, remember that “Catholics” are part of the Christian tradition, as noted in the second sentence of this paragraph.
The introduction to religious oppression by Adams and Joshi defines Christian hegemony as a society’s unacknowledged adherence to a dominant religious worldview that in the United States publicly affirms Christian observances, holy days, and sacred spaces at the expense of those who are not Christian and within a culture that normalizes Christian values as intrinsic to an explicitly American identity (p. 230). The above sentence is supplemented by two paragraphs on page 230 that explain this definition and provide examples to make the concept clear. Please review these two paragraphs carefully.
Discussion Question:
What evidence of Christian hegemony can you identify in your childhood experiences and in your “pre COVID-19” daily life as an adult?
In your response, be sure to mention any violations of the “establishment clause” of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that you may have observed in public schools or other government buildings. In your response, be sure to make specific and explicit connections to the module READINGS (not videos). Do NOT repeat the quotation that is in the background section of this assignment.
