AFRICAN STUDIES

African Studies

African Studies

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to enlighten the influence of diverse religions, leadership perspectives and movements on the African Americans. In addition, the paper also enlightens the history and contemporary status of how African Americans are regarded in society. American sociologists have found their own society to be a natural laboratory for the study of these issues. The United States has a wide variety of racial and ethnic groups, and some of these have been more successful in American society than others.

Questions 1

According to diverse sources, the catholic religion and several religious movements had a significant impact on the political direction and leadership dimensions of African American community in the history; moreover, the impact is still eminent in the current scenario. Some of the most heated debate over religion and politics has involved Roman Catholic politicians. The election of President John Kennedy (D, 1961-63) recalled some of the same issues, and Kennedy made a speech during his campaign vowing to govern independently of the church hierarchy. Kennedy was elected with nearly 80% of the Catholic vote (Reitan, 1999).

One issue that persistently haunts Catholic politicians is that of abortion. In early 2004, a small group of U.S. bishops announced that Kerry and other pro-choice Catholic politicians should not take communion, leading the church to create a task force to explore the issue. Some argue that it could hurt Kerry with Catholic voters, while others disagree, noting that despite their church's strong condemnation of abortion, Catholics have roughly the same views on the issue as the general public. Catholic voters have become an eagerly pursued constituency for presidential candidates, who see them as "swing voters" with no fixed political loyalties. Catholics make up 25% to 30% of the vote in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Ohio, which are considered to be swing states.

Question 2

Most observers agree that the Nation of Islam's place in U.S. society and culture has changed tremendously since it was first founded in the 1930s. Furthermore, many commentators predict that the organization will continue to undergo shifts in organization, leadership and political status in the future. Farrakhan, who has had health problems and was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991, cannot lead the organization forever (Haskins, 1999). As of now, analysts say, there is no clear successor to the high-profile leader. Some supporters worry that the Nation of Islam's power will wane once Farrakhan is no longer the group's leader; many others say that they are looking forward to the day when the organization is led by a less controversial figure.

The Nation of Islam, whose members are often referred to as Black Muslims, is the most prominent Black Nationalist organization in the U.S. The philosophy embraced by the Nation of Islam is rooted in the idea that in order to escape the racial disparities that exist in the U.S., blacks need to dissociate themselves from the rest of society. Black Muslims support the idea of a separate black nation within the ...