# Historical Perspectives ## expand\_more The peoples of America have long encountered religious difference—from the variety of Native tribal traditions which existed before colonization to the presence today of every major religious and ethical tradition of the world in the United States. [### First Encounters: Native Americans and Christians ](/first-encounters-native-americans-and-christians) Diverse Native American religions and cultures existed before and after the arrival of European colonialists. In the 16th to 17th centuries, Spanish conquistadores and French fur traders were generally more violent to Native Americans than were the... ![First Encounters: Native Americans and Christians](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/first_encounters_native_americans_and_christians.jpg?h=4a61ed50&itok=CAHxps0F) [### Establishment or Tolerance? ](/establishment-or-tolerance) Many American colonies were founded by dissenting or establishment English religious sects that sought to practice their own traditions freely but were, in some cases, less lenient toward other sects. Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, founded by Roger... ![Establishment or Tolerance?](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/establishment_or_tolerance.jpg?itok=1JuNXt_t) [### The "Free Exercise" of Religion ](/the-%22free-exercise%22-of-religion) In colonial and revolutionary Virginia, James Madison argued for the “free exercise” of religion and Thomas Jefferson opposed the “establishment” or government support of religion. Such measures were included in the U.S. Constitution, particularly in the... ![The "Free Exercise" of Religion](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/the_free_exercise_of_religion.jpg?h=1c31b8c6&itok=9eXDKDlt) [### African Religion in America ](/african-religion-in-america) Africans forced into slavery in America brought with them a diverse range of African polytheistic and Muslim religious traditions. These traditions were often syncretized with one another and with Christianity in America. The diverse American religious... ![African Religion in America](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/african_religion_in_america_copy.jpg?h=d3f134ec&itok=ALeFe2Lk) [### Alternative Altars ](/alternative-altars) Many new religions and religious sects were founded in America in the mid-19th century, including Transcendentalism, Spiritualism, Christian Science, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Scientology. Many of these new religions arose out... ![Alternative Altars](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/alternative_altars_copy.jpg?h=19cade0c&itok=lLZ0FEQ4) [### Catholic and Jewish Immigrants ](/catholic-and-jewish-immigrants) New immigration to the United States in the 19th century changed the American religious landscape and sparked nativist, anti-immigration responses. Irish immigration led to anti-Catholic sentiment, and Jewish immigration to antisemitism. Later, Italian... ![Catholic and Jewish Immigrants](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/catholic_and_jewish_immigrants_copy.jpg?h=1c4a4308&itok=Vlx3cOzG) [### Asians and Asian Exclusion ](/asians-and-asian-exclusion) Chinese and then Japanese immigration to California in the 19th century was met with much nativist racism, suspicion, and negative stereotyping. Asian wives and families were not allowed to immigrate with working men, leading to a large male population... ![Asians and Asian Exclusion](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/asians_and_asian_exclusion.jpg?h=1c31b8c6&itok=vTXfv7tV) [### Parliament of Religions, 1893 ](/parliament-of-religions-1893) The World’s Parliament of Religions convened in Chicago as part of the 1893 World's Fair. Its goal was to bring together world religious leaders on common ground. The event introduced many Americans to the world’s religions. However, some critiqued the... ![Parliament of Religions](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/parliament_of_religions.jpg?itok=tbGE9Ohu) [### God's Melting Pot ](/gods-melting-pot) The metaphor of the United States as a “melting pot” first gained prominence during the wave of European migration from the 1880s to 1910s. A simplistic assumption of the “melting pot” asserts that all American immigrants become the same, while a more... ![God's Melting Pot](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/gods_melting_pot.jpg?itok=fQN83nEy) [### The Right to Be Different ](/the-right-to-be-different) In the early 20th century, Horace Kallen argued that the image of the “melting pot” did not and should not epitomize the American immigrant experience. Instead, Kallen advocated for cultural pluralism, in which different groups could retain cultural... ![The Right to Be Different](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/the_right_to_be_different.jpg?itok=aphqZyGJ) [### Xenophobia: Closing the Door ](/xenophobia-closing-the-door) In the early 20th century, during rising waves of immigration, white nationalist groups gained ground in American culture and governance, resulting in the Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, which put low and strict national quotas on immigrants hoping to enter the... ![Xenophobia](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/xenophobia.jpg?itok=LPTPRrRN) [### A Three Religion Country? ](/a-three-religion-country%3F) In 1955, Will Herberg published Protestant, Catholic, Jew . He argued that America had become a “three religion country,” where religious commitments matter more than ethnic ones, and that, despite irreconcilable religious differences, Americans together... ![A Three Religion Country?](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/a_three_religion_country.jpg?h=2167caf1&itok=43zAYlA0) [### A New Multi-Religious America ](/a-new-multi-religious-america) The lightening of restrictions on immigration starting 1960s allowed for new waves of diverse immigration to America. As recent immigrant religious groups become more established in America they often build places of worship by either blending with... ![A New Multi-Religious America](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/a_new_multi-religious_america.jpg?itok=okyYw9eh)