And then there will be none

Krysten Sinema of Arizona announced this week that she will not seek re-election to the U.S. Senate.

Photo of Sen. Sinema

U.S. Sen. Krysten Sinema, I-Arizona

The move has stirred election year speculation about what this will mean for the balance of power in Washington, D.C. Sinema announced in late 2022 that she was quitting the Democratic party and would be more centrist as an independent senator unaffiliated with either major party.

Some of her votes displease people on both sides of the aisle, of course, and she has been referred to as “a party of one.”

Politics is not the only area where Sinema is unaffiliated. She is also religiously unaffiliated, someone who does not subscribe to a formal religion, a person some researchers categorize as a “none,” as in “none of the above.”

The Pew Research Center says 28% of the country is that way. So, it is unusual that only  one person in the U.S. Senate  claims no religious affiliation. Some just won’t say, but most declare one religion or another. Religion is not the issue as political pundits try to forecast what Arizona voters will do with her seat. However, the religious issue is noteworthy.

That the U.S. Senate will soon have zero people who claim no religious affiliation in a country where 28% of the citizens say that means something. In the U.S. House, Rep.  Jared Huffman, D-California, has identified himself as a humanist who is non-religious.

Chart shows religious makeup of 118th Congress

Religious makeup of 118th Congress does not reflect makeup of the country. Source: Pew Research Center

Also this week, the Michigan State University School of Journalism published the latest guide in its Bias Busters series: “100 Questions and Answers About the Religiously Unaffiliated: Nones, Agnostics, Atheists, Humanists, Freethinkers, Secularists and Skeptics.”The scarcity of nonreligious people in Congress seems to be in step with reports of discrimination against unaffiliated people.

In a January article published by Cambridge University Press’ “Politics and Religion,” Wayne State University professor Ewa Golebiowska wrote, “nonreligious candidates are generally disadvantaged compared to religious candidates.” She found that this is worse for people who describe themselves as atheists or nonbelievers than for secularists.

In some states, people are still required to take of belief in God to vote or hold office. These are not enforced, but remain on the books and are raised. They can make people feel unwelcome in a country that values freedom of religion. They might be looking for an ally in the Senate.

Nonreligious people report discrimination beyond the civic arena. People have reported rejection by family, community, in education and the workplace.

As a consequence, they try to hide their beliefs, avoiding awkward conversations and situations and, in some cases, faking religiousness.

Will this change? Frank Newport, writing for the Gallup News, thinks it is. He postulates that it may be “more culturally acceptable now to state publicly that one does not have a religious identity than it was decades ago.”

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Which is preferred, Black or African American?

Book cover for 100 Questions & Answers About African Americans
Either can be correct. Gallup polling since 1991 has shown that half to two-thirds of African American and Black respondents did not have a preference. Although the terms are not necessarily synonymous, it can come down to individual preferences about how people wish to identify themselves. Black and African American have replaced older terms such as Colored and Negro that were imposed by others. Self-identification might be influenced by a long history of colonialism, enslavement, imposed racial categories and cultural dispossession.

Why do some people prefer to identify as Black?
The reasons vary. Some people may identify as Black because they do not feel connected to the American state. Others may identify as Black because they do not identify with the African continent. There are various historical, social, and political reasons why one might identify as Black rather than African American. Also, the term Black has historically connected people of African descent around the world.

Why do some people prefer African American?
The term arose as an alternative to Black for its similarity to hyphenated names for other American groups. Some people may identify themselves as African-American to resist Black as a socially constructed category. Others, however, may identify as African-American to assert their American identity. There are a multitude of reasons one might identify as African American.

These answers and 97 others are in “100 Questions and Answers About African Americans,” a Bias Buster guide created in a journalism class at Michigan State University. We’ll share some more from that guide and “100 Questions and Answers About the Black Church” during Black History Month.

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2024 Black History Month’s sad irony

Book cover for 100 Questions & Answers About African Americans
In a disappointing three-way mixup of Civil Rights figures, Target has pulled its Black History Month book off the shelves.

The book scrambled identifications for images of Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois and Carter G. Woodson. Washington was an author and educator; Du Bois was a sociologist/historian; and Woodson, a historian and journalist, is known as the father of Black History Month. To be misidentified in a book created to mark his month …

U.S. history teacher Issa Tete bought the book for her students, and noticed the goof. She did not take it back; she took to TikTok. The rest, we’ll say, is history. The book came down and Woodson received more attention than he has had in years — for the very circumstances he was working against.

Here’s how the Bias Busters series of guides explains the reason for the month in “100 Questions and Answers About African Americans:”

What is Black History Month?
The idea had its origins in 1915. Carter G. Woodson, a Harvard PhD, and friends established the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The Journal of Negro History began a year later. In 1926, Woodson created Negro History Week to bring attention to history that was not in school curricula. Starting with Gerald R. Ford in 1976, U.S. presidents have annually recognized February as Black History Month. The United Kingdom and Canada observe it, as well. Some say Black history should be taught all year and that designating a month for it confines and diminishes Black history.

This answer and 99 others are in “100 Questions and Answers About African Americans,” a Bias Buster guide created in a journalism class at Michigan State University. We’ll share a couple more from that guide and “100 Questions and Answers About the Black Church” during Black History Month.

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Sikhs in U.S. vote on independent Khalistan

This might be flying under your news radar, but there are significant developments happening in the United State involving Sikh people.

Sikh Book cover

100 Questions and Answers About Sikhs

If you’ve missed it, it’s probably not negligence. While Sikhi is the fifth largest religion in the world with 25-30 million adherents, the faith represents a small minority in the United States. U.S. estimates are 300,000-500,000, about 1 percent of the global Sikh population.

NBC News reported last year that schools in 18 states and the District of Columbia are adding Sikh content. This is to address bullying of Sikh children, whose turbans, hair and names make them easy targets. Teaching can also elevate understanding of some major world  events that resonate here. And, Sikh leaders in the U.S. are making string cases for visibility.

Right now, in early 2024, U.S. Sikhs are voting on a non-binding global resolution to have an independent Sikh state created in Punjab, India. As of today, 127,000 U.S. Sikhs voted on the Khalistan issue. Interest is also strong in Canada, which has a larger Sikh population than the United States. If you thought politics were complicated in U.S. presidential election year, and they are, try to wrap your head around a transnational democratic election. That is worth notice.

Interest in Sikhs and Khalistan has been piqued over the past few months with reports by the Reuters and other news services about disclosures and denials of a plot to kill Sikh separatists in the United States and Canada.

If you’d like a quick catch-up on Sikhi, why its children are bullied and ther rich religious practices, here is a starting point: “100 Questions and Answers About Sikh Americans” on Amazon. This Bias Busters guide was written to concisely answer the basic questions that Sikh people say they wish people would ask. The guide will position you to catch up with Sikhs you might happen to know or on a story that is certain to grow.

 

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Yes, Amish people do shop at Walmart — at their peril

Amish horse and buggy

Amish horse and buggy. Picture licensed under Creative Commons 2.0

We are working to publish “100 Questions and Answers About Mennonites and the Amish” and were asked this question:

“Do the Amish go to stores like Walmart and eat at fast-food places?”

We saw proof this month that our answer is correct.

Police in southwest Michigan, near an Amish community, say that a family reported someone had boosted their horse and buggy — while they were shopping inside Walmart.

A woman was arrested, the horse was returned unharmed and there is your answer. Yes, the Amish to go to Walmart.

But we wonder: Will they be there to buy an alarm or a lock?

Get to know your neighbors with the growing Bias Buster series of cultural competence DEI guides. The Mennonites guide will get there.

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For religiously unaffiliated, numbers and acceptance are related

100 Questions and Answers About the Religiously Unaffiliated book cover

100 Questions and Answers About the Religiously Unaffiliated

The part of the U.S. population that does not belong to a formal religion has been growing — or is not. Researchers seem to be in a wait-and-see mode.

This group is the subject of a new Bias Busters guide to be published in early March.

A Pew Research Center update on the religiously unaffiliated this week ended with a question mark.

“In Pew Research Center’s 2023 polling,” the article said, “28 percent of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated, describing themselves as atheists, agnostics or simply ‘nothing in particular’ when asked about their religion.

“That’s marginally lower than our surveys indicated in 2022 and 2021, and identical to what we found in 2020 and 2019, which raises a question: After decades of sharp growth, has the rise of these religious ‘nones’ ended?

“At the risk of sounding wishy-washy, we think it’s too early to tell.”

Our Michigan State Bias Busters guide, which favors the term “religiously unaffiliated” to “nones,” reports that a Gallup researcher was also on the fence. Here’s a question and answer from the upcoming Bias Busters guide:

What explains the rapid growth of this group?
… “In 2022, Gallup senior scientist Frank Newport offered another explanation. He noted that Gallup’s percentages of religiously unaffiliated people had stabilized around 20 percent between 2017 and 2022.He hypothesized that the numbers reflect rising cultural acceptance of being nonreligious. This increased people’s comfort levels in telling this to researchers. He foresees growth in nonaffiliation.”

Growing or shrinking or more willing to admit what has been, for some, an unpopular choice, the religiously unaffiliated remain a significant group of the U.S. population.

Look for “100 Questions and Answers About the Religiously Unaffiliated” and 20 more Bias Busters guides to help you know your neighbors in our Amazon bookstore.

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Bharat or India: The difference

Bharat used on G20 summit invitation

The invitation to a dinner at the global G20 summit calling President Droupadi Murmu the chief of Bharat have people asking if this is official or if a formal name change is in the works and what that might mean.

Both names and Hindustan are used, although in different contexts, to refer to one country.

India is commonly used outside of India, but Bharat, from Sanskrit religious texts, is used by some within India. Hindustan is used less often, usually in artistic or cultural contexts. India comes from Indus, also Sanskrit, and the name f a major river. It was used to identify the entire region.

India is objectionable to some as another name in a long list of names imposed British rule. The British consolidated and colonized a diverse set of populations under the label. A change over to Bharat would signify pride in some traditional values. Some have called India a slave name. So there is that connection to a global trend to restore historic names. But Bharat does not resonate with all Indians.

There is an additional layer of meaning in India. There, Hindu nationalism is a movement to elevate and re-establish India as a predominantly Hindu nation. However, a fifth of the country, or about 280 million people, do not have an affinity for Hinduism and Sanskrit names like Bharat. This has been seen in protests and clashes that have taken a religious nature. India does not have an official state religion, but people there are much more invested in religious affiliation than people in most countries.

India, though dominated by Hinduism, also has the largest Muslim population in the world and is home to several major religions including Hinduisn. Others are Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. Hinduism has been shrinking in recent years and Islam is the fastest growing Indian religion.

Here is the breakdown from India’s 2011 census. The United States census, by contrast, is more concerned with ethnicity than religion.

India religious populations, 2011

Hinduism 79.8%
Islam. 14.2%
Christianity. 2.3%
Sikhism. 1.7%
Buddhism. 0.7%
Jainism 0.4%

Hosting the G20 meeting and recent high-profile actions such as claiming the top global spots population and economically and in recent space exploration have put the spotlight on India. We will have to see what it calls itself and whether a change is followed by legislative action or as a rallying point in next year’s Indian elections.

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Latinx, Latino, Latina, Hispanic: What’s the difference?

New Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders caused something of a new-year kerfuffle by banishing the use of “Latinx” by state government as one of her first acts in office.

So, why do we have the word and why did Sanders banish it? And how does Hispanic fit into this discussion?

It’s all very complicated.

Latinx is a derivation of the Spanish nouns Latino and Latina. As a language where all nouns are either male or female, their meaning is essentially the same. Latino is the shortened form of latinoamericano, or Latin American in English. The Census Bureau has wrestled for generations with how to enumerate people who are from either Latin or Central America.

Latino applies to people from those countries and is a geographic indicator, but what does that do for people in the Caribbean?

Hispanic is a language indicator, meaning people from Spanish-speaking countries. But that leaves out people from, for example, Brazil, a Portuguese speaking country, and Haiti. So, at large, neither term is good fit for everyone the terms are meant to include.

Latino is a misfit in a different way. It is Spanish, a language that uses gendered nouns, unlike English.

Because Latino is a name for people, and because the “o” makes the noun it male, Latina must be used for females. With a mixed group of females and males, the noun Latino was used. But that umbrella usage excludes women, just as calling all firefighters “firemen” would do in English.

A further issue is our recently raised consciousness about people whose identity is nonbinary or fluid. Neither Latino or Latina really fits them.

So Latinx came to mean all Latinas and Latinos, including people whose identity is not centered on one gender or whose gender identity changes.

And we are still left with Hispanic. It does not have the gender issues, but it is still a linguistic misfit.

So what should you do? Try to match your words to the people you are communicating about or with. There is not a clear demarcation on that, by the way. Neither Latino and Latina nor Hispanic holds a string majority. In s0me regions of the United States, there are regional preferences.

The lack of a community consensus is one reason Sanders said she is banishing Latinx. Others are its awkward fit with spoken Spanish and purists who see it as a corruption of the language.

And ask your subjects, especially if they are individuals, what they prefer. They might say “Cuban American,” “Chicana,” “Texano” or “Boricua.” That last one is not Spanish. It comes from the indigenous Taíno Indians and is from Borikén, their name for Puerto Rico.

Difficult yes, but with an additional question of two, we can come closer to choosing the best term.

Learn more in “100 Questions and Answers About Hispanics and Latinos,” available from Amazon.

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ADL details rising antisemitism in U.S.

Anti-Jewish tropes are gaining traction, especially among the young according to a comprehensive antisemitism survey released this week.

The Anti-Defamation League this week reported results from a survey of literature and survey of more than 4,000 adults.

Topline results:
Book cover for 100 Questions and Answers About American Jews* The highest level of belief in anti-Jewish stereotypes in decades

About 85% of those surveyed believe at least one anti-Jewish trope, compared to 61% in 2019. Furthermore, a larger proportion of people believe a higher number of those characterizations.

* Substantial Israel-focused antisemitism

The range of Americans who believe in Israel-oriented antisemitic positions runs from 40% who at least slightly believe that Israel treats Palestinians as Nazis treated Jews, to 18% percent who said they are uncomfortable being with people who support Israel.

* A significant overlap of trope-based and anti-Israel antisemitism
Many who said they believe anti-Jewish tropes also expressed negative attitudes toward Israel.

It appears that recent improvements in attitudes are rolling back. The report says “Young adults have more anti-Israel sentiment than older generations, and only marginally less belief in anti-Jewish tropes.”

The ADL will continue to report its findings through the year.

When the Bias Busters team created “100 Questions and Answers About American Jews,” we wondered if we were going out on a limb to include a “Myths and Stereotypes” section. We wanted to explain or debunk myths without perpetuating them. People thanked us.

Watch for future reports from the ADL or pick up a copy of “100 Questions and Answers About American Jews.”

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Sikh American women hear cheers and whispers

Monday was bittersweet for Sikh American women.

On Monday, Manpreet Monica Singh became the first Sikh American female judge in the United States. The Houston born judge was sworn in as a Harris County, Texas, judge. Her father immigrated to the United States in the early 1970s.

Sikh Book cover

100 Questions and Answers About Sikhs

The same day in Alabama, Harmeet Dhillon sent a mass email addressing questions about her Sikh faith raised in her bid to become Republican National Committee Chair. The Alabama GOP cast a vote of no confidence in chair Ronna McDaniel. Dhillon is the leading alternative, and she is Sikh.

Dhillon supporters say that a whisper campaign is challenging her ability to champion Judeo-Christian values. McDaniel is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Dhillon’s email said that “religious liberty to be so foundational that it is the very first item referenced in the very first amendment of our Bill of Rights.”

According to NBC News, Chris Horn, who finished third for Alabama secretary of state in 2022, said some party members had discussed Dhillon’s faith but that this was not driven by religious bigotry. He criticized her for not explaining more about Sikhism in Monday’s email.

Horn and others interested in knowing more bout Sikhi can find it in “100 Questions and Answers About Sikh Americans.”

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