How Religions Impact Americans Politically, Socially and Economically Essay - 1

How Religions Impact Americans Politically, Socially and Economically - Essay Example On the other hand, Hinduism is practiced by an estimated 400,000 people in the United States, corresponding to about 0.2% of the population. Buddhism is also a growing religion in the country with about 0.7% of the population into it (Kosmin, 2001). Furthermore, there are about 2.7 million Muslims in the United States, forming about 0.9% of the population which is increasingly growing as a result of more Muslim immigrants seeking residency in the country. Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism have developed mainly as a result of immigration of people from the Middle East and Asian countries such as India, China, and other countries in the East Asian region. Political influence is one of the most significant influences that religion has had on the United States. Many of the ideals that are held dear by the American society, such as liberty and democracy all have their roots in Christianity as practiced by the founding fathers and settlers of what would eventually become the United States (Feldman, 2005). The British North American colonies were mainly founded in the seventeenth century by escaping persecution in England. These individuals, many of who were fleeing religious persecution and sought freedom of worship, such as the Puritan settlers, developed communities which were meant to guarantee their religious freedoms and the result was that their systems of government were based on Christian values. The United States political scene, especially the presidency, has been dominated by Christians, who form approximately 70.6% of the American population (Kosmin, 2001). There are presidents, such as George Washington, John Adams and Georg e H.W. Bush, who have not only sought to enforce their ideals on the manner in which they run their administrations, but they also ensured that Christian ideals had an impact on their foreign policies. The Jewish vote in America tends to be united behind issues such as