Multiculturalism

11 Pages 2755 Words

then Eastern Europeans and Italians, and more recently Hispanics. Smaller numbers of Buddhists, Hindus, and followers of other religions have also arrived. In many American cities, houses of worship now include mosques and temples as well as churches and synagogues. Such religious pluralis!
m is an important source of American multiculturalism. The immigration and naturalizaton policies pursued by a country are a key to understanding its self conception as a nation. If the capacity of American society To absorb some 55 million immigrants over the course of a century and a half is impressive, it is also,true That American history has been punctuated by ugly episodes of nativism and xenophobia. With the possible exception of the British, it is dificullt to find an immigrant group that has not been subject to some degree of prejudice and discrimination. Not all Anglo-Americans were racists or xenophobes. Citing Christian and democratic ideals of universal brotherhood, many advocated the abolition of slavery and the rights of freedmen - freedom of...