speeches
"Politics and Religion in USA", Remarks By Chargé Patricia Butenis, American Studies Conference, Islamabad, Pakistan
04/26/2005
Thank you, Dr. Mohammed Islam, for that kind introduction. And thank you as well for your efforts and that of the Area Study Center of Quaid-i-Azam University for organizing the ninth annual American Studies Conference. The attendance of scholars from throughout South Asia underscores the importance and usefulness of this yearly forum, and, on behalf of the U.S. Government, I am pleased that we are sponsoring this conference once again this year. I am especially delighted that this year, we have more U.S. participation than ever. In fact, we have with us several U.S. Fulbright scholars currently resident in India, as well as the first Fulbright scholar in Pakistan in several years. We are very, very pleased to see you here.
Let me begin by recognizing some of the scholars with us today:
Dr. Marcia Hermansen, an American Fulbright scholar affiliated with the Islamic Research Institute here, and also from Loyola University, Chicago.
Dr. Frank Korom, Professor of Religious Studies, a Fulbright scholar based in India, from Boston University.
Dr. Ted G. Jelen, Department of Political Science, University of Nevada
Dr. Grace Clark, Executive Director of the US Education Foundation, Pakistan.
Dr Emdadul Haq, - Professor of Political Science, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Ms. Nirmali Wijegonnawardana, Lecturer, Department of History and International Relations, University of Colombo.
Dr. Latif Rehmani, Professor of Law, Kabul University
Mr. Sushil Panday, Political Science, University of Kathmandu,
Dr. Nandini Sahu, Professor of English, Orissa, India
Ms. Ishmeet Kaur, Lecturer of English, Chandigarh, India
Ms. Punam Sharma, Himachal Pradesh University, India.
And to all the Pakistani faculty teaching American Studies in the federal capital and all four provinces of Pakistan – a warm welcome.
I wanted to make a couple of short remarks before you start your important proceedings – first, with regard to the very interesting subject you have chosen as this year’s theme, and second, more generally, about a very exciting program we have launched to greatly increase the number of Pakistani students able to study in the United States.
Your topic this year is “Religion and Politics in the U.S.” This is a vast, fascinating, and complicated issue, and my hat is off to you to try to tackle it. Rather than saying something specific about religion and politics (you no doubt will understand that diplomats should never talk about politics!), I thought I would share a few reflections on the general subject of religion and the state as seen in the U.S.
The U.S. is a large and very diverse country. We pride ourselves on having a secular state. Yet, we probably are, as a people, more “religious” than virtually any other highly developed, high-income country in the world. We certainly have more weekly church-goers than most countries in Western Europe, for example.
And yet, we often repeat a mantra that, in the United States, there is a separation between church and state. But what exactly this means, and how it is interpreted, continues to cause debate and controversy well into the 3rd century of our country’s existence.
I thought it would be useful to go back to the Constitution – that amazing document written in 1789 – which is still our guiding light when it comes to interpreting law and public policy.
The words “religion” or “religious” appear only twice in the entire Constitution and its 27 amendments. The word “God,” by the way, does not appear at all.
Article Six of the Constitution itself stipulates that, although all federal and state officials shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation to support the Constitution, “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
The second reference is in the famous First Amendment, the first clause of what we call the Bill of Rights.
This First Amendment reads, and I quote:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
“Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion” is quite straightforward, and means that -- unlike the case in Great Britain – we have no state sanctioned or established religion in the US.
“Congress shall make no law…. prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” What does that mean? Like so much of our Constitution, the words are short and concise, but open to many interpretations.
The words are clear enough: no law shall prohibit an American’s right to the free exercise of his or her religious faith. But, at the same time, religion is considered to be a private and personal matter (“there shall be no established religion”) -- so, should there be any restraints on its public display or manifestation, and if so, what kind of restraints?
Here is just a small sampling of issues related to church and state that we have dealt with in the past – and continue to deal with:
The place of prayer in schools. Should the “free exercise” of religion be permitted in the public classroom?
The use of the taxpayers’ money to fund private religious or parochial schools, or the use of state funds to support students studying religion.
The matter of displaying religious symbols – like the Christmas crèche – in public places.
The use of the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance.
Just as you very recently debated the controversial issue of religious designation in Pakistani passports, so we, too, continue to debate and wrestle with the proper place for religion and religious symbols in public life.
As I said, you have some interesting work and debate cut out for you!
Let me close by reviewing briefly a very exciting new program that Ambassador Crocker, Education Minister Qazi, and Higher Education Commission Chairman Rahman recently unveiled.
We are very pleased to have joined forces with the Pakistani government to vastly expand the Fulbright scholarship program for Pakistanis. Together, we intend to provide up to $90 million dollars for Fulbright student scholarships over the next several years. As a result of this planned infusion of funds, the Fulbright program expects to award between 500 and 600 full scholarships to Pakistanis to pursue masters and doctoral degrees in the United States.
For our part, USAID intends to provide up to $75 million dollars – or $15 million each year over five years. Annual contributions are subject to approval by Congress, of course, but we are confident Congress will act as it did recently in permitting USAID’s 2005 contribution of $15 million. That contribution is funding Fulbright scholarships for 112 Pakistanis to pursue master’s degrees at U.S. universities beginning this fall.
Beginning in 2006, and working with the Higher Education Commission, some USAID funds matched by HEC contributions will be pooled to increase the number of Fulbright scholarships for doctoral programs, too.
The expansion of America’s flagship international educational exchanges program in Pakistan is an important – even historic – development. The USAID contribution will make the U.S. Government’s support for the Fulbright program in Pakistan the largest for any Fulbright degree program in the world, and the program itself one of the largest in the world, in a league with our Fulbright programs in Germany, Japan, and Brazil.
The expanded Fulbright program will enable hundreds of Pakistanis to study and acquire new skills and knowledge at universities across America. These students should then return to Pakistan to contribute to their country’s economic growth and development – and this is a very important and essential feature of this program. The USAID contribution, and our plan for similar contributions in the next four years, represents a major investment in Pakistan’s future. It’s also a great way to build mutual understanding and lasting personal and professional ties between Pakistanis and Americans. And this is where the U.S. will directly benefit from this program – by having Pakistani students not only study, but also live in the U.S., seeing first-hand our diverse culture, and making – we hope – lifelong friendships.
Please look at this program closely – it is a wonderful opportunity for students and for scholars. Pass the message broadly at your schools. We have copies of the application for you available throughout the time of the conference.
The program I just outlined is all about study in America. While only some of these students might actually do “American Studies,” no doubt all will learn enormously about our country, and have Americans learn more about Pakistan at the same time.
Thank you for your attention, and again, the U.S. government is pleased to be sponsoring this conference.