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The Washington National Cathedral, located in the capital.
Hsi Lai Temple (lit. Coming West Temple), a Buddhist monastery in Los Angeles, California.
Religion in the United States has a history of diversity, due in large part to the nation\'s multicultural demographic makeup.
Among "developed nations", the US is one of the most religious. According to a 2002 study by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, the US was the only developed nation in the survey where a majority of citizens reported that religion played a "very important" role in their lives, an attitude similar to that found in its neighbors in Latin America.U.S. Stands Alone in its Embrace of Religion. Pew Global Attitudes Project. Retrieved on 1 January, 2007.
Most U.S. citizens adhere to Christianity (78.5%). A 2001 survey found 15% of the population to have no religious affiliation, still significantly less than in other postindustrial countries such as Britain (44%) and Sweden (69%).Studies on Agnostics and Atheists in Selected Countries. Adherents.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-14. Judaism is the second most prominent religion, with estimates ranging from 2.8 million (or 1.4% of the population) to 4.3 million (or 2.5% of the population). Other minority religions include Islam (about 2.4 million, or 0.6% to 0.7%http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/muslim-americans.pdfPew Research Center: Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream), Buddhism (0.5% to 0.7%CNN - Survey: Americans switching faiths, dropping out), and Hinduism (0.4% ).
The U.S. religious marketplace is extremely volatile, with nearly half of American adults leaving the faith tradition of their upbringing to either switch allegiances or abandon religious affiliation altogether, a new survey found February 25 2008.Survey: Americans switching faiths, dropping out. cnn.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
Several of original 13 colonies were established by English settlers who wished to worship their own religion without discrimination: Pennsylvania was established by Quakers, Maryland by Roman Catholics and the Massachusetts Bay Colony by Puritans. The United States was one of the first countries in the world to enact a separation of church and state and freedom of religion. Modeling the provisions concerning religion within the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, the framers of the United States Constitution rejected any religious test for office, and the First Amendment specifically denied the central government any power to enact any law respecting either an establishment of religion, or prohibiting its free exercise. The framers were mainly influenced by Enlightenment ideals, but they also considered the pragmatic concerns of minority religious groups who did not want to be under the power or influence of a state religion that did not represent them.Marsden, George M. 1990. Religion and American Culture. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, pp.45-46. See:History of religion in the United States
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Crystal Cathedral, a megachurch in California.
The largest religion in the US is Christianity, practiced by nearly 78.5% of the total population. Roughly 52% are Protestants, 24.5% are Catholics, and 2% are Mormons (the name commonly used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). Christianity was introduced during the period of European colonization.
The French and Spanish brought Catholicism, while Northern European peoples introduced Protestantism. Among Protestants, adherents to Anglicanism, Baptism, Calvinism, Puritanism, Presbyterianism, Lutheranism, Quakerism, Amish and Moravian Church were the first to settle to the US spreading their faith in the new country.
Since then, American Christians developed in their own path. During the Great Awakenings interdenominational evangelicalism, Pentecostalism and Christian fundamentalism emerged, along with new Protestant denominations such as Adventism, and new branches of Restorationism, particularly Jehovah\'s Witnesses and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also commonly referred to as Mormonism. Today, with 16.6 million adherents (5.3% of the total population), Southern Baptist is the largest Protestant denomination.http://www.sbcec.net/bor/2007/2007SBCAnnual.pdf Evangelicals play an important part in contemporary life of US citizenshttp://www.uakron.edu/bliss/docs/Religious_Landscape_2004.pdf. Of the total population, Evangelicals comprise 26.3%, and Mainline Protestants 16%.http://www.uakron.edu/bliss/docs/Religious_Landscape_2004.pdf
Despite its status as the most widespread and influential religion of the US, Christianity is undergoing a continuous relative decline. While the absolute number of Christians rose from 1990 to 2001, the Christian percentage of the population dropped from 88.3% to 78.5%.
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Beth-El Temple in Birmingham, Alabama.
Judaism is the third-largest religious preference in the US. Jews have been present in the US since the 17th century, though large scale immigration didn\'t take place until the 19th century, much as a result of persecutions in parts of Eastern Europe. The CIA Fact Book estimates 1%"CIA Fact Book", CIA World Fact Book, 2002. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. of Americans belong to this group. Approximately 25% of this population lives in New York City.[citation needed].
A significant number of people identify themselves as American Jews on ethnic and cultural grounds, rather than religious ones. The 2001 ARIS study projected from its sample that there are about 5.3 million adults in the American Jewish population: 2.83 million adults (1.4% of the U.S. adult population) are estimated to be adherents of Judaism; 1.08 million are estimated to be adherents of no religion; and 1.36 million are estimated to be adherents of a religion other than Judaism. RELIGION AND IDENTITY: HISPANICS & JEWS. Retrieved on 2008-01-03.
According to the 2001 National Jewish Population Survey,2001 National Jewish Population Survey. 4.3 million American Jews have some sort of strong connection to the Jewish community, whether religious or cultural. Jewishness is generally considered an ethnic identity as well as a religious one[citation needed]. Among the 4.3 million American Jews described as "strongly connected" to Judaism, over 80% have some sort of active engagement with Judaism, ranging from attendance at daily prayer services on one end of the spectrum to as little as attending Passover Seders or lighting Hanukkah candles on the other. Of these 4.3 million strongly connected Jews, 46% belong to a synagogue. Among those who belong to a synagogue, 38% are members of Reform synagogues, 33% Conservative, 22% Orthodox, 2% Reconstructionist, and 5% other types. The survey also discovered that Jews in the Northeast and Midwest are generally more observant than Jews in the South or West. Reflecting a trend also observed among other religious groups, Jews in the Northwestern United States are typically the least observant.
In recent years, there has been a noticeable trend of secular American Jews, called baalei teshuva ("returners", see also Repentance in Judaism), returning to a more religious, in most cases, Orthodox, style of observance. It is uncertain how widespread or demographically important this movement is at present.
Tibetan Buddhist temple in Washington city.
Buddhism entered the US during the 19th century with the arrive of the first immigrants from Eastern Asia. The first Buddhist temple was established in San Francisco in 1853 by Chinese Americans.
During the late 19th century Buddhist missionaries from Japan came to the US. Simultaneously to these processes, US intellectuals started to take interest in Buddhism.
The first prominent US citizen to publicly convert to Buddhism was Henry Steel Olcott. An event that contributed to strengthen Buddhism in the US was the Parliament of the World\'s Religions in 1893, which was attended by many Buddhist delegates sent from China, Japan, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
The early 20th century was characterized by a continuation of the tendencies with roots in the 19th century. The second half, by contrast, saw the emergence of new approaches, and the move of Buddhism into the mainstream making itself a mass and social religious phenomenon.
Many foreign associations and teachers - such as Soka Gakkai and Tenzin Gyatso the 14th Dalai Lama (for Tibetan Buddhism) - started to organize missionary activities, while US converts established the first Western-based Buddhist institutions, temples and worship groups.
According to latest surveys there are 6 million Buddhists in nowadays US (roughly 2% of the population).http://vipassanafoundation.com/Buddhists.html Buddhists around the world
The history of Islam in the US starts in the early 16th century with the confirmed arrival of Muslim explorer and sailor Estevanico of Azamor"Reclaiming Our Heritage as Muslims And Americans", CI, 2004-09-24. Retrieved on 2007-12-30. and early Muslim visitorsQueen, Edward L., Stephen Prothero and Gardiner H. Shattuck Jr. 1996. The Encyclopedia of American Religious History. New York: Facts on File.. Once very small, the Muslim population has increased greatly in the last one hundred years. There is much controversy over recent estimates of the Muslim population in the US. Much of the growth has been driven by immigration.
Up to one-third of American Muslims are African Americans who have converted to Islam during the last seventy years, most of whom first joined the Nation of Islam, though many later transitioned into mainstream Sunnism. Conversion to Islam in prisons has also contributed to its growth over the years.http://judiciary.senate.gov/testimony.cfm?id=960&wit_id=2719
Research indicates that Muslims in the US are generally more assimilated and prosperous than Muslims in Europe.Zogby phone surveyhttp://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2006-09/Muslims2006-09-10-voa17.cfm?CFID=153038052&CFTOKEN=81586870 Voice of America Surveys also suggest, however, that they are less assimilated than other American subcultural and religious communities.Study suggests Muslims in America more mainstream than in Europe There are many Islamic political and charity organizations supporting this community. Some of these organizations have been accused of pursuing Islamist agendas.Stephen Schwartz on Muslim Students\' Association on National Review Online
Muslim immigration is rising as in 2005 alone more people from Islamic countries became legal permanent US residents than in any year in the previous two decades.Muslim immigration has bounced backMigration Information Source - The People Perceived as a Threat to Security: Arab Americans Since September 11 Number of Muslims in the US is controversial. The highest, generally-accepted estimate of Muslims (including children) in the United States is 2.8 million (1.0% of the total population http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/muslim-americans.pdfPew Research Center: Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream). For some time, media accepted estimates of 6 million to 10 million Muslims, but these estimates have no empirical basis.Muslim Statistics for the U.S. / Number of Muslims in America
Detail of Malibu Hindu Temple in California.
The first time Hinduism entered the US is not clearly identifiable. However, large groups of Hindus immigrated from India and other Asian countries since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. During the 1960s and 1970s Hinduism exercised fascination contributing to the development of New Age thought. During the same decades, in the US was founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a Vaishnavite Hindu reform organization.
In modern times, estimates for Hindus in the US suggest they\'re roughly 3 million (0.9% of the total population)Baptist Press - Hinduism influence on the rise - News with a Christian Perspective, of which 2 million of ethnic ancestry and 1 million Western converts.Rising Numbers, Shining Contributions - Hindu American Foundation [HAF]
Hindu religion is growing in the US, not only thanks to immigration but also due many Western converts. Hinduism is expanding in popularity and influence on the public life.Baptist Press - Hinduism influence on the rise - News with a Christian Perspective In 2004 the Hindu American Foundation - a national institution spreading the religion and protecting rights the Hindu community of US - was founded.
Hindu temples are flourishing in the US and recently, in July 2007, a Hindu service has been held to open a senate session.Hindu Prayer Will Open Senate Session in July - 06/26/2007 The event has been criticized and disruptedhttp://www.thedailyreel.com/spotlight/politics/archive/2007/07/13/christian-activists-disrupt-hindu-senate-invocation by many evangelical and fundamentalist Christians.
Recent census information indicated that "no religious identification" has had the greatest increase in population in absolute as well as in percentage terms. Figures are up from 14.3 million in 1990 to 29.4 million in 2001 moving from 8% of the total in 1990 to over 14% in 2001.Studies on Agnostics and Atheists in Selected Countries. Adherents.com. Retrieved on 2007-06-14. The United States is unique amongst other post-industrial countries in that it has a relatively low percentage of people claiming to have no religious beliefs but the fluidity of religion in the country is high, with a study by the Pew forum showing around half the population had abandoned the faith of their childhood.The competitive world of religion The negative results of organized religions resulting in the 2001 terrorist attacks and the emergence of Christian fundamentalist groups campaigning against scientific research, evolution and abortion rights have been cited as reasons for a growing number questioning mainstream religion and abandoning it altogether.European atheists now more vocal, Washington Post
Several other religions are represented in the United States, including traditional Native American spirituality, New Age spirituality, Sikhism, Jainism, Shintoism, Taoism, Caodaism, the Bahá\'í Faith, and Neopaganism.
No particular religion or religious tradition is hegemonic among Native Americans in the United States. Most self-identifying and federally recognized Native Americans claim adherence to some form of Christianity, some of these being cultural and religious syntheses unique to the particular tribe. Traditional Native American spiritual rites and ceremonies are maintained by many Americans of both Native and non-Native identity. These spiritualities may accompany adherence to another faith, or can represent a person\'s primary religious identity. While much Native American spiritualism exists in a tribal-cultural continuum, and as such cannot be easily separated from tribal identity itself, certain other more clearly-defined movements have arisen within "Trad" Native American practitioners, these being identifiable as "religions" in the clinical sense. The Midewiwin Lodge is a traditional medicine society inspired by the oral traditions and prophesies of the Ojibwa (Chippewa) and related tribes. Traditional practices include the burning of sacred herbs (tobacco, sweetgrass, sage, etc.), the sweatlodge, fasting (paramount in "vision quests"), singing and drumming, and the smoking of natural tobacco in a pipe. A practitioner of Native American spiritualities and religions may incorporate all, some or none of these into their personal or tribal rituals.
Another significant religious body among Native peoples is known as the Native American Church. It is a syncretistic church incorporating elements of native spiritual practice from a number of different tribes as well as symbolic elements from Christianity. Its main rite is the peyote ceremony. Prior to 1890, traditional religious beliefs included Wakan Tanka. In the American Southwest, especially New Mexico, a syncretism between the Catholicism brought by Spanish missionaries and the native religion is common; the religious drums, chants, and dances of the Pueblo people are regularly part of Masses at Santa Fe\'s Saint Francis Cathedral.A Brief History of the Native American Church by Jay Fikes. URL accessed on February 22, 2006. Native American-Catholic syncretism is also found elsewhere in the United States. (e.g., the National Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine in Fonda, New York and the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs in Auriesville, New York).
Native Americans are the only known ethnic group in the United States requiring a federal permit to practice their religion. The eagle feather law, (Title 50 Part 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations), stipulates that only individuals of certifiable Native American ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are legally authorized to obtain eagle feathers for religious or spiritual use. Native Americans and non-Native Americans frequently contest the value and validity of the eagle feather law, charging that the law is laden with discriminatory racial preferences and infringes on tribal sovereignty. The law does not allow Native Americans to give eagle feathers to non-Native Americans, a common modern and traditional practice. Many non-Native Americans have been adopted into Native American families, made tribal members and given eagle feathers.
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The neutrality of this section is disputed. Please see the discussion on the talk page. This section has been tagged since December 2007. |
The religious history of the US began before the former British colonies became the United States of America in 1776.
Some of the original European settlers were men and women of deep religious convictions, who came to America to practice their own religion without being obliged to conform to state religions. That the religious intensity of the original settlers would diminish to some extent over time was perhaps to be expected, but new waves of 18th century immigrants brought their own religious fervor across the Atlantic, and the nation\'s first major religious revival in the middle of the eighteenth century strengthened the influence of religion among Americans.
The result was that many of the people who rose in rebellion against Great Britain in 1776 cited reasons of a religious nature for their actions, and, according to Alexis de Tocqueville, Americans shared a conviction that religion was indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions.de Tocqueville, Alexis. Democracy in America, Vol. 1, Ch. 17. “The greatest part of British America was peopled by men who, after having shaken off the authority of the Pope, acknowledged no other religious supremacy: they brought with them into the New World a form of Christianity which I cannot better describe than by styling it a democratic and republican religion. This contributed powerfully to the establishment of a republic and a democracy in public affairs; and from the beginning, politics and religion contracted an alliance which has never been dissolved.
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The sects that exist in the United States are innumerable. They all differ in respect to the worship which is due to the Creator; but they all agree in respect to the duties which are due from man to man. Each sect adores the Deity in its own peculiar manner, but all sects preach the same moral law in the name of God. If it be of the highest importance to man, as an individual, that his religion should be true, it is not so to society. Society has no future life to hope for or to fear; and provided the citizens profess a religion, the peculiar tenets of that religion are of little importance to its interests. Moreover, all the sects of the United States are comprised within the great unity of Christianity, and Christian morality is everywhere the same.
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Christianity, therefore, reigns without obstacle, by universal consent...
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I do not know whether all Americans have a sincere faith in their religion--for who can search the human heart?--but I am certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions This opinion is not peculiar to a class of citizens or to a party, but it belongs to the whole nation and to every rank of society.”
The efforts of the founding fathers to find a proper role for their support of religion - and the degree to which religion can be supported by public officials without being inconsistent with the revolutionary imperative of freedom of religion for all citizens - is a question that is still debated in the country today.
The phrase "In God We Trust" first appeared on a U.S. coin on the 2-cent piece of 1864, and has been on all coins and paper bills since 1957. It was declared the national motto by Congress in 1956. The one dollar Federal Reserve Note of October 1957 was the first U.S. paper money with the motto. Deisher, Beth and William Gibbs, eds., Coin World Almanac, Sidney, Ohio: Amos Press, 2000. The U.S. Pledge of Allegiance was modified in 1954 to add the phrase "under God". Various polls have been conducted to determine Americans\' actual beliefs regarding God:
Gallup International indicates that 41%How many people go regularly to weekly religious services?. Religious Tolerance website. of American citizens report they regularly attend religious services, compared to 15% of French citizens, 10% of UK citizens,"\'One in 10\' attends church weekly", BBC News, 3 April 2007. Retrieved on 2007-08-01. and 25% of Israeli citizens.[citation needed]
However, these numbers are open to dispute. ReligiousTolerance.org states:
In, a 2006 online Harris Poll of 2,010 U.S. adults (18 and older) found that only 26% of those surveyed attended religious services "every week or more often," 9% went "once or twice a month" 21% went "a few times a year," 3% went "once a year," 22% went "less than once a year," and 18% never attend religious services. An identical survey by Harris in 2003 found that only 26% of those surveyed attended religious services "every week or more often," 11% went "once or twice a month" 19% went "a few times a year," 4% went "once a year," 16% went "less than once a year," and 25% never attend religious services.
The U.S. guarantees freedom of religion and many churches in the U.S. use this freedom by taking strong stances on political subjects.
Politicians frequently discuss their religion when campaigning, and many churches and religious figures are highly politically active. However, to keep their status as tax-exempt organizations they must not officially endorse a candidate. There are Christians in both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, but evangelical Christians tend to support the Republican Party whereas more secular voters support the Democratic Party.
Every President, with the exception of John F. Kennedy (a Roman Catholic), was raised in a family with affiliations with Protestant Christianity. However, many presidents have themselves had only a nominal affiliation with Protestant churches. Several early holders of the office were Deists, with at least four presidents being Unitarians, and several, such as Thomas Jefferson, having no formal affiliation.
Only three presidential candidates for major parties have been CatholicsHistory of Catholic presidential nominees. ReligiousTolerance.org. Retrieved on 1 January, 2007., all for the Democratic party:
There has never been a Jewish President or Vice-President. The only Jewish major party candidate for either of those offices was Joe Lieberman in the Gore-Lieberman campaign of 2000, during which Lieberman\'s Orthodox Judaic faith was not an issue. Some sources indicate that Jews constitute only 1.4% of the U.S. population, although others indicate that Jews comprise as much as 2.1% of the population (a significant decline from over 3% in the 1950s, chiefly due to the relatively low birthrate among Jewish Americans and high rates of out-marriage to non-Jews).
In the 2004 Presidential election, George W. Bush, a Methodist, earned a slim victory over John Kerry, with voters who cited "moral values" (a commonly used term among religiously-inclined voters) playing a crucial part in the election Exit poll - Decision 2004 - MSNBC.com.
In 2007, the first Hindu prayer was recited in the United States Senate by Hindu chaplain Rajan Zed. A Gallup Poll released in 2007Jeffrey M. Jones (2007-02-20). Some Americans Reluctant to Vote for Mormon, 72-Year-Old Presidential Candidates. Strong support for black, women, Catholic candidates. Gallup News Service. Retrieved on 2007-12-25. indicates that 53% of Americans would refuse to vote for an atheist as president, up from 48% in 1987 and 1999.
The table below represents selected data as reported to the United States Census Bureau. It only includes the voluntary self-reported membership of religious bodies with 60,000 or more. The definition of a church member is determined by each religious body. A growing sector of the population, currently 14%, does not identify itself as a member of any religion.([1] tables 67-69)
Plurality of religious preference by state, 2001. Data is unavailable for Alaska and Hawaii.
The United States government does not collect religious data in its census. The survey below, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2001, was a random digit-dialed telephone survey of 50,281 American residential households in the continental United States. The 1990 sample size was 113,723.
Adult respondents were asked the open-ended question, "What is your religion, if any?". Interviewers did not prompt or offer a suggested list of potential answers. The religion of the spouse or partner was also asked. If the initial answer was "Protestant" or "Christian" further questions were asked to probe which particular denomination. About one third of the sample was asked more detailed demographic questions.
Self-Described Religious Identification of U.S. Adult Population: 1990 and 2001 American Religious Identification Survey (HTML). Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
Kosmin, Mayer & Keysar (2001-12-19). American Identification Survey, 2001 (PDF). The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Retrieved on 2007-12-25.
All figures after adjusting for refusals to reply, which jumped from 2.3% in 1990 to 5.4% in 2001
| 1990 % adults | 2001 % adults | Change in % point | Numerical growth in % terms | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Christian | 88.4% | 81.1% | -7.3% | +5.3% |
| Catholic | 26.8% | 25.9% | -0.9% | +10.6% |
| Baptist | 19.8% | 17.2% | -2.6% | -0.4% |
| Methodist | 8.3% | 7.2% | -1.1% | -0.2% |
| Christian - no denomination reported | 4.7% | 7.2% | +2.5% | +75.3% |
| Lutheran | 5.3% | 4.9% | -0.4% | +5.2% |
| Presbyterian | 2.9% | 2.8% | -0.1% | +12.3% |
| Protestant - no denomination reported | 10.0% | 2.4% | -7.7% | -73.0% |
| Pentecostal/Charismatic | 1.9% | 2.2% | +0.4% | +38.1% |
| Episcopalian/Anglican | 1.8% | 1.8% | -- | +13.4% |
| Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints-(Mormon/Latter Day Saints) | 1.5% | 1.4% | -0.1% | +12.1% |
| Churches of Christ | 1.0% | 1.3% | +0.3% | +46.6% |
| Non-denominational | 0.1% | 1.3% | +1.2% | +1,176.4% |
| Congregational/United Church of Christ | 0.3% | 0.7% | +0.4% | +130.1% |
| Jehovah\'s Witnesses | 0.8% | 0.7% | -0.1% | -3.6% |
| Assemblies of God | 0.4% | 0.6% | +0.2% | +67.6% |
| Evangelical | 0.1% | 0.5% | +0.4% | +326.4% |
| Church of God | 0.3% | 0.5% | +0.2% | +77.8% |
| Seventh Day Adventist | 0.4% | 0.4% | -- | +8.4% |
| Eastern Orthodox | 0.3% | 0.3% | -- | +28.5% |
| Other Christian (less than 0.3% each) | 1.6% | 1.9% | +0.3% | +40.2% |
| Total non-Christian religions | 3.5% | 5.2% | +1.7% | +69.1% |
| Jewish | 1.8% | 1.4% | -0.4% | -8.1% |
| Muslim | 0.3% | 0.6% | +0.3% | +109.5% |
| Buddhist | 0.2% | 0.5% | +0.3% | +169.8% |
| Hindu | 0.1% | 0.4% | +0.3% | +237.4% |
| Unitarian Universalist | 0.3% | 0.3% | -- | +25.3% |
| Others (less than 0.07% each) | 0.6% | 0.7% | +0.1% | +25.4% |
| No Religion/Atheist/Agnostic | 8.4% | 15.0% | +6.6% | +105.7% |
Key findings:[3] (Not adjusted for increase in refusals to reply)
Other key findings:
| Life in the United States |
|---|
| Affluence • Arts and entertainment • Culture • Crime • Education • Educational attainment • Health care • Holidays • Household income • Homeownership • Human rights • Income inequality • Labor unions • Languages • Middle class • Passenger vehicle transport • Personal income • Political ideologies • Poverty • Racism • Religion • Social class • Social issues • Sports • Standard of living • Wealth |
 Major topics in the United States | |
|---|---|
| History | Timeline · Pre-Columbian · Colonial United States · Thirteen Colonies · Declaration of Independence · American Revolution · Westward Expansion · Civil War · Reconstruction · World War I · Great Depression · World War II · Korean War · Cold War · Vietnam War · Civil Rights · War on Terrorism · Foreign relations · Military · Demographic · Industrial · Postal |
| Government | Law (Constitution · Bill of Rights · Separation of powers) · Legislative branch (House · Senate) · Executive Branch (Cabinet · Federal agencies) · Judicial Branch (Supreme Court · Appeals) · Law enforcement (DoJ · FBI) · Intelligence (CIA · DIA · NSA) · Military (Army · Navy · Marines · Air Force · Coast Guard) · Flag |
| Politics | Political parties (Democrats · Republicans) · Elections (Electoral College) · Political ideology · Political scandals · Red states and blue states · Uncle Sam · Puerto Rican independence movement |
| Geography | Political divisions · Territory · States · Cities · |
