American Evangelicals and Islam: Their Perspectives, Attitudes and Practices Towards Muslims in the US

In light of the increasing presence of Muslims in the US, this article elucidates the perspectives, attitudes and practices of American evangelicals towards Muslims in the US. The discussion is informed by data that were gathered through a qualitative study of 40 lay American evangelicals and four pastors, as well as through a focus group study of an evangelical outreach ministry among Muslims. Literature on religious diversity in the US forms the background within which the information drawn from the qualitative interviews and focus group study is discussed and analyzed. The respondents’ perspectives and attitudes towards Islam and Muslims in general are quite negative, as well as conflicted in that while the respondents claimed to be open to interacting and dialoguing with Muslims, their practices towards Muslims were often not so hospitable. This inhospitality was a result of a general fear of Islam and Muslims exhibited by the respondents.

Prison Outreach Ministry

“There is no rehabilitation in any jail…. Nearly one-third of the prisoners released each year in the United States return to prison within two years. It is a well established fact that true Christians almost never return to prison for any reason. This is a reality that makes all efforts to reach prisoners with the Gospel of Jesus Christ worth all the time and energy spent on it.”

The Right to Believe and Believing the Right Thing

During the summer of 1981 I had field training in an ‘outreach ministry’ of the United Church of Canada on an Ojibway Indian reserve in southern Manitoba. The Protestant churches first placed white ministers on the Swan Lake Reserve with the undeclared but clear intention to suppress the ‘paganism’ of traditional Ojibway spirituality. But the present policy of the United Church is to support the Band's recovery of self-determination in politics, culture, and religion. Some people in the United Church (and outside it) may worry that this non-proselytizing policy is a betrayal of our Christian duty to tell all the world that Jesus Christ is Lord. But quite the opposite is true. The silent witness given by the outreach minister in serving the needs of the Indians (as they see those needs) is one way to proclaim Christ's Lordship. Indeed it is the only way which is appropriate in our relations with a people whose exploitation has in the past proceeded under His name.

Evangelical Christians and Professional Counseling: A Conflict of Values?

The experiences and opinions of evangelical Christians concerning professional counseling for alleviating emotional dysfunction were investigated. Evangelical Christians have experienced emotional (psychological) disorder, to the extent that it noticeably impaired their functioning, at approximately the same incidence as the general population of the U.S.A. Most of those who sought help outside of family or friends first saw their pastor. Of those evangelical Christians who were dissatisfied with professional counseling services available in the community 89% expressed concern that their Christian faith would be misunderstood or unappreciated, perhaps even ridiculed. Other major dissatisfactions were the expense of counseling and skepticism about the efficacy of secular psychological theories. The research also revealed that evangelical churches may be ready to expand their hitherto limited involvement in providing (or supporting) professional counseling services as an outreach ministry of the church.