Native American Church

I have been up for an hour because I fell asleep so early tonight; eleven oclock PM. Yeah, that is actually considered very early for me. Well, because I am up, I figured that I should do my American Studies homework knowing its due later today. I was looking up articles that I could write about in this here blog of mine and I found one named, Native American Church. It talks mostly about a cult that has been turned into a religion. Do you know what peyote means? If you dont, click it. There is a small definition of it for you. I found out what it is just moments ago while reading the article. Knowing what peyote means is important towards understanding why the religion was banned in multiple states. Peyote is a small cactus ingested by the Native Americans to harmlessly bring the church members closer to God during ceremonies, social gatherings, marriages, and funerals. The Congress finally acknowledged that and made the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in order for the religion to use peyote. That was the result after several successful court cases arguing that peyote use is integral to the religious freedom of Native Americans. I chose this article to write about in my blog because for my research project, I wanted to learn more about other religions. This article taught me that the Native American Church share similarities between both Christianity and Indian rituals. These rituals weren't accepted by the Americans until 1918 although members were still practicing the religion behind closed doors. This interests me because I have never had to hide my religion through out my life. I have always been able to let people know the religion I am and be proud of it. I can't imagine those who believe and are faithful to something such as religion, without voicing their ideas.


This is my citation:
"Native American Church." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 29 Jan. 2010. .