Religion and secrecy after September 11

Security concerns since September 11, 2001 have raised new issues concerning relations between religious communities and government. Many of these involve the perception that religions (especially, at the moment, Islam) may engage in secret, illicit activities beyond the view of others, including the state. The new security environment requires an examination of the related concepts of secrecy and privacy as they apply to religion, as well as the historical record of earlier periods when some American religions such as Catholicism and Mormonism were considered dangerous. Of particular significance has been the 2002 change in Department of justice guidelines that permits FBI surveillance of religious organizations, which, while presently impacting the Muslim community, presents potentially broad new problems in church-state interaction.