America's Faith Community : American Culture

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Thomas Jefferson wrote those words to express the emotions of a nation that desired freedom, and to shake the foundation of the British Empire. However, this simple, but eloquent phrase has sparked one of the greatest debates in American history. Is America a Christian nation? One question has divided the nation and its politicians since the founding and forming of America. This fiery debate has sparked more controversy than any other debate in modern politics.

Religion is an essential and complex facet of the American psyche. The “Americanisation” of religion - a by-product of the first amendment is demonstrative of the role it plays in national identification. Transcendentalism, cults and Christian Zionism have all been a result of the “Americanisation” of faith. Neither the first or fourteenth amendment were in place at the time of independence and as such their evolution is inevitable. The first and fourteenth amendments essentially protect the establishment of any religion as well as protecting the freedom to exercise this religion, whilst creating a distinctly separate Church and State. Laws regarding religions are difficult to pass as courts are expected to behave with “benevolent neutrality” towards any cases regarding religion.

This plan takes into account the health and safety of the students of our university campus community.

and fund a religion. The original settlers in America were looking for religious freedom, in particular they were trying to get away from the state sponsored religion being practiced in England at the time. The Anglican church was the “church of England” and bishops were appointed by the King of England (Heyrman 2017). If you didn’t belong to the official religion of the country, you were an outcast. A lot of these outcast were the people who originally settled the United States, they wanted to get away from state sponsored religion. However, once in America they started the same system of government supporting a favored religion. Instead of one national religion, individual states supported different churches. According to Shmoop (2017): “Congregationalism

The United States has a history of being tremendously diverse in religions and cultures from all over the world. Although our nation is immensely diverse, one in four Americans are Roman Catholic today (Chase, 1-23-15). With such a large population, Roman Catholics have had multiple changes and barriers to their religious faith. Many Catholics can trace back to the point in time when their ancestors arrived in the United States and what specific events altered their religious experiences. Although most immigrants arrived to the United States during the 19th century, Catholic immigration occurred many years before the European movement My mother and father both grew up in the Roman Catholic faith with their ancestors migrating to the United States in the 1850s. Although their families came to the US at the same time, they had some different social and political experiences growing up.

Religious extremism may be the kind of terror threat most familiar to contemporary Americans, considering the religious extremism that fuels groups like al-Qaeda and its affiliates. However, while these groups are based outside of the United States and often coordinate across borders, there are domestic religious groups that have developed within the United States. In addition to any "homegrown" terrorists who may identify

Initially, America did not have a Christian foundation in the sense of creating a theocracy. However, it was shaped by Christian moral truths, and the forefathers created a hospitable environment that supported this religion. The relationship linking the state and religion grew strong as most of the people in the nation became Christians. This research paper outlines how Christianity came to be one of the major religions in the United States of America.

Religion and the United States have an interesting relation over the history of the United States. Religious conservatives portray the United States as being God’s chosen nation and that religion influences every facet and procedure of the United States. Liberals try to contend that the United States is a bastion of secularization and that the founders were not particularly religious. David Sehat in his book, The Myth of American Religious Freedom, shows that religion has played a significant role in the United States, but that interaction is not always good in terms of individual actions and actually put the individuals of losing life, property and limb. Overall, Sehat’s books detail the moral establishment that was created around the time of the American Revolution and the various methods that were used in order for them to maintain their power. The book also details the way that religious and secular dissenters tried to push back against the moral establishment.

The next piece of Hawthorne’s works that is important to analyze to understand his feelings toward Christianity in America is the story called The Minister’s Black Veil. This work is interesting to study Hawthorne’s thoughts on Christianity because it focuses on both negative and positive aspects of Christianity in America. In this piece a parson in a Puritan community suspiciously emerges from his home one morning adorning a black veil. The community is both curious and frightened by the dark piece of clothing seen on the preacher’s head. Hawthorne writes that the Parson Hooper was a good preacher but with the adornment of the veil, his audience became overwhelmed by the words he was preaching. Hawthorne states, “But there was something,

Christian living in America is dwindling because biblical principles and values are no longer regarded. Surprisingly to many, Christian values in America were held to the highest standard; no one even considered straying away from the Bible. Unfortunately now, Americans are ignoring Biblical principles and values and engaging in a life of drugs, alcohol, murder, and gender misconceptions. As a result, Christian living in America is almost non existent. However, some Americans would argue that Christian living in America is not dwindling because choosing gender, the right to abortion, and the free will to use harmful substances are all things that are grey areas in the Bible and as such, can be interpretation any way an individual sees fit.

The United States of America is known for having a history consisting of intolerance towards ideals and opinions. However, America is showing a turn towards liberalism. America has shown a turn in religion, immigration, and race.

In the recent past terrorism has been the greatest challenge to many countries in the world. To be precise religious terrorism has taken its route. Such heinous acts are spearheaded through violent motives. This motive renders the whole nation into a somber mood. It is as a result of tragedies caused by heinous acts of terror. For instance, the USA was subjected to such a mourning scenario. It was that moment when the shooting in Unitarian Universalists Church was under way. It was flabbergasting because American citizens least expected it at that time. Such heinous acts experienced by the United States left families deprived and children orphaned. It was a big blow to the nation’s security.

The South has been experiencing a lot of religious diversity. Specifically in Tennessee, there has been a lot of religious diversity. There have been protests to prayers before football games and bans high school banners with Bible verses on them. Religion experts say that the South is just now catching up to the religious diversity that the rest of the world has been experiencing. The amount of Muslim families has increased a significant amount in the past 46 years. There are many other religions in different parts of the world that people have inherited from family members and continued on with religious family traditions and passing it on from generation to generation.

There are a number of religious practices have been around for thousands of years, that are now facing criticism for some out dated or dangerous practices. These groups feel it is important to keep traditions alive, which is justifiable. The government has no right to tell anyone how he or she is allowed to practice the religion that an individual chooses to be a part of. The first amendment even guarantees that the government will never restrict a person’s religious freedoms. If a man or woman feels closer to God by holding a rattle snake, why stop him? This is the land of the free, and any citizen should be allowed to practice their preferred religion, in the fashion is has always been done in. However, when someone religious believes starts hurting that person or other, then the government should take action to put an end to these traditions

“American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us,” by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, and “America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity,” by Robert Wuthnow, give different thoughts to religion and politics in the United States. Putnam and Campbell utilize the concepts of shocks and aftershocks to highlight religious changes in the United States. On the other hand, Wuthnow uses observations to focus on the encounters of religious diversity in the United States. Wuthnow compares American Christianity with other popular religions in America and how Christianity has affected the perception of religion. Putnam and Campbell’s “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us” is a more persuasive assessment of American religion and politics.