I believe that Bruce Lincoln’s true intentions in writing this book was to educate us from a stand point that was not really an important subject in our current political moment and that is through religion. Lincoln goes on to explain how religion is practiced through two approaches, one being the Maximalist and the other being Minimalist approach. In order for us to comprehend the meaning of religion through Lincoln’s point of view he identifies what he believes to be the main components into four different parts. Those parts consist of Discourse, Practice, Community, and Institution. Lincoln explains to us that differences in the extent to which the religious is imbricated with, or penetrates and controls other aspects of culture, often
The Civil War was a period of racial injustice and a time of great loss for the people of America. During Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, he creates a moral framework for peace and reconciliation with the use of many rhetorical strategies. With a sincere but reflective tone, Abraham Lincoln highlights the reality of the troubled nation and the solution to all of the problems, which is unity. Lincoln repeats strong phrases to enhance the theme, references to a holy figure, and creates simple, yet structured ideas to achieve his purpose of reuniting the broken nation.
Lincoln chooses to make certain religious allusions in his speech, in an attempt to unify the divided country around a common central concept: religion. Lincoln makes such references to religion to confirm others beliefs, and assure them that God stands with them, even in such a difficult time. To show sympathy towards African Americans, and to unify them with the others in the country, Lincoln states, “Both read the same bible, and both pray to the same God.”
A pathway of reconciliation and healing is what President Lincoln wishes for the country. Lincoln also personifies the nation as having “wounds” which the American people must now bind up in order to heal and save the nation from death. The phrase, “bind up” invokes the emotion of healing not only the personal wounds suffered by the American people because of the war, but also the wounds of the nation as a whole. After the nations wounds have been bound, then “lasting peace” will follow, as with the unity of the nation. President Lincoln also reminds the people of their similarities and focuses on their same religious belief and God by stating, “Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God”. In doing this Lincoln emphasizes the similarities of both the north and south in order to reunite them after the Civil War crisis.
What a fascinating read, thank you for sharing. In my opinion, this article tells us that Lincoln was a knowledgeable man not easily persuaded by others. Instead of acting a certain way because it was expected of him; he took the Bible’s teachings and personal beliefs to establish his moral code. It seems to me he highly respected God and The Bible, and didn’t necessarily agree with the church. People tend to believe their religion or way of life is better because that is all they know. I’m not saying everyone is like this, many research and enjoy learning about other religions and cultures. I assume Lincoln was that kind of ma; he didn’t seem quick to judge because someone was different, he strived to learn more about them in order to
The Civil War was a war between the South and the North. In the South they wanted slavery, and if they were in the North they did not. The conflict arose when the North wanted to abolish slavery, and the South wanted to continue. The Civil War was a 4 year battle, in the United States. The Union and the Confederate soldiers fought from 1861 to 1865 in the Civil War.
Oates, Stephen B. Abraham Lincoln the Man behind the Myths. New York: Harper & Row, 1984. Print.
Freedmen were in a confusing place between citizen and not; their future falling in the hands of federal and state legislature
During the Second Great Awakening religion was being back brought to life after it was dying down. During the Second Great Awakening, new religious influences were coming into action such as new type of communities, displayed in Document B. It’s purpose is to convince many people to join the community best suited for them in hopes that religion will be sparked up again.This shows the expansion of democratic ideals because, when allowed to revive religion they have the opportunity to go to their ideal religious society. This led to further development of transcendentalism which was the idea of being self reliant, also known as independence. The purpose of Document F is, to show the way people are suppose to live by to create ideal communities. This demonstrates the action of democratic ideal expanding because, it’s showing how everyone is allowed to expand their religious beliefs into their
The end of the battles of the Civil War introduced a period which was set to restore and reconstruct the United States of America. President Abraham Lincoln had plans to reconcile the nation in a peaceful manner. Lincoln’s goal was to reestablish the nation in a way that would not reproach either the north or south. In his second inaugural speech following the end of the Civil War, Lincoln’s statement “Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the other” (Abraham Lincoln, Blackboard, p. 269) points out the shared
Some have said that Abraham Lincoln's beliefs are a mystery. He himself has never proclaimed his beliefs but a lot can be determined by his actions and words. Through observation, there have been quite a lot of conclusions to his faith. Some conclusions are: skepticism, deism, Christianity, theism, fatalism, and even atheism. It's an on-going debate for the conclusion to his faith although we won't be able to ever prove exactly what his beliefs were since he never made a profession, there are many facts leading to his belief in a personal savior.
Lincoln used religion to convey his message of unity liberally throughout his address, which appealed to people of every social class, gender, and side of the war. He
Religion and spirituality reach into the depths of the human psyche and strongly influence a nation’s way of life.
Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in
The act of defining religion has been a contentious issue in a wide variety of situations, particularly in the United States. The US is a nation that prides itself on religious inclusivity and freedom. There are consequences to this belief and tenant. Through the social, legal and moral structures of the United States, defining religion has become imperative. In The Impossibility of Religious Freedom, Winifred Sullivan outlines the legal implications of defining religion in the United States. In order for religious freedom to be protected by the American state, religion must be clearly defined. As a result, religious theory must be used to maintain some semblance of religious freedom in the United States. Likewise, Josh Dubler’s Down in
Abraham Lincoln was born in a small town in Hodgenville, Kentucky in February 12th 1809. Brought up by his mother and father Thomas and Nancy Lincoln, Abraham was an aspiring young man with a thirst of knowledge, learning about everything he could. He grew up with a brother and a sister but sadly they both passed away. His sister Sarah at the age of 21, and his brother Thomas died 3 days after birth. He only had a short time with his mother as she died in 1818 from drinking bad milk, but when his father remarried Abraham and his mother formed a close bond between them and he loved his mother very much because of the way she encouraged him to learn. His father was not so supportive. His father always had him working on the farm and this upsetted