Challenges of Religious Pluralism Essay

I sort of just expected the US to be a little bit more diverse in religion, but it turns out that it isn’t. I had this expectation because I assumed that if the US was a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, that it should also be a melting pot of various religions.

Hey Diana, I am writing this letter today with hopes to inform you about a religions course I am taking. I know you are a history guy so I thought it would be interesting to write about the religious history of America. The United States happens to be one of very few major nations in history to be founded and established on principles of separation of church and state. This book I am reading, “The Religious History of America”, by Edwin Gaustad and Leigh Schmidt, gives a great overview of the different strand of religious development in the United States. They are divided into four fundamental time periods: the Colonial times; the Revolutionary War to the Civil War; Post Civil War to

The issue of birth control remains one of the most controversial issues within the Catholic Church dividing members at all levels including the clergy. The Roman Catholic Church for the past 2000 years has been a major opponent of artificial birth control (BBC). Pope Paul VI made a clear declaration on the use of birth control when he wrote ‘the Encyclical Letter ‘Human Vitae’ on July 25, 1968 which banned Catholics from using contraceptives (Pope VI). These important declarations demonstrate the power of the Papacy to shape public policy on matters relating to human health and reproduction on a global level. The belief within the Catholic Church is that God have the sole power over the creation of life and humans have no role in this

Pluralism is the freedom of having many faiths accepted, while post pluralism is in a sense the new faiths that come about after time of taking in and observing other distinct religious practices and adding to one’s belief in order to shape something new and different. The author may feel that America has a oneness of religion because it seems as if even though there is no exact way everyone views and expresses religion it all still manages to come around to the same basic concept of looking up to a higher power and following a certain procedure or rituals to reach out to that higher power and express ones culture or religion. I personally have got in the routine of giving thanks every day, and in a way at times I do feel there is an oneness

When America was a established, the founding fathers did not want to establish an official religion like Britain did with Anglican. There was two reasons for this: one because there were so many religions and large communities in all of them that is was hard to pick one to represent the all of them, and two they did not want America to be like the old world where an establish religion will cause other religions to be prosecuted. Religious freedom has been protect since then by the first amendment so that on top of being free to say and think whatever you so choose, you are also free to practice and believe whichever religion you so choose. Religious freedom and the many immigrants that come to America creates the foundation for why there are so many religions in America.

The United States (U.S.) has always been the melting pot of the world, resulting in a diverse spiritual community. Christianity is still the predominant religion, but a recent survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life details the shifts taking place in the U.S. According to the study, 28 percent of American adults have left the faith of their upbringing for another religion, or no religion at all. The number of people that claim no affiliation with any particular faith is rising, and the number of people practicing non-Christian religions is increasing (Pew Forum 2010).

Historically, American history has been about the diaspora not so much the historical footprint and legacy. Wars have broken out and riots have been caused over that idea alone. That is what makes this country so unique; standing for diversity and intervention for the greater good time and time again. But one thing has persevered since the beginning of this great nation, and that is religion. America is a birthing ground for religion and has provided the safety needed to practice religion in such a way that is against the beliefs of most other countries. The birth of the nation offered religious tolerance, and colonies were created around their own idealistic religious beliefs. But with all good things comes a struggle to get there, and

America was a newly formed nation, independent from England’s rule in 1791. Having gone through a revolution, it has earned its independence and recognition around the world. We are a united and powerful nation, despite the small chance of achieving that goal. As Paine said in his passage, we are made up of “different nations, accustomed to different forms and habits of governments, speaking different languages and more different in their modes of worship” (Paine, 1). Travel is easily accessible everywhere, so people migrate from different parts of the world to America. We are exposed to new languages and unfamiliar cultural practices every day. America is a mixture of numerous races. Our diversity of religion and worship is broad due to Amendment

Australian is continually growing in religious diversity. But some people may not be as ‘free’ because of the disapproval that some people have of other religions. They may not feel comfortable to show their religious background and they aren’t being who they truly want to be. It would seem that religious diversity does advance Australia fair, but it produces complications and struggles in Australia aswell. Australia’s multiculturalism is reflected in our food and cultural practises.

Pluralism is more than the sharing of certain values or agreement on some social issues. Buddhists and Christians both agree that helping the poor is important, but such limited concord is not pluralism. Pluralism has to do with lending credence to competing truth claims and accepting diverse beliefs regarding God and salvation. Pluralism is more than the sharing of certain values or agreement on some social issues. Buddhists and Christians both agree that helping the poor is important, but such limited concord is not pluralism. Pluralism has to do with lending credence to competing truth claims and accepting diverse beliefs regarding God and salvation. Pluralism is more than the sharing of certain values or agreement on some social issues.

This week marks the forty-sixth anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae, a document which clarified the Church’s moral teaching on contraception. What is contraception? Contraception is, “any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation whether as an end or as a means” (Humanae Vitae 14). There are various methods of contraception that temporarily or permanently sterilize a couple, thus making it impossible to have children. Contraception destroys the union and love between couples. In this we find that contraception violates God’s plan of procreation. Contraceptives go against the gift of fertility by treating pregnancy as a disease. The issue of contraception has drawn worldwide attention with people divided on whether it is morally permissible to use any form of contraception. Society views contraception as a development in the modern world that helps in the regulation of birth. We find that many Catholics don’t understand this issue and the Church’s teaching on contraception has been misunderstood. The Church makes it clear through Humane Vitae that any use of contraception is morally wrong, for it violates the dignity of marriage and God’s plan of procreation. It is our understanding that marriage is a sacrament of love between two people, instituted by God, for the whole purpose of continuing his plan of creation. Marriage is the foundation of

As a student of religion, Dennis Covington takes a pluralist view. He is always asking questions about the snake handling. As he is talking with the brothers of the church or thinking during the services, he is comparing it to something he knows, another religion he knows. As he is accepted into the church, he is taking another view of the things that happen during the services; the different people that have been affected by this religion. He unknowingly uses the three step method in Religion. He Shuts Up and takes time to know who he is and where he is from. He brackets his biases when he realizes that he could come from a long line of Snake Handlers. That, I think, is what makes him feel like he belongs in the church. He Listens when he

In today's America, religious diversity of any major religious tradition has become one of the strongest challenges to understanding itself and where it fits in America today. Leading too two provoking interdependent questions. One: How does a religious tradition see itself in the light of others? And two, how does it see other religious tradition in the light of its own teachings? So far in the Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism) over the span of the course we have seen in many examples of them being often accused of a predominantly intolerant and exclusivist attitude to all the other religions out there. Contrary to the stigma, the eastern religions in particularly Buddhism, enjoy the reputation of being naturally tolerant,

Religion has played a large role throughout History. Entire nations have been founded on the ideals of one religion or another, and many wars have been fought purely for religious reasons. In fact there are wars still going on that are almost completely religiously motivated. New Religions may form, old religions may die or change, but they will always be a part of our culture and society. Religion always seems to play a large role in the formation of societies and cultures, and the history of the United States is no different from that of the rest of the world. Religion played a major role in the formation of the United States of America. More specifically between 1607 when

Fundamentalism and Religion For a vast majority, the term “fundamentalism” evokes images of hostage crises, embassies under siege, hijackings, and suicide bombers. But these images hardly present a comprehensive picture. People in the west associate fundamentalism with Islam, this is indeed a mistaken belief. Fundamentalism is defined as " the affirmation of religious authority as holistic and absolute, admitting of neither criticism nor reduction; it is expressed through the collective demand that specific creedal and ethical dictates derived from scripture be publicly recognized and legally enforced ." (Lawrence)