Reaction to “Introduction to a New America”

Before reading Neusner’s introduction of his book I never realized how important religion is as a factor in America’s society. Neusner points out America started because of religion and that one cannot understand America without understanding the country’s diverse religious life (2). I feel this applies to my understanding of other people’s religious beliefs and experiences, because I will not fully be able to understand an individual until I understand all their beliefs including their religious beliefs. Furthermore, after I understand their beliefs is when I can truly understand who that person is. Also in in the introduction, Neusner writes “America Began Because of Religion: Religion played a fundamental role in America’s development by

More and more people are identifying as nonreligious, but the majority of America still aligns with some religion (1). It is theorized that switching of religion is to blame, in that many people that are raised in a religion are changing to become unaffiliated as they get older (1). While the nonreligious population is growing, “roughly seven-in-ten [Americans] continue to identify with some part of the Christian faith,” something that is lacking in the Brave New World society (1). Religion is a still a strong influence in modern day America, with the presence of God affecting our politics, our everyday conduct, even minute things such as the Pledge of Allegiance, with the line “one nation, under God.” However, as the nonreligious population is generally young, with a 20% decline of Christianity in Millenials who are now unaffiliated, it could come to change as the older generation begins to die (“Religion” 1). For now, though, regarding religion, we are not living in a brave new

In American Grace, Robert Putnam and David Campbell explore aspects that contribute to religion in the United States. They discuss relationships between religion and geography, ethnicity, gender, and politics all of which play a dual role of either uniting or dividing individuals. In Chapter 9, Putnam and Campbell explain the impact of immigration

The first section of the article is about church and state in the United States. While religion has been a catalyst for social change as it has been with racial justice, religion has also impeded the progress of the American democracy in that politicians remain heavily influenced by their religious backgrounds (Wienclaw, 2009). Therefore, the author describes a conflicted and ambiguous relationship between religion and politics in the United States. The United States professes to have a secular culture that sidelines religion, but in fact, it has been impossible to practically remove religion from politics. The author points out that religion and politics have been entwined in the United States throughout the history of the union.

The United States is an extremely diverse country representing a “melting pot” of different nationalities, cultures, and religions. Religion has played a crucial role in the development of the U.S. as religious freedom was the primary reason for many immigrants leaving their home countries and journeying to America. The religion that we adopt or are taught affects us on both a small scale in our daily lives and personal beliefs as well as on large scale as a society. While the influence of religion has affected us in a positive way it has also created many obstacles, including impeding the growth of society as a whole.

Being an atheist for the past three years in a Southern Baptist household in one of the most ideologically conservative states in the country has been incredibly difficult. My views are a complete 180 degree turn from the way that I was raised and the people that surround me. Possibly the largest issue that has arisen for me is the issue of church-state separation. Living in the state of the nationally infamous Ten Commandments monument, it has been hard to feel like an insider that is welcome. This is why it was refreshing to hear a like-minded individual, Dr. Charles Kimball, on many of the same issues that I struggle with in his book When Religion Become Lethal: The Explosive mix of Religion and Politics in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It was also relatable in that Dr. Kimball and I both grew up Baptist and lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For many of the issues facing church-state separation, his ideas clicked and

Church and religion in America have been a major impact on economic and social roles. In addition it has played a huge role in the makeup and creation of communities. Many people use church and religion to help them cope with death, loss, and difficulties in life. Three major religions in the United States have played a major role they are Protestants, Catholics, and Jews. But in recent years, although still religious, America has seen a decline in religious practices. In addition with politics playing a key role in the US we have seen people’s attitudes change. Republicans are probably just as religious as in years based but not as much with other political affiliations. American religion has also seen more of a tolerance or acceptance towards

The United States of America, a nation known for its democracy, liberty, and equality is a place where all can come that seek a better life while on the pursuit of happiness. All except those who classify themselves as Muslim, it seems. Throughout time, America has been thought to have a known disregard for those who practice the Islamic faith. The nineteenth century was the time in which America first established evangelical Christianity in the Middle East, arriving with the sole purpose of evangelizing the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire. Those who devotedly practice Islam were not as welcoming of the missionary "intruders." However, amid the following encounter inside and crosswise over societies an unexpected soul of toleration was

Religion in the United States; this chapter was written for a Dædalus conference on American

Since the conception of humanity, a plethora of controversy has arisen over the religious beliefs held by disparate individuals or groups, and whether their ideologies are accurate or not. In the United States, a region infamous for being home to many diverse cultures and religions, disputes regarding religion have emerged everywhere from court cases to schools. People are frequently compelled by religions because religious beliefs possess great leverage on the positions that individuals hold in other aspects of life, such as governmental issues and lifestyle choices. Among these contentious religions are Islam and Christianity,

Throughout its history, the United States has characteristically remained a country of two things: a country of immigrants, and a country of unmatched religious diversity. And yet when compared with the rest of the world – where these two very factors alone have so often engendered horrible religious wars and decades of enduring conflict – the history of religious conflict in the United States seems almost nonexistent.

Are new religions and religious practices swamping the old? According to Chaves, the general consensus in America is that religious participation and membership have decreased. As the General Social Survey and other studies show, contrary to popular belief, the rate has not decreased but it also has certainly not increased. The result, then, is that the rate has remained relatively consistent. In order to properly interpret the following data it is important to note that, in this type of study, it is difficult to obtain precise and accurate figures because it is not empirical data.

One of the traditional principles of the US is that it supports religious liberty and the separation of the Church and the state. In fact, the Founding Fathers regarded this as such high importance that it was incorporated into the Bill of Rights as the first Amendment of the US Constitution. However, at this time the overwhelming majority of Americans were Christians, and the Founding Fathers could not have predicted how religiously diverse the US would become. The 1965 Immigration and Naturalization act allowed people from all over the world to become American citizens (Guelzo, 1995, p. 27). Over the last thirty years migrants and refugees have reshaped the demography of the US. Previously, people from other faiths tentatively practiced their

In recent decades, however, public prominence of religious views has grown even as the nation's religious diversity has increased. In this context, maintaining a pluralistic democracy demands a corresponding advance in our citizens' capacity to understand religious differences, as well as the ability and willingness to engage across differences of belief for the sake of the common good. We are disturbed by surveys that reveal a citizenry inexperienced in engaging others on issues of religious and moral differences and moral debate. It is also worrisome that studies suggest that Americans are increasingly less tolerant of others’ religious views while being less likely to compromise when their religious views are at stake. That all this is happening at a time when an increasingly large segment of the American public is studying in institutions of higher education raises directly the question of the academy’s appropriate response to these

How religion is represented and interpreted in America is continuously evolving. The Apollo II moon landing brought about a renewed interpretation of more naturalistic religions such as Paganism in the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, at the same time, many areas of U.S. law began changing to no longer reflect religion but a more secular establishment as can be seen in Supreme Court Case Roe v. Wade (p.277!). In fact, it was once commonplace to have religious symbols, such as the ten commandments, in government facilities, but as the United States became more religiously diverse and accepting, the less lenient it’s become on violations of the establishment clause of the First Amendment.