Richard M. Gaustad: The Religious History Of America

"Everyone is aware of the difficult and menacing situation in which human society - shrunk into one community with a common fate - finds itself, but only a few acts accordingly. Most people go on living their everyday life: half frightened, half indifferent, they behold the ghostly tragicomedy this is being performed on the international stage before the eyes and ears of the world. But on that stage, on which the actors under the floodlights play their ordained parts, our fate of tomorrow, life or death of the nations, is being decided. It would be different if the problem were not one of things made by man himself, such as the atomic bomb and other means of mass destruction equally

Religion serves as a gatekeeper for most communities and for intercultural and interracial marriages and relationships. Religion help people define there social group identity and influences how individuals perceive

Religion, as one of the components of the social system, not only depends on the existence of the whole social system but also play an important role on the various components of the social system. Thus, people should be well versed in a group's religious affiliation, if they want to integrate into the society of this group.

Religion in the Public School Curriculum: Questions and Answers, which was issued by a coalition of 17 major religious and educational organizations,...describes the importance of religion in the curriculum through this statement: Because religion plays a significant role in history and society, study about religion is essential to understanding both the nation and the world. Omission of facts about religion can give the students the false impression that the religious life of humankind is insignificant or unimportant (Haynes, 2). Thus showing that religion was a vital part of the foundation of the United States. If we no

I found that the religious views throughout the early thirteen colonies were most appealing to me. During the 1770s, many Americans living in these colonies were either Protestant or of no religion at all. As years passed and more people started to move into the colonies, some of the colonies saw more religious views starting to grow. Two of the main religions introduced to the colonies were Judaism and Roman Catholic. Jewish synagogues were built and Roman Catholics started to form churches with priests, which helped people to learn more about these new and growing religions. John Calvin introduced Christianity in these churches, leading almost 80% of Americans to Christianity. There were many religions introduced all through the colonies,

In a forever evolving universe, it is not uncommon for human beings to experience apprehension when it comes to the idea of change. While some are passionately working towards the future, others are struggling to grasp onto the remnants of the past. New generations are being born and with every new generation comes an increasingly advanced perspective of the world. Traditional ideals and ways of life are continuously expanding and becoming something that may be unrecognizable to some and unheard of to others. With this being said, however, there is one thing that will never be completely new: the concept of religion.

Though people questioned why acts of war were committed, they found justification in rationalizing that it served the greater good. As time evolved, the world began to evolve in its thinking and view of the atomic bomb and war. In Hiroshima, John Hersey has a conversation with a survivor of the atomic bomb about the general nature of war. “She had firsthand knowledge of the cruelty of the atomic bomb, but she felt that more notice should be given to the causes than to the instruments of total war.” (Hersey, 122). In John Hersey’s book, many concepts are discussed. The most important concept for the reader to identify was how society viewed the use of the bomb. Many people, including survivors, have chosen to look past the bomb itself, into the deeper issues the bomb represents. The same should apply to us. Since WWII, we have set up many restrictions, protocols and preventions in the hope that we could spare our society from total nuclear war. The world has benefited in our perspective of the bomb because we learned, understand, and fear the use of atomic weapons.

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

Bellah, as a result, believed that America’s key resources for finding a common identity and unifying people is enable by the national spokesperson for the civil religion, the President. This civil religion finds expression in the President’s various addresses to the nation. In essence, Bellah claims the legendary wall between church and state has not precluded the incorporation of religious imagery into the political address. In fact, the American populace as a whole wants and, in some cases rather, expects religious languages and discourses in Presidential rhetoric which are extremely important to

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

As Christianity spread through the Western world, it rarely followed a linear path: different pockets of faith and doctrine were developed by a variety of peoples in an even greater variety of locales. Nowhere is this more evident than in Roman Britain and the era of Anglo-Saxon migrations. In five centuries, English religious culture transformed from one of pagan worship to that of leadership in the Christian world. Controversies included more than merely pagan-Christian dynamics; the Christians were greatly divided, and Christian efforts went through many ebbs before becoming firmly established. One must evaluate the development of both Rome and England to gain an adequate understanding of early English Christianity.

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

Religion can be defined as a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance. It contains a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices that allow its followers to live their life a certain way. The world consists of 19 major religions, which are further subdivided into 270 larger groups. According to David Barrett et al, editor of the “World Christian Encyclopedia,” there are 34,000 separate Christian groups around the world. Just from those numbers alone, we can conclude that religion has a prevalent effect on people and society. Religion is viewed as a positive influence on an individual both psychologically and physically. Throughout history we can study the various effects that religion has on society. Studies generally provide great evidence in favor of religion having a positive effect on individuals and society as a whole.

Throughout history, religion has worked as a great unifier of diverse people. Its overarching messages have worked to bring together people of different backgrounds be it racial, political, or economic, giving masses a common goal. Much of the world’s charity work is on behalf of religions which instill values that provoke these selfless actions.

Religion provides the best perspective of morality and ethical decisions. Many moral values are obtained from a combination of religions. An article written by Dr. George Tsakiridis of South Dakota College, George Washington and Religion, stated that one of our founding fathers, George Washington, was Christian. The beliefs helped to shape the nation we call home today. “In God We Trust”, a statement that is the basis to patriotism our country holds. Freedom of religion, an amendment written for the people by the people. Our nation and many more were built off of many different religions that still remain the basis to their culture and community.