Strange Belief Research Paper

As David Hufford said, in Beings Without Bodies, much of folk belief about spirits is found to be reasonable. This account is reported under his experience-centered theory. Hufford said much of the belief of spirits is reasonable as it is established on logical understanding from a person’s own experience. However, Hufford said not all beliefs are backed up by experience or even evidence. Some beliefs are made purely on faith. (Hufford p.11)

ave you ever wondered if most of the weird little myths/belief your grandma talked about when you were little or even now are true? Or Where do they come from? What's the difference between a belief and a myth? Are widely held views often wrong or are such views more likely to be correct? everyone has their own opinion and in my opinion most widely held beliefs are wrong. there's many evidence on how most widely held beliefs turn out to be wrong and this is why.

Under the Establishment Clause, “The government may not promote or affiliate itself with any religious doctrine or organization and the government may not discriminate among persons on the basis of their religious beliefs.” County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union Greater Pittsburg Chapter, 492 U.S 573, 109 S.Ct. 3086, 106. L.Ed.2d 472 (1989). The Endorsement test applies to cases that involve government officials and religious beliefs at school-sponsored events. Id at 592. This could be seen if officials promote or favor religion. Id. Courts have found that if prayer being delivered at public school events, organized and supervised by school officials, regardless of the event being outside the classroom and after hours, the government is endorsing religion. Lee, 505 U.S at 604. Additionally, if the government merely pressures participates to attend a religious activity, such as an opening prayer, the government is indirectly endorsing religion. Id (Holding that school officials endorsed religion when students attended “football games” in which opening prayers were given). On the other hand, to avoid favoring religion, public officials must either embrace any religious faith or embrace none at all. Id at 609. State officials favor religion if these officials recognize one religious belief, but they do not acknowledge a dissimilar one. County of Allegheny, 492 U.S at 616. (Holding that the government did not endorse religion by recognizing two different beliefs). Thus, the Endorsement Test is satisfied if either the school board promotes religious activities or if the board’s punishment of Mr. Pitstick is in favor of a religious

The focal purpose of the article ‘Americans get an ‘F’ in religion’ by Cathy Lynn Grossman is to explain how ignorant Americans are when it comes to other religions around the world and their own. Religion is a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs; a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons and sects. Being ignorant to something as vital as religion scares the author of this article

Singer and Benassi (1981) described a positive correlation between environmental uncertainty in western countries and occult beliefs. Although it could be argued that they may be overreaching with this generalization which is not supported with data, there is truth to this correlation. Humans try to be rational, and logical, and think critically, but in uncertain situations, we look to our environment, the physical and social environment, to provide us with information. Therefore, superstitions and supernatural phenomenon seem possible if no logical explanation can be given, and if the feedback from the environment reinforces what could be occult beliefs. French, Haque, Bunton-Stasyshyn, & Davis (2009) conducted an experiment attempting to investigate whether they could try to create a “haunted” room, and if participants would experience more abnormal sensations. Participants were informed they may feel some abnormal sensations prior to entering the room. Majority of participants reported having three or more abnormal sensations in the 50-minute period they were in the room. These sensations can be a result of susceptibility, but the uncertainty of that environment, and the lack of information may create these sensations and can validate occult

History shows a pattern of change in relation to religious involvement of governmental affairs. As religion becomes less a part of American life, the court develops new laws to accommodate our new society. Look to the communities we live in presently and ask yourself if the American people are facing oppression of religious freedom, a freedom listed in our Constitution under the First Amendment. This spirals into an abyss of politics. Is same-sex marriage a personal matter or a public one? Is the Republican Party fair in opting to end abortion? Should a woman have contraceptive included in her health insurance plan despite the religious views of her employer? This is one of the areas in which

Although “God” is mentioned in the Constitution, this country was built upon the principle of separation of church and state. Despite this ideal, those elected into office: propose, pass, and deny laws based on their religious beliefs, completely disregarding the previously mentioned principle. The problem with that is that the country is so ethnically and culturally diverse that one religion representing an entire nation of hundreds of religions is selfish and unfair, not to mention un-American.

Even when the Constitution establishes a separation between church and state, traces of religion can still be found in public and government environments, such as the Pledge of Allegiance containing the words ‘under God’, American currency having ‘In God we trust’ and other such events and places. Consequently, this prevalence of Christian ideology violates all Americans’ first amendment right to freedom of and from religion and has a negative impact all citizens as it conflicts with their individual beliefs, religious or not.

For most of my life I have not had a relationship with religion. I did not grow up where going to church was a priority. I knew my parents were Catholics, but they were not practicing Catholics. I would say I was forced to attend CCD (Continuing Catholic Development) every day after school and make my first communion, but I have always respected its practice and learned about its history. Since I enjoy history, I have known how religion was one of the big factors in our country’s history. When kids say the pledge of allegiance and say “One Nation under God” I don’t get insulted or offended, I simply understand that is the heritage of this nation. That is why I am going to argue that faith groups and institutions should be allowed to form political parties and gain influence in the workings of government. Whether I classify myself as Atheist (believe in no god) or Agnostic (claims neither faith nor disbelief in God) it doesn’t change the fact that a great majority of this country and billions across the planet have deep religious faiths that help guide them through

In Larkin v. Grendel’s Den, Inc., 459 U.S. 116, 123 (1982), this Court found that the wall between religion and government was substantially breached because “delegating a governmental power to religious institutions inescapably implicates the Establishment Clause.”

Which governmental forces acquire no control upon the amendment p."The Establishment clause of the first Amendment prohibits government from encouraging of promoting religion in any way." Analyzing the previous quote, governmental power has no right in any sort to promote nor persuade religious affairs within the American society. Therefore, political parties seek for the equilibrium of the social issue without disturbing the structure of the first amendment. Resulting in public disputes among communities aiming the government for diverse cases in which the government has no power to alter those cases in a direct form. One of the most disputable cases reported to date is expressed through the perspective of atheist individuals who suffer from unceasingly discrimination. Establishing the American nation as free from religious choice, allows a broad amount of people to manifest and explore new and diverse religious faiths. Therefore, new communities have been assembled by their European ancestor who sought for the liberty which wasn't allowed in their

Government-appointed officials can face controversy throughout their careers concerning their religious liberties. In this country, there are different points of view on how constitutional rights, specifically First Amendment right, should play into their jobs. While these officials still have basic rights as citizens, they are restricted within their duties, especially in the cases of completing public services for individual citizens. In his article “12 Rules for Mixing Religion and Politics”, Peter Montgomery stated, “As individuals, public officials and public employees enjoy the same religious liberty protections as all Americans… However, a public official has no right to cite religious beliefs as a reason for failing to uphold the duties of their office or for discriminating against some constituents….” Considering this, public officials are free to express

This paper is a book critique of The Godless Constitution. The first chapter of the book is titled “Is America a Christian Nation?” and it is an introduction for the rest of the book. In this chapter, the main idea is to open the reader’s mind about that the constitution was created with the idea that religious believes will not influence in the politics of the nation. The authors state that “The principal framers of the American political system wanted no religious parties in national politics” (Kramnick and Moore, 23). Actually, the creation of a constitution without influence of religion was not an act of irreverence. The authors believe that the creation of the constitution was a support to the idea that religion can preserve the civil morality necessary for democracy, without an influence on any political party. The end of the chapter is the description of the following chapters and with a disguise warning that both authors were raise in religious families and they wrote the book with high respect for America’s religious traditions (Kramnick and Moore, 25). The second chapter, called “The Godless Constitution” explains how the different terms to talk about God were taken out and a “no religious test” clause was adopted with little discussion. This clause was a “veritable firestorm” during the ratification debates in several states (Kramnick and Moore, 32). For many people the “no religious test” clause was considered as the gravest defect of the Constitution (Kramnick

America wastes a lot of time trying to create a democracy completely absent of the moral expectations that our ancestors have put into place. Our founding fathers’ dream of establishing a country in which all people would be accepted has begun to fall. In our attempt to rid our country of a democracy contaminated with any belief in a supreme power, we have rid ourselves of many of our values and morals. Perhaps it is impossible for religion to dominate our political country, but we have misinterpreted the original intent of “separation of church and state” and taken this concept too far.

If you woke up tomorrow and found yourself part of a minority group that was treated like a second class citizens and denied civil rights how would you feel? Every day in the United States minority groups are denied basic rights that ever other U.S. citizen is grated. These rights are determined by the United States government that is influenced by religious beliefs, even though our country was founded with the belief of separation of church and state.