Summary Of Cosmology

In Chapter 2, “Religion Matters”, Prothero briefly discusses how religion has impacted America even if it seems subsided, and why we tend to neglect it. When it comes to some of the major events of American history, Prothero argues that “none of the classic events in American history…can be understood without some knowledge of the religious motivations” of its major players. (Prothero) Perhaps part of the reason we generally ignore this statement is because of confusion and controversies it presents in government rulings and school teachings.

Thomas Jefferson wrote of the Catholic Church in France: ‘History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government.’ Jefferson, in his own book of biblical stories, suggested that religion was a set of moral conventions that promoted social harmony. But with antipathy between America’s Protestant and Catholic populations at the time, social harmony had yet to be promoted. Howard Zinn writes that the prejudice apparent in the Civil War period included not only ‘racial hatred for blacks’ and ‘nativist fury against immigrants’, but also ‘religious warfare against Catholics.’

Martin uses a functionalistic approach to understand the role religion plays in society, exploring each object with hermeneutical suspicion, believing, for the sake of this study, that any supernatural claims are false. By exploring such concepts as classification, structured society, and habitus, Martin explains how “we, as humans, are a product of society”. He focuses on answering questions such as “what’s going on” and “whose interests are served” by skeptically looking at the way in which people use legitimation, authority, and authenticity to push their own agendas.

Today’s world is all about decisions. Should we get that new television? What about that new iPhone? Maybe the new Apple Watch? Notice how none of those questions had to deal with anything transcendent or in relation to God. Rather these questions focused on the material items that are available practically at the snap of one’s fingers. There is a lack of religious authority in cultural and social organizations in the modern society that we live in. Charles Taylor, in A Secular Age, focuses on showing that God is still present in our secular society, even when it seems as if He is removed. Taylor gives three separate understandings of secularization: separation between state and church with the movement of corporate practices without God, more

4. Analyze the changes in American religious life in the late nineteenth century, including the expansion of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Judaism, and the growing Protestant division between liberals and fundamentalists over Darwinism and biblical criticism

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

Parmenides of Elea once presented the expression ex nihilo nihil fit, which translates to nothing comes from nothing for one of his many theses. The Cosmological Argument, an argument of the posteriori category, meaning that it requires data based on past experiences, argues for the existence of God with this type of expression at its core. By attempting to prove how the universe must be influenced by an independent being that has godlike qualities, cosmological arguments suggest that it is rational to believe in an omnipotent being and its accountability of creating the universe.

From the first settlers in the New World, religion had a place in this country. While Puritans had a foothold, it wasn’t until the mid-eighteenth century that religion became tightly woven into the fabric of the fledgling Nation. This essay will address the rise of Methodism in the United States; the growth of the evangelicals and the highlights of the politically charged aspects of religion in America from the mid-18th century to the Civil War. While there have been many events occur around politics and religion in America, the two that hold the most significance were African Americans being brought into the fold of the evangelical Church and the Civil War.

Cosmogonies play a part in the universe; it’s the creation of mankind and universe myths. These myths portray a part in culture today. “Cosmogonies --- stories about how the world began--- have been told by almost every culture in the world” (23). It affects the western culture and eastern culture and how social order is established. Social order is primary the basis of how humankind operate; it has links to behavior, morals, customs and values. It brings the foundation to mankind as a whole. Cosmogonies have established a lot of set beliefs, morals, and goals for humans.

With the mention of religion, what first comes to mind? Despite the initial thought, image, opinion, or experience that makes itself known, the response likely varies, even across time and place, and this can be reflected in the fact that America has no specific definition for religion. However, to assist in laying a foundation, the definition made clear in Dr. Koch’s Religion in America class lecture is “a discourse, a set of practices, a community, and/ or an institution” in which allows for analysis, discussion, practice, and thought to then take place in order make sense of how this man made principle was woven into the foundation of American society (Koch). Studying the history of religion in America, a common theme prevails: the relationship

The cosmological argument is an a posteriori argument which intends to prove that there is an intelligent being that exists; the being is distinct from the universe, explains the existence of the universe, and is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent and omnibenevolent. The basic notion of cosmological arguments is that the world and everything in it is dependent on something other than itself for its existence. It explains that everything has a cause, that there must have been a first cause, and that this first cause was itself uncaused.

“Religion is a ritualized system of beliefs and practices related to things defined as sacred by an organized community of believers.” (Basirico et.al. 379). Religion is an important element in the society because it influences the way individuals act and think. It has shaped the relationship and bonding among families as well as influenced the decision made in economics and politics. Religion in general has contributed to shape a society and a government structure which will influence the way the individuals under certain governmental structure behave. Sociologists are interested in religion mainly because religious belief is heavily rooted in individuals’ lives and it helps sociologists to interpret human’s actions, expression, and

We all have some experience with religion. Whether our parents are religious, our own religious views, or others who try and convert you to a religion, we have all come in contact with a religion. But what do sociology and religion have to do with each other? The answer to this question is that religion meets sociology in the affects that it has on an individual or society (Schaefer, Richard T, 2009, pg 323).

“American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us,” by Robert D. Putnam and David E. Campbell, and “America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity,” by Robert Wuthnow, give different thoughts to religion and politics in the United States. Putnam and Campbell utilize the concepts of shocks and aftershocks to highlight religious changes in the United States. On the other hand, Wuthnow uses observations to focus on the encounters of religious diversity in the United States. Wuthnow compares American Christianity with other popular religions in America and how Christianity has affected the perception of religion. Putnam and Campbell’s “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us” is a more persuasive assessment of American religion and politics.

In this course, I found the connection between religion and politics the most important concept we’ve studied. With engagement and understanding of politics becoming increasingly important, it’s valuable to study the ways people both interact with politics and form their political opinions—and as we’ve seen, religion can play a huge role in both of these aspects. However, the way religious groups engage with politics can perhaps be generalizing when discussing major religions, seeing as these groups are often widely diverse and brimming with unique experiences. Therefore, I believe it is just as important to discuss the political dimension of religion with the social influences of ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and the interrelations between them.