The Big Sort By Bill Bishop: Summary

In the 2001 article “One Nation, Slightly Divisible”, David Brooks argues that the United States is not a divided nation, but rather a “cafeteria nation”, composed of different cliques of people with similar views. Brooks acknowledges the various theories created to explain why America is divided. Although some, more-so liberals, may believe that vast financial differences between the different socioeconomic classes make way for this divide, others, especially conservatives, insinuate that America is divided between two “moral” systems. This second theory argues that Red America adheres to its traditional, religious, and self-disciplined views, while Blue America reflects more modern, secular, and self-expressive views. In more rural areas,

The hostility between Protestants and Catholics in pre-Independence America has survived in the 20th century, albeit in a different form – political partisanship. In one notable example, the former pastor of the East Waynesville Baptist Church in Waynesville, North Carolina ‘told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for Democratic Senator John Kerry should either leave the church or repent.’ The church later expelled nine members who did vote for Senator Kerry. While the First Amendment

Galindo analyzes that the fundamental “mission” of a congregation is the same as any other congregation that exists in any part of the world. He argues that though every congregation has a mission and a vision, at the same time, it shares a basic common mission. (43) This reminds me of my home church The First Church of Evanston and my Field Site, The Evanston Vineyard Church. Both churches have a common mission of welcoming people to the church, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic and, gender backgrounds. The mission is to help people be received in the house of God with due and deserved Christian love so that they feel loved and welcomed. Both these churches encourage church attendees to attend the service and receive the Eucharist.

What do trends indicate about the future of Black Rural Churches? (Chapter 5) Trends indicate this about the future of Black Rural Churches. It has gradually but noticeable reverse migration among black people to the South and the sunshine states of the Southwest. The primary reasons are the search for jobs and the continued industrialization of the South. Extended family ties provide another motivation to move. Most black people in the North have relatives in southern states, and many of them still consider the south as home. However, the reverse migration will not match the previous out-migrations, it will most likely increase the black population base of the South and provide a potential constituency for some rural churches. Finally, the growing class split in the black community are increasing (Lincoln, C. Eric, and Lawrence H. Mamiya

Between 1820 and 1860, Americans constructed 40,000 new churches compared to the 10,000 they constructed in the 40 years before 1820. At the end of the revival period, ”one-third of all Americans attended church regularly.”(P.400) Many of the early revival preachers embraced Christian evangelicalism, the established groups sought to take advantage of the popular enthusiasm to build their particular denominations. Methodists and the Baptists established themselves as leading American denominations as a result of the Second Great Awakening. The two faiths had a mutual sense of affinity with regard to doctrine, but the Baptists created a radically decentralized hierarchy that empowered local ministers and individual churches.

Another strength of the article is when Briggs begins to summarize his thoughts and proof of involvement to stress his point. He says that within the World Council of Churches the Baptists make up the most membership and that they act as “members of staff, as members of vital committees and commissions, and as office holders. I think we punch well above our weight in these respects.”3 These numbers and offices help to prove his point that Baptists are not as separated and as anti-ecumencial as some may observe them to be. He goes on to add that there are other levels of involvement that range from regional to national in Christian aid organizations.

Richard J. Carwardine examines in more detail the actual relationship between religion and politics in “Evangelicals and Politics in Antebellum America” Carwardine makes the assumption that evangelical Protestants were among the shapers of American political culture in the years before the civil war began. According to Carwardine, the decrease in power of revivalists led the evangelical Protestants to ally with political parties to further their agendas. The political parties, in fact, made special efforts to win the evangelical Protestant’s vote. Carwardine maintains that evangelical Protestants created the ecclesiastical sectionalism, leaving their mark on Republican politics. The Republican Party heavily moved from evangelical Protestants of the North. On the other hand, Southern evangelicals resisted the injection

It is with his first few sentences that author, Nathan Hatch, lets the readers know about the scope and the reason for his book The Democratization of American Christianity. Nathan Hatch, who is currently the president of Wake Forest University in Wake Forest, NC and was previously the dean and provost at Notre Dame, states, “This book is about the cultural and religious history of the early American republic and the enduring structures of American Christianity. It argues both that the theme of democratization is central to understanding the development of American Christianity, and that the years of the early republic are the most crucial in revealing that process.” (3) The freedom and liberty that were experienced by people in America’s infancy bled into all aspects of life: government, family, and religion. It was this freedom that gave many in the church the boldness to either go and start churches, or serve as a leader in the church: things that were not an option during their time in England. A great deal of church growth in early America can be attributed to this freedom and the conversion of the masses to the various denominations that were available to the early Americans, choices that they did not have while in England. In telling the story of the growth of Protestantism in America, Hatch regales the readers with stories and information about a fascinating time in the history of the American Protestantism. It was a time filled with such varied and unique

In his book, Rah highlights cultural insensitivity of the Western white Evangelicalism and advocates for multiethnic and immigrant churches. He argues that the Evangelical churches have failed to embrace racial diversity or address the growth of the immigrant population. As the contemporary American society becomes more diverse and multicultural, the American church needs to move beyond its identity as Western and become truly multiethnic. Then, Rah goes after the church growth movement and American megachurches, arguing that they focus on marketing and mass production techniques instead of proclaiming the gospel. He boldly proclaims that "the church growth movement of the twentieth century reflects the cultural values of individualism, materialism, and racism" (2009, 107). He also criticizes the emergent church movement for remaining predominantly white and not acknowledging the non-white voices within Christianity. Ran encourages leaders to learn from multiethnic communities and the Immigrant Church in America.

Many people believe that that the motivation of the Christian church is to radically “change the world”. However, through his book To Change The World, James Davison Hunter explains how this common believe is a misconception. Rather, he shows readers that, from a sociological perspective, while Christians thrive in many areas of life by reaching others individually, they fundamentally components of creating cultural change.

While the majority of Americans (almost 80%) identify themselves as Christians, religion in the United States is characterized by both a large diversity of believers and variable attendance and adherence levels (Eck, 2002). However, an August 2010 poll showed that almost 70% of Americans believed that religion was losing influence in everyday life, yet most feel that is a negative thing even though politicians continue to discuss religion while campaigning (Religion Losing, 2012). In light of these statistics, many religious scholars have turned to more quantitative methods to establish ways to both improve service attendance, solidify the financial health of churches, and establish a faith-based understanding of current psychographic trends. One of the predominant ways this is happening is through people like George Barna.

Hatch’s book is one of an era and a topic that I had never studied before. Hatch’s book covers the period from the end of the American Revolution through the mid-1840s. However, I believe the topic should be considered through today’s rise of the televangelist and the mega-churches of America. Hatch outlines the rise of churches (as egalitarian based) based on the belief, which coincided with the rise of the American population and its expansion westward.

There have been many discussions and studies on voter choice and whether or not the citizens that are voting in elections are politically aware of what they are voting for. Only about 55% of citizens who were eligible to vote voted in the 2012 presidential election. Many studies have found that those who do vote are necessarily voting based on political awareness. There are many factors people take into account when they determine who they will voter for. These factors include race, gender, ethnicity, culture, religion, political socialization and even emotions as factors that affect who they vote for.

Putnam and Campbell’s “America Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us” does a better job of foreshadowing the future religious landscape in the United States. The two authors use the concept of ‘shocks, aftershocks, and earthquakes’ in order to convey religious turbulence in the United States. The earthquake of the 1960s was the most significant indication of change in which there was a steep decline in religious observance (Putnam and Campbell, 97). The 1960s was a transitional time for the United States as the Civil Rights Movement, immigration reform, and the sexual revolution dominated American culture. These events displaced religion from the lives of Americans and thus became a clarion call for the transition away

The emerging church movement consists of a diverse group of people who identify with Christianity, but who feel that reaching the postmodern world would requires it to radically reshape the chruch’s beliefs and practices to conform to postmodernism.[14]