The Rise And Fall Of The Religious Community Essay

As I am writing this essay, the leading 2016 presidential candidates, could not be more different, as that represent almost completely opposite values on the political spectrum. The popularity of these candidates certainly stands as a testament of the vigorous cultural disunion that has culminated over the years. In order to change the direction of current trends, political moderation must be sought through long-term efforts to listen, respect, and to agree on many small issues that can results in large, positive, and bipartisanship changes, for the benefit of a unified

Society in all cultures share a common trait: Religion. Studying religion in any society reveals many of their traits and explains the actions of the individual. For example, Jewish people live their lives according to what was written in the Talmud and the Torah. They respect the Sabbath and also eat Kosher meat. Even when looking at Huxley's A Brave New World, analyzing religion still helps us understand the actions of the societies and characters within the book.

“Before Benedict spoke, pollsters found that more than half of all Americans and 30 percent of participating Catholics had an unfavorable opinion of the Church” (D’Antonio 5). Due to the fact that there have been numerous accusations which have made the news in the past few years, church membership and donations have declined. In Austria alone, there has been a significant decrease in donations more than 100,000 people had canceled their yearly payments.

The history of American conservatism reveals the diversity of the ideologies and values that comprise the modern public philosophy. This history also reveals the fragility of the conservative coalition. Conservatives agree primarily on the concepts that they oppose, rather than on principles that they share. Professor James Ceaser argues that “much of the unity that exists among conservatives stems from their shared antipathy to liberalism. It serves as the common heart that beats in the breast of the conservative movement’s diverse and often fractious components.” Ceaser provides a useful analogy for the conservative movement. The “common heart” of conservatism is an antagonism towards liberalism that supplies the blood to the movement’s four heads: Traditionalism, Classical Libertarianism, Neoconservatism, and the Religious Right. Caesar asserts that, in politics, there is no shame “to relying in the adhesive nature supplied by a common

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

In his State of the Union Address for 2016, Barack Obama uses logical and ethical arguments to emphasize shared ground rather than partisan disputes. He also taps into the audience’s desire to feel better about themselves and their country. By using humor and irony, Obama paints his opponents into corners, out of which it would require outrageous extremism to effectively squirm away. At its best, this approach demonstrates how much Americans actually have in common in a culture dominated by ideologically polarized cable-news channels, Facebook, and cultural tribes that increasingly live and socialize apart from one another. The president's technique throughout the speech is to frame issues through a rhetorical jujitsu to persuade his opponents,

Under the watchful guidance of President Bill Clinton and the Democratic Party, America is finally moving in the right direction. In 1996, we, the Democratic Party, adopted and enacted a platform that has reinvigorated the

New circumstances called for re-appraisal of the church: its position and purposes. A pragmatic response to changed

The book starts with a discussion on, what does it mean to be a liberal and what events take place to thrust these political ideals into our political environment? To be a liberal has meant different things at different time in our history. For purposes of this book, Brinkley focuses on what it means to be a liberal at the turn of the twentieth century. The concept of “progressivism” or “reform” liberalism begins to take shape “the belief in the interconnectedness of society, and thus in the need to protect individuals, communities, and the government itself from excessive corporate power,

In the absence of an existential external threat, conservatives must look for domestic antagonists, of which there are many. Abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, climate-focused environmental policy, gun control and stem cell research are equally promising targets. Though the presence of such common antagonists might strengthen the conservative coalition, they may prove to be fragile ground on which to build a new conservative solidarity. Rather than seeking common enemies, the Conservative movement must work on uniting itself from within. It should focus on narrowing the internal divisions and reconciling its disparate identities. If conservatism is to remain a prominent political force in the future, it is more likely to succeed by standing for something identifiable and compelling, rather than standing against anything that tends to liberalism.

Modern liberalism and modern conservatism are both extremely centrist ideologies, “In fact, US conservatism comes out of classical liberalism so the modern versions of both ideologies share deep philosophical roots” (Guide, pg. 1). These roots date back to the 17th century, extending into the early 20th century. To fully understand American politics, it is a key to understand the dominant ideologies. It is also crucial to analyze the differences and similarities between these two ideologies. This paper will first examine the origins and tenants of classical liberalism, an ideology in which both modern liberalism and modern conservatism evolved. It will later discuss the

The purpose of this essay is to assess whether Donald Trump, the Republican Nominee for the Presidency, has made effective programmatic appeals to groups in the American electorate in order to build a successful coalition. This essay will argue while Donald Trump has made programmatic appeals to the political typology groups Steadfast Conservatives, Business Conservatives, Young Outsiders, and hard pressed skeptics; however he has not made substantial programmatic appeals to Solid Liberals, Next Generation Left or Faith and Family left. First this essay will establish a foundation on the 2016 Presidential election and the Pew Research centres political typologies; secondly this essay will examine why certain typologies would be attracted to Trump and which typologies Trump should focus on appealing to; finally this essay will determine the strengths and weaknesses of Trump’s coalition building across these groups and concluding whether or not Trump has made progress in building a winning coalition.

Frames, which are how movements identify themselves and their demands, can have lasting effects with citizens. Frames reach a broader crowd than the participants of a movement alone and by appropriating the frame of a popular movement parties can gain not only the support of those in the movement, but the general public. There is no better example of this than in the Republican Party’s use of religious messaging and framing to fashion an identity of evangelical politics. Republican President George Bush even went as far as to claim that God “wanted him to be president,” (Phillips). In a nation where a 2012 poll by Gallup claimed a staggering 77% of citizens identified with a Christian religion, there is no question why the Republican Party would absorb this frame (Newport). The Christian Right, a movement that begun with George Bush and has rapidly shaped the Republican Party since altered the identity of the Republican Party to center issues upon religion (Le Beau). By framing Republican politics in religious terms the Republican Party has amassed a substantial following among the Christian electorate. While before I spoke of how parties align with movements directly for support, by using the frames of social movements parties can indirectly garner support as well. Visible not only in the Republican Party, frame appropriation is also visible in how the Democratic Party has absorbed

In Alan Wolfe’s text, The Future of Liberalism, the entirety of the term itself is intently examined under a fine-tuned microscope. Its past, present and obviously, the future of this pronounced way of life is dissected throughout the book. Wolfe makes many claims and arguments, more intently, statements on why liberalism is the single greatest ideology, but also why it can’t work. Finally, he draws connections and argues liberalism and its relationship with religion and Christianity. Therefore, in this essay, some of Wolfe’s most central arguments as well as the connections he draws with religion will be examined.

The next text is from the 2nd Vatican Council called “Pastoral Constitution,” which focused on bringing the church into modern times. This text focuses on the importance of helping those being marginalized, those who are on the brink of society, and what is the best way that the Church as a community can fight to protect them.