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Religion in usa essay
Religion in usa essay
Walt Whitman, ‘Song of Myself’ from Leaves of Grass
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Religion is an essential and complex facet of the American psyche. It plays a key role in supporting the ideal of American exceptionalism and has done so from Independence to the present day. Religion also plays a role in national identification through the “Americanisation” of religion. The emergence of transcendentalism, cults, evangelical sects, and Christian Zionism have all been a result of both the “Americanisation” of faith and American exceptionalism. The importance of religion to America as a nation, means that religion is granted certain freedoms that make passing laws regulating it difficult. The first and fourteenth amendments essentially protect the establishment of any religion as well as protecting the freedom to exercise this religion, whilst creating a distinctly separate Church and State. The religious freedom granted in these amendments has changed over time, though not extensively.
Transcendentalism was the first uniquely American spiritual philosophy. It emerged in the late 1820s as a radically democratic response to religion in the wake of the disestablishment of state religion. It rejected many of the constructs of modern America in the Industrial age and encouraged one to be socially conscious, promoting opposition to slavery and support for women’s suffrage. It is because of the religious freedoms granted to Americans in the first amendment that a religious movement like this is able to emerge. Transcendentalism helped vocalise many of the ideals so valued in modern America. Through his 1855 version of “Song of Myself” Walt Whitman embodies the American national through a transcendentalist frame. The notion of what it means to be an American is expressed through the recurring image of the leaf o...
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...by Paul Thomas Anderson, United States of America, Annapurna Pictures , 2012
Van Schaick vs. Church of Scientology , 535F. Supp. 1125 (D. Mass, 1982).
Jean G. Zorn, “Cults and the Ideology of Individualism in First Amendment Discourse”, Journal of Law and Religion, 7, 2, (1989), p. 494-495.
Jean G. Zorn, “Cults and the Ideology of Individualim” p. 500-501.
Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind , ( Michigan: Wm. B Berdmans Publishing Co., 1994) p. 4.
Roe vs. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)
Paul Boyer, ed. Bruce J. Schulman and Julian E. Zelizer, “The Evangelical Resurgence in 1970s American Protestantism,” in Rightward Bound, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008.) p,41.
Paul Boyer, “The Evangelical Resurgence in 1970s American Protestantism”, p,47.
Paul Boyer, “The Evangelical Resurgence in 1970s American Protestantism”, p,49.
Roof, Wade Clark. "Contemporary Conflicts: Tradition vs. Transformation." Contemporary American Religion. Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. 226-27. Print.
Schlossberg, Herbert. Idols for Destruction: The Conflict of Christian Faith and American Culture. Weaton: Crossway, 1990.
The American Evangelical Story: A History of the Movement, by Douglas A. Sweeney. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2005. 208 pages. Reviewed by Susan L. Schulte.
New brands of distinctly American Christianity began developing early in the country’s history. Before the revolution, George Whitefield set the stage for American religious movements. The most important factor that helped launch these movements was the American Revolution. The country was ripe with conversation and action on a new understanding of freedom. The revolution “expanded the circle of people who considered themselves capable of thinking for themselves about issues of … equality, sovereignty, and representation” (6). The country was beginning to move toward an understanding of strength lying in the common people, and the people’s ability to make their own personal decisions on issues of leadership and authority. There was a common belief that class structure was the major societal problem. The revolution created the an open environment that pushed equality of the individual, allowing political and religious beliefs to flourish and grow without being held in check by authoritarian leaders.
Eugene D. Genovese, “Religion in the Collapse of the American Union,” in Religion and the American Civil War, ed. Randall M. Miller (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 43-73.
" There is another reference to religion in Article 6, Section 3. This clause states "the United States" and the several States shall be bound by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution. but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust. under the United States" http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html. For the purpose of this paper I am going to focus on the establishment of religion above mentioned in the The First Amendment..
With sounds of youthful laughter, conversations about the students’ weekends, and the shuffling of college ruled paper; students file into their classrooms and find their seats on a typical Monday morning. As the announcements travel throughout the school’s intercoms, the usual “Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance” becomes no longer usual but rather puzzling to some students. “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, indivisible, with liberty, and justice for all.” Confusion passes through some of the student’s minds. With the reoccurrence of “God” in the backdrop of American life, the relationship between church and state has become of little to no matter for American citizens just as it has with American students. While congress makes no law respecting an establishment of religion, the term “freedom of religion” presents itself to no longer be the definition of “free”, while also having its effects on debates today. According to Burt Rieff, in Conflicting Rights and Religious Liberty, “Parents, school officials, politicians, and religious leaders entered the battle over defining the relationship between church and state, transforming constitutional issues into political, religious, and cultural debates” (Rieff). Throughout the 20th century, many have forgotten the meaning of religion and what its effects are on the people of today. With the nonconformist society in today’s culture, religion has placed itself in a category of insignificance. With the many controversies of the world, religion is at a stand still, and is proven to not be as important as it was in the past. Though the United States government is based on separation of church and state, the gover...
As James Madison, the fourth President of the United States said, “The religion of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every man, and it is right of every man to exercise it as they may dictate” (Haynes, C...
Flax, Bill. "The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State", July 9, Forbes, 2011 Web. 15 May 2015
Throughout history, America has faced disagreements that led to various complications, one of them being religious freedom. Americans claimed to have always supported religious freedom and that the First Amendment backed that up. However, according to David Sehat, this was only a myth. The myth he argued that there was a moral establishment that constrained religious liberty, therefore American religious freedom was only a myth. Sehat overstated this claim because there have been many historic measures that have shown American religious liberty, such as the Second Great Awakening, the emergence of new religious movements, and religious liberty court cases.
No other independent enlightenment in the world allows individual independence to the United States of America. American courts, especially the Supreme Court, have improved a set of lawful policies that comprehensively shelter all types of the power of appearance. When it comes to appraising the level to which people take benefit of the occasion to convey believes, many members of culture can be accountable for misusing the boundary of the First Amendment through openly offending others through racism or obscenity (Karen O’Connor & Larry J. Sabato 2006). America is what it is because of the Bill of rights and the Constitution of the United States of America. The ratification of the Constitution warranted that religious dissimilarity would continue to develop in the United States. American has enhanced a different nature toward the power of word throughout history.
“Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy.” U.S. History Online Textbook. Independence Hall Association, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
Christianity’s role in America has rapidly changed over the last decades. Although it is still the most popular religion in the country its power over the people has decreased significantly. However, there are still many misconceptions towards American Christianity and in order to understand the unique nature of this religiously diverse country; one must understand its history and its citizens own views on the matter.
Sweet, Leonard I. Communication and Change in American Religious History. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1993.
Boyd, Gregory A., and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.