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History of religion in america essay
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History of religion in america essay
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The religious approaches of the people in America during the 1600s-1800s significantly transformed the religious landscape in the United States. Not only has it shaped our nation spiritually, but it has made a profound influence on social, political and ethical issues in America today. Individualism and democratic thoughts dates back to the Puritans, who originated from a movement to protest the Church of England. On a dangerous voyage across the Atlantic to the unknown lands, Winthrop delivered a sermon on the ship to those who were about to establish life in the New World. Winthrop encouraged his congregation to create a city upon the hill for “the eyes of all people are upon us”. He spoke words intended to challenge, and inspire his people.
The American political notions we practice today take root from early colonial times. Our political understanding had its genesis as early as the 17th century, which stemmed from the writings of intellectuals, such as John Winthrop and William Penn. Equipped with these convictions, both Winthrop and Penn brought about visions of how their respective colonies will be structured in the New World. John Winthrop wrote The Modell of Christian Charity as a platform to lead a group of Puritan refugees in the colony of Boston, Massachusetts. Also armed with his own political philosophies, William Penn’s Frame of Government of Pennsylvania constructed a settlement, which promoted religious liberty and individual conscience. Although the two founders wrote about varying principles, there were some parallels evident between their founding visions. Furthermore, by highlighting the outward distinctions and similarities of their visions, we can recognize the strengths and weaknesses of the two political structures. Ultimately, the explorations of these very elements aid in determining which community is more appealing to call home. In my case, the principle of individual
Robert Laurence Moore has written a delightful, enlightening, and provocative survey of American church history centered around the theme of "mixing" the "sacred" with the "secular" and vice versa. The major points of conversation covered include the polarization caused by the public display of religious symbols, the important contribution that women and Africans have made to the American religious mosaic, the harmony and friction that has existed between science and religion, the impact of immigration on religious pluralism, and the twin push toward the union and separation of religion and politics.
In the 1730s, a movement of religious revival swept the American Colonies, the Great Awakening. The Great Awakening and its effect on early settlers in the Northeast impacted not only their religious and political lives, but also was a contributor to the successful settling of a rigorous terrain. The movement’s emphasis on spiritual equality changed not only religious practices, but the views of the citizens of a young country; both the free and the enslaved, and influenced the characteristics that would form the identity of this nation.
Many churches were the center of their community in the early-1800s. The church was a place to bind closer relationships with others in the community to include businesses and other social venues. Many public figures had this one thing in common, that is their will of self-perception be defined in the public view as one with character and high moral convictions. Religion produced social morality which became the substance that bound all elements of society in the Jacksonian Era.
Religion and government in England had always gone hand in hand, and if one group’s ideas did not coincide with England’s laws controlling the practice of religion they would be denied. The unification of church and state within European countries led to many wars, resulting in massive debt. As England declared themselves a Catholic country, Protestants who did not hold the same beliefs needed a new homeland where they could be free to worship in their own way. This new homeland was America, and it allowed Protestants, now calling themselves Puritans, to practice Christianity without government interference. While original settlers came to America to create a Christian homeland where they could practice their faith how they wanted, America quickly became a homeland for religious freedom through a mixing pot of differing religions, cultures, and ethnicities, enough open land for them to exist together, and the key idea of the separation of Church and State.
When the English came to America they brought many bright ideas that would later affect the colonies.There were also different types of religions that impacted all the colonies such as puritanism, Lutheran's, Catholics Etc. Religion had an important role in establishing the colonies, however different areas of the colonies were affected differently. Religion was differ in each of the following places the England , middle, and the southern colonies.
Religion in the New World exploded into the land with the colonization of thousands of immigrants. It played an important role in the development of thought in the West. Religion was one of the first concepts to spark the desires of people from other countries to emigrate to the new lands. While many religions blossomed on the American shores of the Atlantic, a basic structure held for most of them, being predominantly derived from Puritanism. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, showed the link the new settlers had to God when Sir Thomas Dale said the following in 1610:
Lippy, Charles H., and Peter W. Williams. Encyclopedia of the American religious experience: studies of traditions and movements. New York: Scribner, 1988. Print.
In U.S. History between the 1600’s and 1770’s, religious minority groups were once the main topics to be issued. Freedom of beliefs were evolved in the region of colonial culture. The Christians diverse opportunities, began to evaluate their problems for their right to seek religious freedom. People ought to have thought Christians practiced witchcraft. Which began problems causing The Salem Witch Trial. Also, they contributed on how their religion was to be guaranteed to them, so that they could begin to practice their religions and beliefs; freely. Even, to help other countries and people with the Christian religion practices evolving around different cultures.
With the development of a civilized society in America during the 1700s and 1800s, the role religion played in an everyday person's life was becoming more and more diminished. To combat this, a series of religious revivals were set in motion: The Great Awakenings. These were a series of large, sweeping religious, social, and political changes that sought to use the basis of religion to revive faith in a neglected belief, bring about numerous social reforms, and use political factions to great effect upon society's mentality. Although most view the First Great Awakening as the first' and greatest' religious, social, and political influence to American society, the second Great Awakening can be considered far more influential in its religious, social, and political aspects of influence.
Both the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment had significant impacts on society in the 1700s and even had long-term effects that can be recognized today. The Great Awakening was a religious revival which emphasized every person’s potential to break away from their past and begin anew in their relationship with God. It was considered the first great American revival, and was the result of concerns about declining piety and growing secularism. The Enlightenment, conversely, focused on human rationality and science as methods of making decisions and coming to conclusions. It emphasized individualism rather than tradition. It celebrated reason and was the product of scientific and intellectual discoveries made in the seventeenth century. Additionally, contrary to popular belief, it can be attested that the Enlightenment’s influence on religion and the relationship between it and the Great Awakening were not entirely negative or conflicting. Both the Great Awakening and the Enlightenment helped to undermine the power of traditional authority.
America was affected by a wave of religious shifts throughout its history, being a firmly religious culture to becoming a leader of scientific progression on a global scale and maintaining its religious roots. As shown, America changed from being a religiously dedicated nation to becoming a nation with religious roots with tolerance of other beliefs.
The power of religion has greatly affected they way American literature was philosophized and written in the 1700s. It has greatly motivated and influenced the actions and mentalities of many travelers, as well as Native Americans. The enforcement of religion mainly arises from foreigners that travel from other countries to America. People such as William Bradford and Mary Rowlandson lived their lives and made decisions accordingly to their Christian religion. Overall, religion has shaped American literature by affecting earlier people’s actions, mentality, and the views people had on Native Americans . These narratives have helped us to better understand earlier civilization and their mindsets.
From the time it was introduced to America in 1766, by Phillip Embury in New York and Robert Strawbridge in Maryland (Methodism 2) until the middle of the 19th century, Methodism enjoyed a meteoric rise. At the time of the American Revolution Methodists comprised a very small percentage of the American religious population, and yet by the mid 1800s Methodism was a dominant religious movement. In fact, historian William Warren Sweet claims that while “of all the religious bodies in America at the close of the American Revolution, the Methodists were the most insignificant,” it can now safely be said that “Methodism was to the West what Puritanism was to New England,” (3) that is, the dominant cultural and religious force. In fact, he claims, “no single force had more to do with bringing order out of frontier chaos than the Methodist circuit-rider,” (3). So, how was it that Methodism, so insignificant at the founding of our country, became, within a generation, a dominant cultural and religious force? Before we can answer this question; before we can speak to this meteoric rise of Methodism in America, we first have to understand the origins of Methodism in England.
Today, religion is the first-most protected paradigm among culture groups in the world, but what does that mean for the everyday average person? It should be asked where is religious movement going in the future? Is it increasing due to missional work of various religious groups and the passing down of one’s beliefs to aid religious movement. Is religion in America staying about the same, without steady increase or decrease. Or is religion slowly decreasing due to the increase of humanist or secular philosophies growing in today’s modern era. The information below describes a short history of religion in America, followed by the current state of it, then discuss how religion may fare in the future. [What some prominent people of today say about America’s current state in religious affiliation and even a discussion with a theologian.]t reform to the ideas they had in mind, so they went off to a new county to believe as they choose. Contrary to the popular belief at the time, the Puritans saw the English church as man-made rather than inspired of God. The Puritans held the belief that The Bible was God’s “instruction manual” to live-out one’s life. Before a mass of Puritans left for America, a large sum actually played a part in Parliament. But when the Puritans came over from Great Britain, most of them lived in the New England colonies before spreading-out into other areas. Their number grew from 17,000 to 106,000 between 1640 and 1700. The first Americans were predominantly Protestant Christian. The Founding Fathers, such as first and third U.S. president, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, were a couple with some Deist philosophical ideals.