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Share your views on “religion and the American society”
American Christianity
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Bellah’s argument’s basis is in his definition of America’s civil religion. He makes sure to make to known that he is not accusing Americans of worshiping our country. Instead, he says most Americans believe in “a set of beliefs, symbols, and rituals that I am calling American civil religion.” He also makes the argument that the civil religion actually came from the ideas of the Founding Fathers. They did not usually say anything about Jesus Christ, nor Christianity. At this time pretty much every single American was Christian. They still talked about God though. They did not talk about a certain part of God, rather, just about the idea that there was a God and he controlled the universe and also that he has some sort of set of goals that
he wanted people to pursue. Basically the main idea of the civil religion was that America was a chosen country. In this way, people saw America as similar to Israel, which had been God’s chosen country in the Old Testament. God actually chose America to do his will in the world.
Despite finding Harley’s article easier to absorb, I will be providing insight and knowledge of Scannell’s article “Dailiness” as I drew interest into his concepts and ideas behind the notion of temporality of everyday life. After Scannell’s reading, I could see myself reflecting different notions of time and ‘media time’, through his concepts of routinisation and the ‘care structures’ of dailiness I became exposed to the recurring cycle we live in.
In this essay, I will argue that though Strawson’s Basic Argument is sound, society has constructed a more applicable version of the term “acting morally responsible” which holds us all accountable for our actions. Firstly, I will provide a brief overview of the Basic Argument as well as distinguish between Strawson’s and society’s definitions of being morally responsible. Secondly, I will justify Strawson’s first premise. Finally, I will raise and refute the response of author Ian McEwan.
I agree with Strawson in saying that we are not truly morally responsible for what we do, in a mental respect at least. Though it suffers from many faults, there are also ways to even more clarify his argument, as I will hope to do so in the following. First off, Strawson states that for someone to be truly morally responsible, we have to understand the points that he has given. The first being that we do what we do because of the way we are. These just states that the things we do and decide are based upon how we are in that moment, in mental respects. For example, when it comes to choosing what to eat between options A or B, I will choose option A because of how I am. But if you were to choose, it would be dependent on the way that you are
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.
Héctor L Carral, a multimedia engineer wrote an article titled Stop Saying Technology is causing Social Isolation for The Huffington Post. The author of the article has a biased option, therefore does not include any research that would refute his argument. Carral states “it’s only obvious to blame them [technology] for some of society’s problems. Carral also states I believe that accusing technology (and, again, especially smartphones) of ruining social interaction and even all kinds of experiences is, to say the least, quite wrong and misguided. There was an obvious division between the commenters who agree with Carral and those who disagree with his argument. The demographics of commentators. From observing the occupations that the commenters listed, it was apparent the people who were against Hector Carral’s article were parents and educators while the people who agreed with his
On December 2,2015 I went to to the Lynnhaven building to receive some feedback on my agreement paper for English 111. It was a very rainy day after running through the rain when I reached the writing center room. There was a yellow note saying that the writing center was in the student center until December 4,2015. After reading the note I ran back in the rain to my car.It was to cold to walk it was raining. As I approached the student center I was told by a security guard that the tutoring lab was located on the third floor. I had walked up three flights of stairs. When I had finally reached the third floor,I walk into the tutoring lab. There were about eight tables, but only four staff members and one student. Amen had approached me asking what did I need help with today. I replied saying that I would like some feedback on my paper for English. He then pointed to the writing table and said “she can assist you with your paper”.
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.
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...
What is an American? After reading these two passages, I would have to say that we are a people that religion is not really a big thing.
Morality a part of ethics is a debatable topic. The study of ethics called metaethics deals with what morality is and deals with the scope of moral values. The debate in metaethics about morality is on the existence of moral facts. Philosophers have different perspective on morality and if it has a truth/false value like science does. Moral facts define morality as something that can have a truth value attached to it and thus there are principles governing what is moral and what is not. However, there are philosophers like J.L. Mackie and Gilbert Harman who do not believe in moral realism or that moral facts exist. Mackie believes in the second order moral subjectivism. He does not believe in the subjectivism that states that morality reports
What came first the chicken or the egg? This age old question has been argued over by many people. In the same way the question of what comes first between Regeneration and Faith has also been argued by many biblical scholars throughout the year. When you look at the evidence in the Bible, and use logic, it is clear that Regeneration precedes Faith.
According to Brooke Allen in the article, “Our Godless Constitution,” the American constitution is not founded on Christianity principles as most people claim. According to the author, the American constitution was founded on enlightenment principles and God was only a minor player, while Jesus Christ was conspicuously absent. Brooke assertions are that the constitution does not mention God and the omission is too obvious and deliberate. The article says that when Alexander Hamilton was asked about this apparent omission, he stated that the new nation did not need any foreign aid, while in another occasion he simply said they simply forgot.
In this argument Tanzie Dorough explains why he believes why workers deserve a $15 Minimum Wage. Dorough mentions how he has personal attachments to this cause, also how poverty wages affect the United States, and lastly how large companies keep all the money for themselves.
Tomi Lahren's comments about Beyonce's half time performance have caused a lot of controversy. Some people have even sent people Tomi death threats. She recently decided to get on camera and defend her comments. Tomi stated that she did not say anything wrong in the video she made about Beyonce's performance. She also stated that the First Amendment gives her the right to express herself.
Like many others in this discussion, I think that Mr. Heller's reminder of an argument's multifaceted nature, the inherent bias that we all have, and the difference between being informed or just opinionated are an important realities to take into consideration in the classroom and even more so in the outside world. We are given the example of "what are we going to do in an international war?", and like Heller said, many of us think that the only choices we need to consider are whether to get in or not. However, when you pay attention to different perspectives, look at your own bias, and challenge yourself to do some research on the topic, you might find that there are different options or a middle ground that can perhaps allow some involvement