We are learning about the impacts of religion on american culture, this is very important because religion played a huge part back in the day. Now however, religion is less of a cultural phenomenon.
Back then, going to religious gatherings was more or less the vast majority of social events for townspeople. Religion was a way of joining people together and creating a society. In a study done by the Pew Religious Landscape, about 22.4% of americans identified as non religious.
In the 19th century, atheism and people unaffiliated with a religion were considered horrible people. Not only could they have been arrested, but in certain periods of history, hanged. This was because religion was very much a social etiquette back in the day. An according to a poll by UPI/Harris, there has been an 82% decline since 2005 to present.
The decline in religion could have many different causes. I believe that with the new introduction of liberal and non-conservative ideas, people had to accept much more. And paralleled in recent times, the right for gay marriage can be shown to how some religions inhibit liberal ideologies. The movement away from someone dictating how you think of the world is also present in protestantism as instead of a priest or a saint telling you what god is, you can interpret the bible on your own.
In many ways america has grown from religion. Religion has shaped the way we see the world and has connected and separated people from one another. At the end of the day one cannot deny the impact religion has had in america.
I definitely agree with your idea that religion has shaped people's views. Adding on, I think that religion can leave a negative impact on society too; when religion separates people, this leads to conflict and disagreement between two contrasting groups. For example, when the Irish (Catholic) immigrants came to America, those who were in school were forced to leave their Catholic beliefs behind and follow Protestant religion, which was the main religion in America, Catholic leaders such as John Hughes backfired by starting initiatives to prevent more of their people from becoming converted into a different religion.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you compared and contrasted the impact religion has had on society and how it continues to change throughout time. A common pattern I've noticed throughout history is that each generation continues to get more and more liberal as time goes on- for example, the War Hawks of 1812 were looking for another war against England and change in the flimsy American government, which the now-elderly Founding Fathers protestingly opposed. This connects back to religion now versus then because the each generation took strides to open the doors to true freedom and choice of religion. Because of this, people have felt more free to choose what they believe-atheist or religious- rather than what they are forced to believe (ex. Irish immigrants forced to follow Protestantism).
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