...Religion’s Effect on American Government America is a secular nation, which means it doesn’t have a state religion, or discriminate based on religion. “Separation of church and state” is a key principle in American legislation. Despite this, signs of religion are everywhere in our country. It’s can be observed every day. For example, “In God We Trust” is engraved on all American currency, and “one nation, under God…” is in the pledge of allegiance. This influence also reaches to the highest levels of the government, and is a major factor in politics. Although America was created to be a country of religious freedom, church and state overlap, with both government policy restricting religious freedoms and religious values affecting government...
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...Religious Interactions between the Africans, Amerindians and Europeans in British Colonial America Christopher J. Reed HIS 379 Pamela Huckins October 22, 2012 Religious Interactions between Africans, Amerindians and Europeans in British Colonial America Christianity played an important role in each of the British Colonies, and religious practice was strictly enforced. All colonists that were of adult age had to attend religious services and pay the taxes that paid the ministers. People who attempted to practice a non-Christian belief were often times persecuted. In Europe there was a split in the Protestant Anglican Church and it branched into the traditional Anglicans and the reforming Protestants. These differences continued and led to the colonization of America. “Puritans journeyed to New England for more than reformation of the Church of England, but religious purity was certainably a matter of considerable importance in establishing a city” (Benjamin p. 66). Puritans came to the new world and established themselves as the dominant denomination in the colonies. This gave birth to new movements in the Colonies, such as the Quakers, Methodists and Baptists. It was this religious freedom that allowed Europeans to come to the new world to practice their form of Christianity. Despite the attempts to rule the colonies based firmly on religious grounds, in the beginning there were irregular practices because of the lack of settlers. The lack of women...
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...reason people migrated to North America was because the King of England forced all English people to attend his church, the Church of England, which was a Protestant Church. Every other religion was forced to be practiced privately, and were oppressed by people who are Protestant. Religious freedom has played a very important role in the history of the United States before 1865. Europeans migrated to America to escape religious injustice and forced beliefs by the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. This religious injustice increased the desire of the forefathers to form the organization of a country that separates church and state, and the freedom to practice any religion without fear of being judged or persecuted. Religion including Christians, Separatist, Puritans, Quakers and many others, were determined to find...
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...THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY A Research Paper on the “The Contribution of Baptists in the Struggle for Religious Freedom” Submitted to Dr. Jason J. Graffagnino, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of CHHI 665 – B04 History of Baptists by Elizabeth Linz Barthelemy February 1, 2015 Contents Introduction 1 The Baptist Origin 2 The separatists/puritans 2-3 The First Baptists Believers 4-5 The American Baptist Contribution to “religious liberty ideal”...............................................6 Rhode Island, Plymouth, and Pennsylvania Colonies......................................................7-8 The South Colonies and Their Struggle for “Religious Liberty” 9-11 Conclusion 12 Bibliography.............................................................................................................................13-15 Introduction “Religious Liberty” is a good and perfect gift from above. Contrary to populace belief “the separation of church and state,” did not originate with the ACLU but for the most part, it originated with the first British Baptists that arrived in Colonial America they were defenders of true “religious liberty.” Moreover, the distinction between religious liberty and tolerance of religion is significant. “Religious liberty” is a right of every men, however, tolerance is a concession coupled with an understand...
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...Introduction In any nation state, internal and external policies are closely related to the country’s own traditional social culture and reflect the country’s own cultural values. The United States is a society of religions, a vast field of religious identities and conceptions, a sea of swirling religious currents. Religions legitimate the existing social system, institutions and values to a certain extent. They also provide a means to contend with and change the system; they are at once conservative and liberal. They motivate people to do things, to change the world in many ways. It might be said that the ultimate purpose and effect of religion is to take humans and their cultures to the “Ultimate”. (Eller, p 330) Owing to the importance of religion in America’s national identity, which is largely shaped by American core cultural values and "mainstream religions", these attitudes and traditions have played an important role in American social life, thus religious power naturally has penetrated into politics and foreign policy decisions more regularly in America than in other countries. Religious values are the sources of American “exceptionalism” and “messianism”. (Xie, p 39) After the Cold War¹, it became evident that religion was a key factor in many conflicts, including Bosnia, Rwanda, and Afghanistan. However, the ¹ “Cold War”: the state of hostility that existed between the Soviet bloc countries and the Western powers from 1945 to...
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...industrial and scientific revolution marked this period. To this end, slaves were in high demand on industries and plantations like the ones in South America. Most production was labor intensive, and this nature perhaps explains the intensification of the slave trade during this period. However, missionaries, philosophers and economists like Adam Smith started anti-slavery campaigns. Like Adam Smith, he was very certain that free people are more productive than slaves. Inhumane acts marked the lives of slaves. Masters could whip their Slaves even in public, and they were tied to immobilize them from running away. Thanks, to the antislavery campaigns through evangelism that led to the end of slave trade and slavery. An analysis of the second great awakenings reveals that there is a link between the evangelical spirit and the "reforming Impulse." This link animated the many movements of social reform in the years leading up to the American Civil War. The American evangelicals depicted Americans as the most religious people in the world. It gives an account of the American religious history and how the Protestant churches like the American Methodist Church came along. Several Protestant churches resulted from divisions in the denominations (McLoughlin 4). The American civil war resulted from the ideological differences between camps in America. On one hand was the side that was headed by preachers. This camp conducted...
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...an institutionalized or personal system of beliefs and practices relating to the divine and 3. Personal beliefs or values: a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by.2 Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. It also contributed long lasting moral, social, and political impacts seen in countless movements reflecting the Christian ideals of truth. The issue of religious freedom has played a significant role in the history of the United States and the remainder of North America. If we trace back hundreds of years to colonial times, religion acted as the absolute driving force that convinced colonists that America was the new haven they had been looking for. Europeans came to America to escape religious oppression and forced beliefs by such state-affiliated Christian churches as the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England....
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...Early American’s Challenges with Diversity in Religion, Gender and Ethnicity Life was not easy for the first Americans to set foot upon our wonderful country; individual freedom was challenged daily. In the early years, religion dominated daily life; strict religious observance was not a choice but a mandate. Gender diversity was a grim struggle for most women and children; women were treated as objects, belonging to their husbands. White women were awarded a few more freedoms than black women. Likewise, ethnic diversity was a challenge for Africans and Native Americans; wars were fought over the destiny of an individuals right to be free. Immigrants flocked to the United States to avoid persecution and strict religious worship guidelines; persecution and worship...
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...The Supreme Court and Civil Liberties No matter what an individual believes, one thing is for certain, religion has a huge impact within our own society and throughout the world. Recent advances of this freedom have caused serious implications in the middle east. Religion in the United States is diverse and as a result of this diversity, we see that followers of certain religions will use the diversity of religion within to influence or even manipulate those who do not share the same views. Often times, this expression and influence has a negative effect on society. Throughout this essay, I will go in depth and discuss examples of the impact that religion has had throughout our own society and the world along with the greater impacts the freedom has had on our society. More specifically, I will select four religions that have created a fragmented society we have come to know. What is now being termed a terrorist attack, the attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi, Libya is an example of how the exercise of freedom of religion here in the United States has had severe implications elsewhere. An anti-Muslim film was produced by a right wing group here in the United States that sparked outrage within the middle east. Once anti-American Muslims found out about “The Innocence of Muslims,” attacks on United States consulates were planned. The attack that received the greatest amount of coverage was in Benghazi, Libya and resulted in the death of four Americans. Not...
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...ETH/125 Donna Elaine Mann November 29, 2013 Religious and Ethnic Groups Hinduism is a complex religion. It is the world’s largest religion, after Christianity and Islam, with over a billion followers. It originated in India and is a mixture of religious, philosophical, and cultural ideas and practices. Hinduism is characterized by the belief in reincarnation (Samsara), the multiplicity of deities, the laws of cause and effect (Karma), following a path of devoutness, and the desire for freedom from the cycle of births and deaths (Moksha). It is a way of life called Dharma, which is the law that governs all action. Hindus regard their religion as eternal (Sanatama). Hinduism is thought to have gotten its name from the Persian word Hindu, meaning river. It has no founder or date of origin. Scholars believe that Hinduism may have existed in circa 10000 B.C. with the earliest scriptures, The Rig Veda, composed well before 6500 B.C. The word Hinduism is not found anywhere in the scriptures. The term Hindu was introduced by foreigners referring to people living across the River Indus or Sindhu, in the north of India where the Vedic religion is believed to have originated. Christianity and Islam consider Hinduism as evil because it is a humanistic religion permitting enormous liberties within a few rational and humane boundaries. Because Hinduism is thought to worship and perform rituals to many gods, it is considered paganism. Hinduism gained popularity...
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...people, in the early 1600s, located in just Jamestown to a large 1.5 million people covering territory all throughout America. By now, English colonies were not only populated by Britain's artisans, tradesmen, and middle-class farmers, but also by many merchants and Conquistadors of the French and Spanish immigrants. However, the unwillingness to assimilate in the early 1600s by the French and Spanish colonies, led to the British population dominating the English colonies by the mid-1700s. The result of England’s vast empire led to the English way of...
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...”I look to a day when People will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character”. Martin Luther King Jr inspired the human race to strive for harmony among all people. Martin Luther King Jr has influenced America to change from what it was to a better place. Marches Martin Luther King Jr used Marches to helped bring the people to fight for equality For blacks. During the years Martin Luther King Jr was alive, he had brought non-violent Marches to helped fight for African-Americans.”Martin Luther King Jr with a number of civil rights and religious groups to organize the ‘ March On Washington’ for jobs and freedom”(Martin Luther ). Martin Luther King Jr, religious groups and other civil leaders used this March to show how African-American injustices that they face around the United States. The issue with segregation in alabama came to supreme court and later segregation became ban.“in 1956, he helped to organize a bus boycott in montgomery, after...
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...During the seventeenth and eighteenth century many people emigrated from England settling upon the coast of the new Americas. Throughout many expeditions, colonist have then set their own rules and regulations based on significant dogmas. As people migrated from England to the New World, contrast between the Northern and Chesapeake regions became very prevalent. The founding principles which each of these colonies were founded upon influenced many of the colonies decisions, shaping colonists views by different social, political and economic events. Which led to the cultivation of the tobacco crop, the impact of Puritanism in the Colonial Americas and William Penn. Hundreds of settlers came to the Virginia colony seeking riches. Virginia colonists needed a source of revenue to help in the development of their colony. An Englishmen named John Rolfe booked a voyage to the New World. Rolfe was able to attain seeds of tobacco to bring with him to the colony at Jamestown, where he was planning to begin growing the crop in the English colony. It was with this experiment with tobacco that the first profitable export was developed. Rolfe introduced a new sweeter form of tobacco to the colonies, which is different from the Native American variety planted around Jamestown which he found to be bitter. Virginia’s success grew greatly as Rolfe began exporting more and more tobacco. Tobacco then became the New Worlds first commodity to be internationally traded on the global market. Way before...
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...an extremely strong role in the establishment of the English colonies as it fueled motives for their formation in America and contributed heavily to how the colonies were structured and governed. Many colonies formed in colonial America, were established as refuge from religious persecution. In New England, Massachusetts Bay colony was created as a place for Puritans to escape religious persecution, as they were unable to worship publicly and forced to pay taxes to the Church of England. They established Massachusetts Bay based on Governor John Winthrop’s essay “A Model Christian Society” which discussed how the colony should be viewed as “a city upon a hill.” The community of Massachusetts would be seen as the quintessential Christian society that stressed godliness and unity over individualism....
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...States Constitution was written there has been controversy over the meaning of “ congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercises thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Many people believe that the first amendment clearly states that there is a separation between the church and state, however that language is not included in the first amendment; rather Thomas Jefferson described the separation in a personal letter to church leaders in Connecticut where he states that the first amendment erects “ a wall of separation between church and state.” The main point of contention for people interpreting the portion of the first amendment dealing with religion is the difference between the conservative and liberal points of view. The conservative view point of the first amendment, as spoken by Ronald Reagan, is that “ to those who cite the first amendment for the reason for excluding god from more and more of our institutions and everyday life, may I just say; The first amendment of the constitution was not meant to protect people of this country from religious values; it was written to protect religious values from government tyranny.” The liberal perspective more closely mirrors the perspective of Thomas Jefferson who was quoted in his 1802 letter which referenced that there should be a wall between religion...
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