...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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...Abstract The Enlightenment era is made up of on rational thought, ideas and reason. Many men contributed to this, but a few amongst them are Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. Their wisdom and ideas make up the Enlightenment era to which is the backbone of today’s society. The Enlightenment Starting in the mid 1700’s to 1800’s a movement had set in based on rational thought and reason, it was known as the Enlightenment era also known as the Age of Reason. This era created ideas that shaped the political, economic and social institutions in the United States. Men in this era such as Thomas Paine, who was a politician and philosopher, Thomas Jefferson our third president as well as an apostle of agrarian, and Benjamin Franklin, author, scientist, philosopher, and statesman. All these men emphasize the importance of using reason and logic instead of superstition or ignorance. They focus on creating and writing, science, politics and other subjects in this era which influence decades to come (Age of Enlightenment, 2011). In today’s society these ideas have become relevant. Thomas Paine influences the Enlightenment politically and socially, because of his beliefs he was damned by many people in both America and England. Thomas Paine was born in England; he was a corset maker and excise officer in England, although showed interested in philosophy and science. He later in life then met up with Benjamin Franklin in London and soon after he sailed to Philadelphia...
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...Past to Present: The Influence of “Muscular Christianity” Doris N. Jamerson Liberty University Abstract This paper will explore the beginnings of Muscular Christianity and its influence on the youth population. I examined James A. Mathisen’s (1990) sociological article about Gil Dodds establishing Muscular Christianity as a norm in culture. Muscular Christianity has been through different stages during the late 1700s through 1900s. Each stage was influenced by very important men who helped contribute fundamentalist idealisms in their time. His case study analyzed the involvements of Thomas Arnold, Charles Kingsley, Thomas Hughes, Charles Studd, Bud Schaeffer and Gil Dodds. Each of these men had different interpretations of muscular Christianity based off of their backgrounds. Mathisen compared each interpretation and created a timeline of contributions to the rise of modern day religious sport culture. Past to Present: The Influence of “Muscular Christianity” Muscular Christianity is a religious connection of Christianity to physical well-being. Many organizations today are influenced by this modern day form of Christianity. The YMCA an organization we are all familiar with is a prime example of combining religious values with healthy living. The YMCA’s mission incorporates values such as honesty, responsibility, and caring. They focus on youth development and physical health. Youth ministries are included in their programs for youth. The YMCA is an organization...
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...Sammy Qubain AMS 1A October 27, 2014 “I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life.” In “The Age of Reason,” Thomas Paine explains his belief and understanding of religion. Paine believes in one God, life after death, and that all men are equal and must prove their worth to God through life on Earth. Paine does not believe in the establishment of church and these organizations are essentially made to terrify, enslave and profit from mankind. He suggests that churches do nothing but disprove other religions and is suggesting they are hierocracies. Paine believes in freedom of conscious and states that his mind is his own church. He continues and makes claims about that bible and the legitimacy of it. Paine claims that the church uses the bible as a revelation and goes on to define what it actually means. A revelation means something communicated immediately from God to man, and that this definition alone disproves the whole controversy that the bible is essentially a revelation. He continues giving his understanding on Jesus being the son of God. He does not believe that he is son of god but believes that was a extraordinary being that should be an example for all men and women. In “Notes on the State of Virginia,” Thomas Jefferson writes in Query XVII that religion should not be subjected by laws. Paine and Jefferson both suggest that they are accountable to their beliefs and there religious viewpoints. They both reject that idea that Jesus...
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...The Age of Reason, Part I (1794)- Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (1737-1809) - was born in England in 1737, a son of a Quaker. In 1774, Thomas Paine met Benjamin Franklin in London and was invited to immigrate to America. He landed in Philadelphia on November 30, 1774. Working as a publicist, he first published African Slavery in America in 1775, criticizing slavery in America as being unjust to the African slaves. After the Boston Tea party, Thomas Paine had a sensed of rebellion against the British government. He published Common Sense stating America had lost touch with its mother country, Great Britain. “Nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments and common sense.” Thomas Paine had a great influence on the Declaration of Independence of July 4, 1776. He also fought and volunteered during the Independence War. In 1787, Thomas Paine left for England. He was involved in the French Revolution. He was imprisoned in 1793. He published The Age of Reason while he was imprisoned. He went back to the America in 1802 after invited by Thomas Jefferson, who was a true admirer of him. But he realized he was forgotten by the works he had done for America. The Age of Reason was written by Thomas Paine while he was imprisoned in 1794 due to the opposition of the execution of the king Louis XVI of France. The Age of Reason was a praise of the achievement of the Age of Enlightment. He was also accused as being an atheist because of the book. Thomas Paine presented in a clear style of way to...
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...from trade caused the underdevelopment of Africa. The culture in the Americas also changed as the slaves brought their culture with them. Although there were many negative effects from the Atlantic Slave Trade there were also some positive ones. The slaves had a large impact on the development in the Americas as they caused the growth in agriculture and the economy. If the slaves were not brought over to the Americas, the development would not have been as fast or large. Because they were forced to work long hours and do jobs nobody else wanted to do. Because they were cheap labor, landowners could buy many so there would be more slaves to work in the fields and the production would be faster. The Americas mainly produced cash crops like cotton and sugar which they would then send to Europe. As the both North and South America had slaves, they had more people working in the fields and helping produce raw materials, the production of crops was faster. The increase of raw materials led to an increase in trade. As the...
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...Most people generally accept that as a country, America was founded on religions principals. Many of the writings of the founding fathers, including our own Declaration of Independence, include religious doctrine as not only the partial justification for our separation from mother England but also as a part of the vision of how our new nation would be successful. Over time, our society and culture have changed so that today, even though people claim to be religious, religion is certainly not as main stream in our culture as it once was. By better understanding our society in colonial America, how the denominational makeup of churchgoers has changed, how our legal system has both protected and not protected religion’s presence in our daily lives, the influence of different organizations and social movements on religious practices and perceptions, the change in how Christians are perceived and finally the changes in the message that the church is preaching the reader will be able to understand not only how America has changed but also how contemporary Christian leaders and organizations are trying to remain relevant and consistent with God’s word. Colonial America & Our Founding Fathers From the settling of our nation to the Revolutionary War, religion was much more a part of mainstream society. The pervasive nature of religion had an impact on those who led the fight for our freedom. The period of history leading up to the Revolutionary War is commonly referred to as the...
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...able to work efficiently with groups of students from culturally distinct groups (Thomas & Vines, 2008). Furthermore, culture competency plays a key role in how counselors diagnose and treat their patients from any background or culture. The (Surgeon General, 2001) broadly defines culture as a common heritage or set beliefs, norms and values. Culture applies to all groups of people but unfortunately; there are major mental health disparities amongst minority individuals compared to white individuals. According to the Surgeon General (2001), ethnic minorities have less access to mental health services than their white counterparts. Additionally, minorities are...
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...After reading these articles for the first time in a long time, I understand them more in depth. The Declaration gave us our independence from the British, and this is why we have Independence Day on July 4th. The Constitution was written to give the government a little more strong hold on laws and regulations. The letter to the Danbury Baptist was written to inform the people that there would be a separation between “church and state” keeping the government out of religion. These three articles seem as though they have nothing in common…. The Declaration of Independence was written first, on July 4, 1776. The U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. In both of these documents citizens were obligated to support the government as long at it was not restraining them from their freedom, and correct or remove it when it was. The Declaration was written to notify the monarchy that the United States was no longer a British colony. The Declaration of Independence listed reasons why the United States decided to cut ties to the British and was now its own country with its own government. The Constitution outlines the most important government laws and citizen rights. Some of the laws of the Constitution seem to be based off of the listed reasons in the Declaration of Independence. The Constitution was approved through a vote from the states, and the United States Federal Government was created. This is the same Government that exist today. If it wasn’t for the...
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...unique expectation about their lives to meet their defined happiness and enjoyment based one their own education, culture, religion and experience. Those factors affect their satisfaction in some degree about their lives. To be simple, quality of life is to live with healthy, emotional and social wellbeing (Quigley and Watts Ltd). Health promotion is to promote and enhance people to improve the factors that affect their quality of life. Health promotion helps people with troubles to increase control and overcome the difficulties in order to achieve quality of life. It searches all the resources available from our society, community, neighborhood and friends to change the environment to gain quality of life (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). People with end of life diseases such as cancer normally suffering a lot from physical, emotional and social, such as pain, dysfunctional various organs cause them losing appetite and energy, feeling hopeless, depressive, isolated, etc. At this point, for those dying people with the torture of cancer does not mean they can not have quality of life; actually they more than ever need support from us to improve the quality of life. B. Discuss three strategies that you could use in the Thomas’s situation to improve the quality of life for Mrs. Thomas and her husband during this illness. Since Mrs. Thomas has recurrent breast cancer, we need assess and evaluate her current situation, identify her current problems and factors...
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...Thomas Jefferson: Country to popular belief He was, contradictory as you could get, as it pertained to Thomas Jefferson. Thomas Jefferson’s point on religion and slave holding both have considerable roots in contradictory territory; from examining his stance on religion and enslavement there are only a few ways in which you could interpret his choices as it pertained to the country. I think that he made the choices purely out of his status finically, for slavery, and religiousness he changed his course due to his interpretation of the Constitution that he wrote. In the instance of slavery; this is the most blaring of his contradictions. In defense of Jefferson; his father died and in turn left him an inheritance of slaves (Congress, 2005). One could say that at the age of 14 young Jefferson did not have the money or ability to get himself out of the debt his father had put him in to release the slaves(Congress, 2005). As much as he wanted to let the slaves go he could not. Jefferson’s quote citing slavery as a problem within the nation shows his devotion to ending slavery. “There must doubtless be an unhappy influence on the manners of our people produced by the existence of slavery among us. The whole commerce between master and slave is a perpetual exercise of the most boisterous passions, the most unremitting despotism on the one part, and degrading submissions on the other.” Followed by this quote: "We have the wolf by the ears; and we can neither hold him...
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...polluted the air. The history of the English Reformation certainly does not make for bedtime stories, nevertheless it is what it is and Christianity in England consequently took a dramatic turn of events. When we think of the Anglican Communion we think of the Book of Common Prayer and when turn the pages we can do nothing else but think of the scholar, priest and revolutionist who created it, Thomas Cranmer. Out of the smoke of the reformation arose the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556). Cranmer, amongst many is one of the iconic figures who helped influence Christian church history, and is often referred to as the ‘Architect of Church of England.’ In particular, Cranmer’s most noted contribution came to the surface during the English Reformation. His services were employed to bring reform to many of the facets of Church life, the relationship between the state and the Church and everyday Christian life for the common man. From years of being conjoined to Rome and Papal authority, English religion would never be the same again. Burned at the stake of Bloody Mary, Thomas Cranmer was born July 2, 1489. Educated at...
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...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 and government. Those subscribing to the liberal view point would like no reference or role of religion in all of government...
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...Throughout history, this topic has generated much of controversy. Ancient history is full of examples of the state or governing authorities interfering with religion. There were rulers or kings that assumed various “priestly” titles, like the “temporal” titles that their offices command. An example of such state-church mixing and melding, led to the execution of Socrates, for his disrespect for the gods( in Biblical times, like kings of Israel were anointed by Priests, as a sign of God’s approval. This is why separation of church and state is bad for America. For centuries, Monarchs ruled by the idea of divine right. This later metamorphosed into monarchs ruling over church’s administration in a way. There was this catholic doctrine that the Pope, as Vicar of Christ on earth, should have authority over the church on earth and indirectly over the state. This led to claims in the middle ages that the pope has authority to depose Catholic kings and they did try to exercise this authority. Thus in the medieval times in western world, monarch who ruled in secular world tend to encroach on the church’s rule of the spiritual sphere. This led to power struggles and crises. In the 1530s, Henry VIII, rejected the annulment of his marriage with Catherine of Aragon by the Pope. He consequently, formed the Church of England (Anglican Church) and set himself as the ruler of the new church, thus ending the separation that had existed between the church and the state...
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...state of society. The term "secularism" was first used by the British writer Holyoake in 1851 to describe his views of promoting a social order separate from religion. The English word ‘secular’ comes from the Latin ‘saeculum’, which means ‘an age’ or ‘the spirit of an age’ and has the same meaning as the Greek ‘aeon’. In general terms, secularism means “belonging to this age, or worldly” along with a denial of other worldly realities (i.e. religious). The Bible introduces the idea of divine creation in the book of Genesis. God speaks directly to Man in Genesis: “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it”. As Peter Berger, a social theorist notes that in this the idea of a secular world is sown as a God who stands outside of the Cosmos which is his creation. This opens the way for self making activity which Berger calls ‘historization’. Caesar was the emperor of Rome. In a famous passage Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's". Some have thought that Jesus' statement established two separate realms, Caesar's and God's, and that people should render to each what they ask for in their respective realms. Later, during the rule of Roman Emperor Constantine 1 the two worlds were sought to be brought together. Christianity became a dominant religion of the Roman...
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