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Christianity In The United States Essay

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Christianity and its Origins in the United States
When the United States was founded it was based off of the foundations of Christianity. Even important historical documents such as The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution contain evidence of Christian influence in the founding fathers. In the Declaration of Independence there is a portion that says that all men are “endowed by their Creator”. Jefferson’s initial draft of the Declaration of Independence consisted of the words “the laws of nature”. This was a direct reference to the laws of God explained by John Locke in Second Treatise on Civil Government and William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England. (Probe, 2003)
The Faith of the Founding Fathers …show more content…

There are a number of different religions that come from all different parts of the world. As of 2010 in the United States 78.3% of citizens identify themselves as Christians, 16.4% are Unaffiliated, 1.8% Jewish, 1.2% are Buddhists and less than 1% are of other religions. (Pew-Templeton, 2010). The amount of Christian influence in politics is overwhelming in the United States. The reason being that if a majority of your country share similar beliefs they are likely to elect representatives that mirror the same moral compass as themselves. Unfortunately, because of the Christian influence, there have been a number of candidates that use their “faith” as their platform but their actions do not directly reflect Christian principles. For example, most recently, Senator Roy Moore used his Christian beliefs to protect the Ten Commandments monument from being removed from the Alabama state supreme-court building. Moore was also in the news for accusations of engaging teenage girls and inappropriately touching a 14-year-old girl. (Green, 2017). A lot of Christians reacted negatively towards the allegations, which is ultimately one of the factors for Moore’s loss in the election. This is just one example of how using Christian influence as a platform can sometimes backfire if candidates are not willing to take responsibility for their

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The United States of America was founded by people who were mainly trying to escape from some religious laws, to gain religious freedom or religion equality. Most of America 's first immigrants were Christians, therefore is no surprise the country is built on and with Christian morals. During 1980 a large population of immigrants came into U.S, this group of immigrants came from 5 different continents, with different religious backgrounds. However, the largest religious group among this large population of immigrants were Christians. About one-third of this immigrant who are not Christians find it difficult and unsafe to stay in a country where Christians seem to have an upper hand, very few of this people have stepped out from their comfort

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The story of American Religion is one of migration, be it from immigrants from other countries or from the movement of Americans from city to city and from state to state. This is especially true of American Southerners who, during the Great Depression, moved out of their homeland and to the more industrial areas of the country like Detroit or Los Angeles. When these Southerners migrated to Los Angeles and Southern California, they brought with them their evangelical religious beliefs. In “From Bible Belt to Sun Belt,” author Darren Dochuk describes how that brand of southern evangelicalism initially shaped Southern California, and then US politics as a whole, through cultural clashes with the existing New Deal Democrats of the area, by

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In James Madison’s address to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia, “Memorial and Remonstrance”, he speaks about his opposition to a Bill which would provide provisions for teachers of Christian faith. He argues that such a Bill is an abuse of legislative powers, and he is bound by duty to prove why. Madison starts off by pointing out how religion is a personal freedom given to every man and it should not be controlled in any way by a governing body.

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“Faith and the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush” was written by Gary Scott Smith, the book goes in depth about how presidencies brought religion to America and its government. This book was written to be read by students and scholars looking to further their knowledge about the presidents’ religious views and how they used their views in office. Gary Scott Smith is currently the chair and professor of history at Grove City College, were he graduated from in 1972 with a bachelor’s in art in Psychology. He also has his master’s in art in American History from John Hopkins which he received in 1979. In 1981 he received his Ph. D in American History from John Hopkins as well (Faculty, par.1).

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Thomas Jefferson in particular wrote the Declaration of Independence, which stated “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator

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While most studies and theories are concerned with the differences between religion and culture, Bellah (1967) spent a lot of time examining the similarities of religion specifically in America. While Rousseau is credited as the one who coined the term “civil religion”, Bellah provided an in-depth study (2007:167). Based in presidential inaugurations, he continuously recites that people in authority often cite a generalized god, one that does not belong to any set religion (Bellah 1967). He goes on to explain that in America, there are “certain common elements of religious orientation that the great majority of Americans share” (Bellah 1967:166). This is important to understand in the sociology of religion because it shows how cultures and ideas can combine to create something the majority of society agrees on, even if it’s something as strongly held as

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The President of the United States is sworn into office with his hand on the bible. With all of these things considered, it is apparent how Christianity gained recognition and became the most practiced religion worldwide. There are so many aspects of Christianity that influenced not only western civilization over centuries, but world civilization as well. Without Christianity and the belief of everlasting salvation, the world and everyone in it would be very different. There is a certain kind of freedom and hope that only people living in Christian societies

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Over the past few years, anyone can tell you that religious importance in our country has become less, and less vital. Recent events like the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, and the attacks on Paris, France, have made the freedom of religion harder and harder to come by. Having the free practice of religion has proved difficult. Christianity has suffered from these issues as the general acceptance of the religion has declined substantially in the few decades. A recent poll there was a sense of discrimination for the Islamic religion, as they have been responsible for the attacks, 8/10 Americans believe Christianity should be practiced freely, while only a mere 6/10 Americans think the Muslims should practice freely (Source #3).

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