Religion And Spirituality

Religion and spirituality has been shaping and transforming the United States since its beginning. Religion has been an important part of the American psyche and culture and plays an important role in the lives of many American’s. It is a natural part of human nature to want answers for some of life’s most biggest problems and religion tends to be one of those answers.

Religion has influenced America in a number of ways, but one way in particular is in the Constitution. In the Constitution, the First Amendment guarantees every American the right to practice (or to not practice) their religious beliefs (First Amendment). This is an important portion of the Constitution because without it, Americans would not have the choice to worship, practice,

I guess that I could say that I am one of those typical “Christians” who attend church every Sunday, has grown up in a religious family, and has been involved with many different things within the church. I also believe in the basic concepts of Christianity: following the Ten Commandments, that heaven and hell are real, Jesus is our savior, etc. I think that having a faith is important because it gives you guidance and hope. In my opinion, it is better to have some sort of faith than to not have it at all. At this point in my life, I am hoping to grow my faith and to become more devoted to it. When I was 12, I finally “confirmed” my faith by going through the process of Confirmation and by getting baptised. These are very important things in the Christian faith because it means that you have accepted Jesus as your savior. The reason why I decided to accept Christ was because I had grown up in the church and I had believed in Him from a young age. Today, I still believe in Him and I hope that one day I will join Him in

Some of these religions are from China; they are Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism (Mills Jr). These three religions were brought over by 19th century Chinese laborers looking for a better life (Mills Jr). Many of the ideas of these religions such as respect for elders, ordered societies, and the sense of community influenced 19th century America and can still be seen today in American culture (Mills Jr). The cultures of these religions also influenced American immigration policies. In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was created to stop immigration from China because of the growing hostility towards Chinese people for “stealing their jobs” (Mills Jr). Another religious group that has influenced America is the Yoruba. The Yoruba have their roots in the West African country of Nigeria and has been around before slavery in America (Ancient African Religion). The Yoruba religion has become popular in the United States and it began to spread during the 1950’s due to black nationalist movements and the growth of black communities (Ancient African Religion). The Yoruba have influenced American life and culture because it has caused many African- Americans to embrace their identities and to learn more about their origins (Ancient African