Religious History of the America: An Analytical Report
Introduction
American society did not significantly remain a religious community over the course of its history. People considered going to church as a waste of their precious time. They were largely indulged in the reaping of worldly happiness. They preferred going to theaters, movies, and bars instead of religious centers in the country. The religious centers were reserved for the people who were drawing closer to their demise. They considered church as the source of seeking forgiveness from their Lord. The late 1970s witnessed times when people of America switched from having the theological affiliation to focusing on the gathering of the pleasures of this world. The approach worked well enough until recent history. The land of America sowed the seed of temporary approach towards life in foreigners as well. The Muslims, Hindus, and Jews living in America forgot their religious teachings in order to blend in with the social setup of the country. The early history of America was greatly influenced by the teachings of Christianity. However, the neoclassical American generation did not find the religious teachings as practical in nature, and therefore, they discarded them for good (Brubaker, 115). The churches were cut off from the rest of the society because according to modern masses, they caused hindrance in the process of scientific development. The Americans learned to live in science so they completely rejected the theological belief system of major kinds. The major percentage of Americans did not believe in the concept of God. The leading physicist, Stephen Hawking argues that there is no God, and everything in this world is created due to the natural process of evolution. The author of one of the greatest work, “Why does the World Exist” rejected the concept of God, and went in the seeking of scientific causes behind the existence of this world.
Both of the cited works are the representatives of modern American philosophies. The Americans rejected religious beliefs because they wanted them to stop from achieving scientific development. The significant level of American cultural identity was borrowed from the English one that considered church as the source of unshakable political power. The Americans were more liberal in their thoughts about personal freedom so they moved straight pass the religious philosophies in order to have scientific development and economic growth that were prevented from happening by the church. The theological principles were outdated, and did not appreciate the developmental needs of the society, so they were placed on the backburner in order to have more important social needs fulfilled (Casanova, 421). The Americans did not reject God because they had given up on him, but the practices of church impressed them to embark on the journey of life without possessing the supernatural beliefs. The practical and humanistic school of thought emerged in the media and literature of America, and they gave far more importance to human effort in terms of having the power to turnaround the destiny of entire nation. The current mindset of Americans paid them well, and they are indeed the leading force regarding application of modern technology. They have excelled in medical science, and they have driven down mortality rates in population significantly. The religious thinking has become modernized as every other field of life in the latest years, and the social pressures in American society decreased in terms of their power to influence the decision of the individuals. In this way, personal development of every human being is receiving special attention in the country as well. The disables are getting preferential treatment in the world of education (Swartz, 72). The females are getting engaged in professional fields, and they are proving their worth to rest of the world. The people of America are truly living the American dream by pursuing their interests in the presence of freedom.
The elderly are surviving longer in the country. The children are healthy, and they receive vaccination against various diseases at birth. The defense systems of the country are being consistently upgraded in order to integrate automation increasingly, so that lives of the soldiers can be saved. The Americans are tapping into the heat of the Earth in order to fulfill upcoming energy needs of the world. They are chartering space. They have visited the moon, and they are planning to go to Mars as well. They have used wind to create energy. They are running vast social and economic rehabilitation programs in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are preserving peace in the world. All of these accomplished occurred when American nation dared to challenge the theological and the spiritual beliefs, and started to believe in their own ability to achieve what they want to have. They did not wait for God to bless them with rewards from the heavens, but seek them all by themselves. The old testament of Bible guided humans to have undisputed faith in God and on his mercy for humans. However, the meanings of Bible evolved, as humans entered into the 21st century, and modern testament argues that believers must exert themselves in order to have what they want, and God shall repay against their efforts (Luhrman, 521). In the light of previous heavenly revelation, one can infer that God wants humans to attempt new things, and does not want them to sit idle as well.
The universe has a hidden message for those who can observe, and that is the power of growth embedded into the very nature of this universe. The universe is growing and expanding with the passage of every second. The Earth has the ability to preserve the objects that serve some kind of purpose. The trees that do not produce fruit or vegetation die out eventually. The Americans learned their way of life from the teachings of Mother Nature, and once they have found that church is not following natural laws, and it is indeed standing against them then, the entire nation discarded it for good (Casanova, 425). The modern religious experts are bringing Christianity up to speed with the modern world.
They have reinterpreted the messages of Bible in order to modernize the book of Jesus. They quoted that God wants his children to imagine to have what they want to have, and then, in due time they will have it. The use of “due time” in the previous phrase means that humans have to wait to experience the rewards from their father. However, no reward cannot be reaped without putting in the effort. The theological school of thought is finally submerging into the humanistic one after all. The Americans have proven to the world that human effort does have the power to change the world (Swartz, 84). The God will test his children with difficulties so that they can grow. The world is a testing ground for humanity’s character, and Jesus wants his offspring to experience the process of evolution. After 9/11, Americans have returned to churches in great numbers, and they are seeking a relationship with the God, but they want to have a different bond with him this time. Majority of American churchgoers believe that they can feel the physical presence of God, and that is not a new sensation to have because God is with us all the time. Feeling his presence means that people are getting drawn towards him at a deeper spiritual level.
Conclusion
This paper has highlighted modern changes in American religious ways. They have applied the principle of human effort in order to reap great fruits. They never lost faith in God, but they did so over the ability of church to serve the social, economic, and scientific needs of the society. After accomplishing so much in the countless professional fields, they are returning to churches after all these years because modern scholars and researchers have brought religious teachings up to speed with the theoretical aspects of the 21st century. Human development and personal development has become the cornerstone of modern religion. The Americans have initiated to believe that they can have a physical relation with the God, and churches are forced to back up that change in the treatment of the concept of God because of scientific validity of the claim. God is alive and, therefore, humans can feel his presence without any dispute.
Works Cited
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Casanova, José. "Religion, the New Millennium, and Globalization." Sociology of Religion Vol 62 (4) (2001): 415-441. Online.
Luhrman, Tanya M. "Metakinesis: How God Becomes Intimate in Contemporary US Christianity." American Anthropologist Vol 106 (3) (2004): 518-528. Online.
Swartz, David. "Bridging the Study of Culture and Religion: Pierre Bourdieu's Political Economy of Symbolic Power." Sociology of Religion Vol 57 (1) (1996): 71-85. Online.
