Essays on Ecumenism

In the many developments that are taking place in the religious world, ecumenism is one of the most significant of them all. Church leaders are coming together with common goals that enable them to best serve and worship God, among other many activities. The main goal of contemporary ecumenism has been for all the Christians in the world to be brought together into unity amidst diverse and pluralistic expressions of the faith. This interdenominational union is rooted in the belief that all Christians are bound together by Christ and His existence should not be the cause of division and ...

American Evangelicalism

Overview In United States, major religious transition occurred in the start of the twentieth century. More so, there were large numbers of American Protestants under the evangelical leadership. Apparently, in 1900s, there was massive stratification of evangelical denominations based on the doctrinal beliefs and practices. One side consisted of the mainstream Protestants who believed in the personal interpretation of evangelical doctrines. The fundamentalists introduced new beliefs and practices beyond the biblical teachings that provide more freedom of worship to the believers. Additionally, American Protestants applied contemporary factors into the practicability of the biblical doctrines. It is an idea ...

Chapter 7: Civil Religion

Majority of people associate the word “religion” with major organized faiths that people have practiced for centuries. Traditional religions typically involve rituals, sacred texts, holidays, intimate beliefs held and practiced by a congregation. However, humans practice another form of religion, often unconsciously, which sociologists call civil religion. According to Johnstone (122), civil religion refers to secular forms of belief and ritual similar to those practiced in religion, such as political ceremonies. In social scientific context, the society matches cultural institutions with some kinds of social groups. For example, religion is a social embodiment in associations such as churches, the ceremonies in ...

Critical Review

I would like to begin by agreeing with Ronald for reporting that women have not been given an equal recognition in the church. Unlike their male counterparts, the womenfolk ‘have had to struggle to liberate themselves from religious oppression’ Reddie, 2001). Although they have now attained religious progress, they have been discriminated in these male-dominated Christian churches for a very long time. As the author acclaims, no woman could initially be given a leadership position especially in the mainline churches. However, I would like to point out that they are now liberated. Today, many of them have been ordained as church ...