Religion In The 20th Century

In 1830, missionaries began to travel west, so they could spread their religion. In 1847, measles spread and killed many Cayuse. Farmers wanted the soil in Oregon. The Oregon Trail stretched for more than 2,000 miles. This trip would be very hazardous. They used covered wagons to protect themselves. Between 1840 and 1860, more than 50,000 people reached Oregon.

Over the course of the last several decades, mainline churches have been declining in membership as new independent churches have swelled in size (Bishop 170). Bishop asserts that this shift is primarily a manifestation of the Big Sort occurring at a smaller level. Pastors have recognized a shifting tide in the way people think about their religious communities, and have altered their techniques accordingly. In the new conception, the church was not a unifying force for the disparate segments of society, but a self-contained cell of like-minded individuals. These two forces, the splintering and separation of churches, have combined to cement the cultural gap in American life.

Throughout the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, religion changed through each empire and time. In these times, there were people with the religion of Hindu, Judaism, Christianity, and Muslim (which contained two sects: the Sunnis and Shiites.) Three empires during this time included the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid Empire, and lastly, the Mughal Empire. These three empires between the 16th and 18th centuries were different and similar in many ways, however all three had different outlooks on religion and were very diverse. They were diverse because each ruler had his own opinion about religion and made the whole empire follow whatever he thought, meaning that each empire had a different amount of religious tolerance, if any at all. The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires varied in their views about religion.

What the broadcast of “America’s Changing Religious Landscape” contributed to my understanding of Protestantism in contemporary America was that Protestantism dominated America through 1607 to 1955. That Protestantism began to diminish once the Vietnam War started as new political movements occurred in the 1960s. There were drastic changes as little girls in bikinis were getting baptized and worship teams being changed into rock bands. In addition, despite the fact that Protestantism is declining in America it will not disappear from the world as 23,000 Africans convert to Christianity every day. 3.)

Emerson was an author in nineteenth century America; society and the church during that time were very different and much more conservative compared to society and religion in modern times. In the time that Emerson wrote Nature, religion greatly influenced law because it gave people ways to live, and a majority of the populous viewed those guidelines and beliefs of the church as laws, while as now the beliefs of the church are viewed almost as guidelines. Emerson was partially correct in his statement that says ethics changes, while religion stays the same in that that ethics changes with time, but religion does not change, but instead religion changes over time, though it takes extended periods of time for any major changes to become noticed.

Individuals are quick to tell where they attend church, because they take pride in it. Most of the church population finds themselves going to what church is popular within the community or to a family church. A religious sect usually correlates to someone’s secular life in some manner. Religious denomination is weakly related to both types of educational goals, and seems to have no real influence on occupational goals.

Church buildings, musical instruments, ministers’ attire, choir robes, hymns, names of converts, schools and curriculums had Americans’ religious, cultural, and economic trademark. The Christianity that addressed issues of life in the American cultural context was transplanted in different parts of the world. Unlike the transition of the Hebraic-Christianity from the Jewish culture to the Gentile world in the first century, which developed its own unique theological, cultural, and leadership identity in a short period of time, the phenomenal growth of Christianity in the majority world has been largely influenced by the dominance of American Christianity. As the result, we have Christian faith that is not well anchored on local theology. And to most of the churches in the majority world, up until recently,

Religions were created to give people a sense of assurance in an insecure world, and a feeling of control over the environment where there was little control (Origins of Religion). Once religion began to evolve worldwide, more ideas, rules, stories, justifications, etc. came about. This is how religion evolved over time. All religions have their own differences and people who follow a religion agree with their exact rules. This doesn't mean more religions, both small and large, aren't being created right now.

Religion transmuted rapidly over the years in modern Europe as many key figures spoke out in protest or suggest reform of the system they were acclimated to. This rapid change influenced numerous different parts of life as well. This period in time included not only reformation for religion, but also ordinary life. Change was formed in other areas such as politics, economics, and culture. Political change was greatly affected by religious change in this period.

Using material from item A and elsewhere, assess the view that most people today see spirituality and religious belief as purely private and personal matters.

Religion in British history is greatly influenced by who is reigning at the time. Throughout the 1300s to the 1600s religion changed with each leader. Sometimes the change was quite monumental and other times the leader coming into reign would primarily agree with was laid out before and only change things slightly. Religion includes the church, and sometime the King simply wanted the benefits and the power that the church had and could care less about the doctrine that was being taught, but that is not always the case. We see throughout the 1300s to about the 1500s that the church and religion are typically used for its power. Then in the 1500s to the 1600s a lot of rulers change the doctrine being taught and were being very passionate about religion. Religion in England today was greatly shaped by the religious decisions and movements made during this time period.

Religions have changed constantly throughout history, beginning with the Egyptians and continuing through current day. Most of all new religions begin as polytheistic. This most likely developed because the people of the ancient world suspected that one god could not take care of all their needs. Therefore, they created several gods to take care of everything in the natural world such as water, fire, animals, etc. The first evidence of written religion was on the Sumerian tablets, around 3,500 B.C. The Egyptians demonstrated the first progression of religion in the area, during the time period around 4,000 B.C. The Egyptians believed humans ranked as partners with the gods to maintain order; it characterized similarly to the Mesopotamian’s religion. After a while, a change in religion transpired.

The Second “Great Awakening” of the 1790’s, brought change to the New World. “inspired by the economic progress and democratic spirit of the age and by the religious optimism of the Second Great Awakening, believed that they could improve their personal lives and society as a whole” (Henretta et al, America 321). The Second “Great Awakening” created an environment in which denominations came together in cooperation. Religious leaders began to establish societies, which “ministered to the nation” (Henretta et al, America 252). Everyone participating in these societies together, began to serve a larger religious purpose, uniting communities.

The accomplishments and success of civilizations are closely linked to their religious outlook and the role of religion in their governments and society. Throughout history rulers have used the influence of religions to control their populations and provide the justification for their power. A society with a greater degree of separation between religion and government promotes a superior level of liberty and creativity amongst its people. By the time of the decline of the Roman Empire in the west, however, the world had come full circle to a return to theocratic dictatorship.

The decline of Christianity began during the eighteenth-century with the rise of the Enlightenment. Ideologies like Deism, naturalism and rationalism directly influenced society and leading it to the humanization of everything divine. Then during the nineteenth century, the advance in science and technology led to materialism, determinism and skepticism, and society gradually became hostile to religion. The situation became even more serious because by the end of the nineteenth century neither Catholics nor Protestants had presented a proposal against the materialism. Consequently, “for the first time in more than fifteen hundred years. Western European civilization seemed to be ignoring the Christian heritage to which it had been born and