As one of the largest vested interests in the USA, how have Protestant Christian leaders responded to social and scientific changes in the USA in the past 50 or 100 years? Traditional Christian dogma never changes, but the church and its place in society does. Society has been more pluralistic, educated, and secular. We have come a long way since the Scopes Trial in 1925. By all measures this would be trouble for the church- but surprisingly it has not. Church attendance is steady, and the church continues to execute considerable political influence in the US. In fact, various polls show that some 90-95 percent of Americans claim to believe in God (though of course, this could mean any “god”, and only about 30 percent actually try to live as true Christians). While traditional denominations’ membership has been in relative decline, more charismatic Christian groups have risen to prominence, such as the Mormons, Pentecostal churches, and others. Meanwhile, right-wing groups such as the Christian Coalition and especially Jerry Falwell continue to be major forces in spewing a certain kind of social restrictivism, and emphasizing this aspect of traditional Christianity, while it seems that they often do not act very Christian and only use Christianity as a political tool. The left too has its share of Christian demagogues like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Christianity has never been a purely theological, but also a political, social and cultural phenomenon. And now more than ever it seems more defined by these things than as a serious tract, especially in light of the general acceptance of evolution (whether people will admit it or not!).
I guess my questions are
(1) What accounts for the continued survival and vitality of Christianity in America in the latter 20th century and beyond?
(2) Why is it different in the U.S. than in Europe?
(3) Has Christianity degenerated from a moral force to a moral tool (something used by politicians and other charlatans)?
(4) What accounts for the wave of “born-again” Christians in the 1990’s?
(5) Where do you see Christianity going in the future and what role do you see it playing in American society? Do you think there will be a major revival in the future?
(6) What accounts for the increasingly influence of groups such as the Mormons and Pentecostals and other non-traditional churches within the Christian sphere?
1 The reason, (I beleive) that the Christian religion as well as many other religions in the world have lived on in -spite of scientific advances is that people still look to religion as a crutch of sorts. Just blame your troubles on Satan. People take comfort in thinking that a loved one has “passed on to the afterlife” rather than acknowledging that they are dead. Religion serves a very real purpose. It allows people an ideal answer to the unanswerable questions in life. Religion serves to tell you what happens when you die, how you came into being, and how you should make do with your life which brings up another topic, 3 religion as a moral force and as a political tool. It is both. Religion in essence governs our world. Not as much as it used to in say the pre-reniassance times but it is a governing force nonetheless. Why do we live according the dogma of society? That dogam is dericed from religion. Don’t kill or you’ll burn in Hell forever. Have no other God than me, etc. The ten commandments are tools used by writers of the Bible who were influenced by leaders of that time to keep society under control. Which instills the greater fear? Steal and you will be killed or steal and you will burn in agony for all eternity in the pits of a firely Hades? However, religion serves as a moral force in that it provides us with a will to care for others and it tries to teach acceptance of others. Religion is where our questions of morality come into play. 2 Christianity being different in the US than in Europe is derived from the Ideals of settlers in the US. Many people were attempting to escape powerful religious dogma and form a more nonchalant or accepting branch of the smae religion. Europe still holds on to many strict religious views while the US for the most part tries to remain more lax. 4 I can’t really account without doing research for why the increase in religious activity took place in the 90’s except that it may have been a result of our conflict with Iraq in the middle east. Perhaps people saw this conflict as a possible “end of the world” scenario due to our proximity to the holy land at that time. 5 I think that Christianity will continue to deminish slowly as we become more scientific on our way of life but it will always exist I think for people to fall back on. A major revival could be likley due to our involvment again in the middle east and because of the apocalyptic power we can deply on our world. 6 New age religious groups may being growing in popularity because the nation is in a new age state of mind. We are turning away from the old world religious dogma of Christianity but any religion will ultimatly serve the same purpose for all who enter it. I personally am an agnostic. I realize that the questions of life are unanswerable and that I will have to live with that. I base my life off of what I think is moral without clashing with the laws set before us. I don’t rely on Biblical writings and stories of a paradise cloud my understanding of the here and now. If the Bible is right and what it proclaims is true, than God already knows how I will live my life and it (because we associate He as a dominant sexual figure) can judge itslef for allowing me to live in mystery. Make your own decision, but always accept the beleifs of others.
Thanks omega. You made a lot of good points. I realize the six-part question is kind of long, I didn’t mean for every responder to have to deal with every part, I was just laying the thoughts/questions out on a platter. I’m agnostic as well, and agree with what you said about morality and religion.