Religion in America
This is an excerpt from the paper...
It has been fairly argued that religion in America has undergone or, at the very least, is currently in a process of undergoing a third "disestablishment"--that is, a change in the relationship of its religious institutions to it culture (Hammond 516). In this view, the first disestablishment occurred at the founding of the country, when no specific preference for one Protestant church over another was distinguished as the "state religion"; the second having occurred in the interim between the two world wars of this century, at which time "the genuine religious pluralism in American culture and the correlative loss by Protestantism of its favored status" became apparent (Hammond 516-517). McCarthy and his colleagues see the "second disestablishment" in the retreat from the influence of religion in public education (and possibly government in general), and a resurgence in private religious instruction (xvii). According to Hammond's thesis, the current (or, third) disestablishment recognizes that a fundamental change in the church-culture relationship in American society has taken place whereby persons are seen to be free to choose not only which religion will be theirs but also whether to choose any at all. It is the changeover of the church from being "inherited," and to some extent therefore involuntary, to being completely a matter of individual choice (517). This may seem odd in light of the concept of religious freedom as it is commonly taught to school chi
. . .
m the state, not the state from religion" (105). This is an important distinction which is too often missed; "the secular world acts as though the constitutional command is that the nation and its people must keep religion under wraps" (109).
While most "separatists" understand that the role of government must not be one which advocates forcing individuals into sectarian religious observances, nor one which inflicts punishment on people because of their religiosity, the "separatists" nevertheless allow no room, in most instances, for individuals whose motives may be religiously based to exert any influence on the government, nor do they tolerate the government's slightest effort to listen to such individuals (Carter 106).
The Supreme Court, in its attempts to maintain for the government a neutral posture, has repeatedly stated that government may neither "advance" religion or engage in an "excessive entanglement" with religion. Despite this, according to Carter (107), "the most significant aspect of the separation of church and state is not . . . the shielding of the secular world from too strong a religious influence; [it is] to secure religious liberty."
To this end, Carter argues that "a broader understanding of re
. . .
Some common words found in the essay are:
Educational Supplement, Roof Johnson, According McCarthy, According Hammond's, Supreme Court, Puritans Swedish, , West Bank, England Pennsylvania, Jesus Christ, et al, mccarthy et al, mccarthy et, educational supplement, times educational supplement, times educational, religious freedom, separation church, school students, al 9, 1993 pp, et al 9, school students received, 304 1993 pp, human rights,
Approximate Word count = 2877
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page)
|
Customer Service
to Over
32,000 Professionally Written Papers!!!
