Religion In American Life :: essays research papers

theology In American LifeReligion used to be a very important component in an Americans life.Protestantism was as American as Mom and apple pie. Families would don their"sunshine best" and go to perform azoic on Sunday mornings. However, this fact has changed quite a bit. After reviewing the 1994 statistics Igathered from the Micase system and comparison them to the statistics received inclass, I discovered a trend off from traditional ghostly beliefs andpractices, and one toward atheism or alternative sacred beliefs. After aresurgence in the 1970s and early 1980s, the Roman Catholic church beganexperiencing a slow, yet steady, decline in rank. As membership in the much orthodox Roman Catholic church decreased, membership in Protestant churchesincreased. In recent years, the Catholic Church has wrick politically livelyand more vociferous concerning its views on moral issues much(prenominal)(prenominal) as war, abortion,and euthanasia. It is my speck that many Ca tholics are searching for sectsthat will abide them to retain their trust in Christ without a central personify(i.e., the Vatican) speaking on behalf of them on issues that they are capableof rationalizing for themselves. Among Catholics and Protestants, there is atrend toward slight rigid attending of religious services. If we examine thefigures from au naturel(p) and Glocks 1968 survey, 54% of Americans surveyed at thetime attended church more oftentimes than once a month. This figure shrank to 40.7%in the 1994 survey. Though the Catholic church insists on hebdomadal attendance ofchurch, weekly attendance dropped from 52% in 1978 to 49% in 1986. Then,attendance plummeted, with only 28.3% of Catholics surveyed in 1994 claiming to start out attended church in the last seven days. Even among those who remain withthe traditional Christian sects, attendance is diminishing. Christianity used tobe an integral part of virtually family and community custom and traditions inAmerica . It seems that as Americans lives become more complex, little time is functional for formal religious commitments. Also, one may chew over that theexponential fruit of technology and education has rendered traditionalreligious teachings, such as creationism, antiquated and people are leaving theChristian churches because their teachings do not ascertain with their personalbeliefs. However, not everyone is leaving the Catholic church for Protestantdenominations. In the last thirty years, the number of people claiming to haveno religious affiliation have increased almost five-fold, with 2% of the peoplesurveyed claiming no affiliation in 1967, and 9.2% claiming the same in 1994.Since the early 1980s, there has withal been an increase in the number of peopleclaiming " opposite" religious beliefs.Religion In American Life essays research cover Religion In American LifeReligion used to be a very important component in an Americans life.Protestantism was as American as Mom and apple pie. Families would don their"Sunday best" and go to church early on Sunday mornings. However, thissituation has changed quite a bit. After reviewing the 1994 statistics Igathered from the Micase system and comparing them to the statistics received inclass, I discovered a trend away from traditional religious beliefs andpractices, and one toward atheism or alternative religious beliefs. After aresurgence in the 1970s and early 1980s, the Roman Catholic church beganexperiencing a slow, yet steady, decline in membership. As membership in themore orthodox Roman Catholic church decreased, membership in Protestant churchesincreased. In recent years, the Catholic Church has become politically activeand more vociferous concerning its views on moral issues such as war, abortion,and euthanasia. It is my feeling that many Catholics are searching for sectsthat will allow them to retain their faith in Christ without a central body(i.e., the Vatican) speaking on behalf of t hem on issues that they are capableof rationalizing for themselves. Among Catholics and Protestants, there is atrend toward less rigid attendance of religious services. If we examine thefigures from Stark and Glocks 1968 survey, 54% of Americans surveyed at thetime attended church more often than once a month. This figure shrank to 40.7%in the 1994 survey. Though the Catholic church insists on weekly attendance ofchurch, weekly attendance dropped from 52% in 1978 to 49% in 1986. Then,attendance plummeted, with only 28.3% of Catholics surveyed in 1994 claiming tohave attended church in the last seven days. Even among those who remain withthe traditional Christian sects, attendance is diminishing. Christianity used tobe an integral part of most family and community customs and traditions inAmerica. It seems that as Americans lives become more complex, less time isavailable for formal religious commitments. Also, one may theorize that theexponential growth of technology and education h as rendered traditionalreligious teachings, such as creationism, obsolete and people are leaving theChristian churches because their teachings do not agree with their personalbeliefs. However, not everyone is leaving the Catholic church for Protestantdenominations. In the last thirty years, the number of people claiming to haveno religious affiliation have increased almost five-fold, with 2% of the peoplesurveyed claiming no affiliation in 1967, and 9.2% claiming the same in 1994.Since the early 1980s, there has also been an increase in the number of peopleclaiming "other" religious beliefs.