The Role of Religion in the Development of America

1468 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays on religion and war

Religion has and will probably always be one of the most controversial topics of our world. There have been so many historical events, debates, riots, movements, and roles that have been contributed because of religion. Some people say that without religion, people wouldn’t have anything to believe in. Others say that if there wasn’t religion, most of our problems that occurred and are occurring wouldn’t even be happening. To me, I think religion is what countries live on. Even though we don’t necessarily have “religion” in our government, we have the freedom of practice in religion and have the right to talk about it. Honestly, I feel like religion played a huge positive role in the development of America, even if there were some minor obstacles that we had to go through.
For starters, Religion’s role in the settlement of our new world was huge. It was the main reason most people even ventured out to this part of the world in the first place. Many people had religion intolerance over in England and didn’t like it. With all of the disease and famine going on, they believed God wanted them to venture out to this new land to be safe and secure in their lives. Others just wanted to bring their knowledge of their God to the Native’s, to spread their religion as far as it could go. Once people arrived at the New World, things were more tolerable than England. At first many of the religious groups would veer away from each other naturally, but after a while there were so many communities with all different types of religion, and I think that’s where it was a positive outcome for this New World. I think without the religious tolerance that each group gave each other our world wouldn’t even have gotten to the point where it was 100 years...

... middle of paper ...

...on mixed with the war.
All in all, religion has played a vital role in our American history. Religion was the main reason the English settlers came to the new world. From it helping move Americans towards the Revolution against Great Britain to being used in the everyday Americans during the Civil War, religion will always be an important part in every issue going on the world. I think what we can learn from all of this information is that religion will never be left out of any issue not matter how hard we wish we could. It’s taught that we can’t always listen to what other people tell us about religion but we have to learn, read, and write about it ourselves to get a full understanding. Religion will never be left out of political or economical issues and it will always be the backbone of this nation. Without religion, we wouldn’t have the nation we have today.

Show More
Related

  • Critical Analysis Of The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down

    1772 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religion is considered as a pervasive force in this world. It shapes people as to how they behave and interact with almost everything present in the society. Influencing behavior, character formations, ideals, policies, standards are just among the dimensions and societal perspectives affected and impacted by religion. Because of these applications and implications in human lives and existence, religion should be understood deeply, particularly, on how it affects the world. Looking at the American perspective of the term "religion," it could be simply

    Read More

  • Religion in Early America

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion and government in England had always gone hand in hand, and if one group’s ideas did not coincide with England’s laws controlling the practice of religion they would be denied. The unification of church and state within European countries led to many wars, resulting in massive debt. As England declared themselves a Catholic country, Protestants who did not hold the same beliefs needed a new homeland where they could be free to worship in their own way. This new homeland was America, and it allowed Protestants, now calling themselves Puritans, to practice Christianity without government interference. While original settlers came to America to create a Christian homeland where they could practice their faith how they wanted, America quickly became a homeland for religious freedom through a mixing pot of differing religions, cultures, and ethnicities, enough open land for them to exist together, and the key idea of the separation of Church and State.

    Read More

  • Religion in Colonial America

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    Religion was the foundation of the early Colonial American Puritan writings. Many of the early settlements were comprised of men and women who fled Europe in the face of persecution to come to a new land and worship according to their own will. Their beliefs were stalwartly rooted in the fact that God should be involved with all facets of their lives and constantly worshiped. These Puritans writings focused on their religious foundations related to their exodus from Europe and religions role in their life on the new continent. Their literature helped to proselytize the message of God and focused on hard work and strict adherence to religious principles, thus avoiding eternal damnation. These main themes are evident in the writings of Jonathan Edwards, Cotton Mathers, and John Winthrop. This paper will explore the writings of these three men and how their religious views shaped their literary works, styles, and their historical and political views.

    Read More

  • The Current Religion of the American Economy as a Barrierand Substitute for Christian Living

    2954 Words  | 6 Pages

    Whatthe U.S. has done, indeed what most of us have endorsed, to traditionalreligion is well ! described by Jeffrey Haynes in his essay on religion andpolitics: Almosteverywhere, modern states have sough to reduce religions politicalinfluence, to privatize it and hence significantly reduce its political andsocial importance. But . . .states have also recognized the importance of religion for politics by seekingto create civil religionsthat is, bodies of state designatedreligious dogma. The purpose wasto engineer consensual, corporate religious forms that could claim to be guidedby general, culturally appropriate, societally specific beliefs, notnecessarily tied institutionally to any specific religious tradition. The development of civil religion wasoften part of a strategy not merely to avoid social conflicts but also to tryto promote national co-or! dination in countries with serious religious and/orideological...

    Read More

  • Religion In Colonial America

    557 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the English came to America they brought many bright ideas that would later affect the colonies.There were also different types of religions that impacted all the colonies such as puritanism, Lutheran's, Catholics Etc. Religion had an important role in establishing the colonies, however different areas of the colonies were affected differently. Religion was differ in each of the following places the England , middle, and the southern colonies.

    Read More

  • How Did Religion Influence Colonial America Today

    941 Words  | 2 Pages

    America today has changed tremendously throughout the years not only politically but also religiously. From the first colonists who came to America for religious independence to todays melting pot of different religious and cultural backgrounds. They had to get their differences somewhere, and what better place than America. It all started in colonial America, with the first settlers. Among these colonists there are a few major names and topics that help to shape colonial America into what it is now. These individuals impacted America’s religious development greatly, with their new ideas and foreign advancements in religious prosperity.

    Read More

  • Religion In America, 1492-1790

    2179 Words  | 5 Pages

    Religion in the New World exploded into the land with the colonization of thousands of immigrants. It played an important role in the development of thought in the West. Religion was one of the first concepts to spark the desires of people from other countries to emigrate to the new lands. While many religions blossomed on the American shores of the Atlantic, a basic structure held for most of them, being predominantly derived from Puritanism. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement, showed the link the new settlers had to God when Sir Thomas Dale said the following in 1610:

    Read More

  • Religion's Role in Early American Exploration and Development

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout human history, religion has played a fundamental role in societal development, regardless of the culture. Christianity, in particular, has profoundly shaped the last two thousand years of history and continues to do so today. This holds true in the case of European development and exploration of the New World. As exploration in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries flourished, many countries set out to declare land on behalf of their country, and in an effort to bring honor to their God. When English settlers first developed colonies in New England, one of their goals was to share the word of God with the Native Americans they encountered. This drastically conflicted with the views of the Native Indians, and completely altered the development of North America. European religious views in early North American exploration set the tone for America’s development into a commodification driven society that exploited the environment as a means of economic potential.

    Read More

  • Religious Influence and State Law

    2314 Words  | 5 Pages

    Religious influence has always been part of the American Government since the beginning. Even in the earliest history of the creation of our Government with the Declaration of Independence God is mentioned in the first paragraph. Though religion over the past two centuries has proven to be an influence on the United States government the influence has a relatively good standing. Religious influence in State and law has been a medium in the beginning of the governmental system but still set influence. The influence though pertained to the religion and idealism of the individuals carrying it ...

    Read More

  • The Impact Of Religion On Latin America

    737 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion in Latin America has always been tied closely to Catholicism because of the influence of Europeans who came to settle South America, bringing along their Catholic foundation. With the early formations of governments in Latin America, church and state were closely linked. The church had significant influence over what happened in the political realm of the countries’ relations. The case was no different for Colombia. The Catholic church has played a significant role in the history of Colombia, assuming an esteemed status in the country and exercising control over different areas of the government and public affairs, but as time passed its role in power has taken a slight downturn.

    Read More

  • The French Revolution and Christianity

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the course of history, man has looked to religion for answers. Curiosity as to how we got here and why we are have driven people to seek out answers to these somewhat unanswerable questions. Over the past few thousand years, several varying religions have been established, some more prominent than others. Many of them share a similar story of a divine creator who has always been and will always be. In the case of Christianity, whether true or not, it has proven to be beneficial to society as a whole. The Bible set the standard for the moral compass that humans live their lives by to this day. The key fundamental problem with religion, although not the fault of religion, is that man has often used it as a gateway to power and prominence. In the case of the 18th century Gallican church, the French were abusing their religious powers, thus creating vast inequality throughout France, which eventually led to a rebellion against the church, and the eventual destruction of the church within France.

    Read More

  • Religion : Religion And Religion

    1514 Words  | 4 Pages

    For thousands of years, religion has exerted a great influence over economic and political life. Even today religion is called upon to support rulers, contacts and other legal procedures.

    Read More

  • Why is Religion Important?

    443 Words  | 1 Pages

    Religion is the main source of morals and values today. I feel like many people today are not following the word of God. I think that religion is overlooked, and not taught enough. For example, colleges, high schools, and many other places are not even allowed to pray, teach or preach the word of the bible. I feel like that is a problem in the United States today. It has had the effect of more violence, problems in families, and the non- education of the younger generation. I feel that though religion is choice, it should be introduced, because many don't even get the opportunity to learn about it.

    Read More

  • Religion and Civilization

    1234 Words  | 3 Pages

    Religion helps establish mankind’s place in the order of the universe. As civilization began to be established through the domestication of animals, the irrigation and cultivation of agricultural crops, and life became more complex (moving from mainly a hunter/gather existence to one that could settle down and have more time to consider advanced ideas) people began to consider questions such as, where life comes from, is there a creator or creators who helped make the world, and what happens after we die. Religion helped answer some of these questions. It gave people purpose, meaning, and perspective. Religion helped establish nations in the case of religious theocratic governments. In many of the ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, the Mayans, and even Mesopotamia, the priests and other religious leaders played prominent roles in help shaping the laws and government of these civilizations. As his...

    Read More

  • The World Doesn’t Need Religion

    934 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion has screwed us up for a long time and we'd be better off without it. By "us" I mean Americans living in the 21st century. Without religions we would have fewer labels separating us from each other and we wouldn't hate Jews or Catholics or Muslims. If we didn't have religions, we wouldn't have to convert anyone or "save" anyone. If we didn't have religions, people could no longer get caught up in the fine lines of religious rightousness or be trapped in a double-standard morality. And most importantly, we would be truly free of religious engendered guilt that never quite goes away.

    Read More

More about The Role of Religion in the Development of America

Open Document