英美概况Unit6ReligionintheUnitedstates.pptx

Unit 6 Religion in the United statesTeaching aims:to understand religion liberty and diversity in the United States.Major Points:American History and Religious LibertyProtestants in the United StatesCatholicsThree FaithsReligious DiversityAmerican Character of ReligionReligion LibertyAmerican history and religious liberty:Many religious groups came to America to seek religious freedom.Several of the original Thirteen Colonies were established by English settlers who wished to practice their own religion without discrimination:Pennsylvania was established by Quakers,Maryland by Roman Catholics and the Massachusetts Bay Colony by Puritans.By the middle of the 18th century,many different kinds of Protestants lived in America:Lutherans from Germany;The Dutch Reformed Church in New York and New Jersey;Presbyterians from Scotland;Huguenots from France;Congregationalists(Puritans)in New England.As a result:Protestants lived side by side in harmony and they had already begun to influence each other.The Great Awakening,which sought to breathe new feeling and strength into religion,cut across the lines of Protestants religious groups.The new federal government was forbidden to give any special favors to any religion or to hinder the free practice,or exercise,of religion.The Declaration of Independence states:“all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.”The first Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed that American government would not meddle in religious affairs or require any religious belief of its citizens.Religious freedom and the federal government However,in some ways,the government supports all religions.Examples on page 86-87Reason:The truth is that for some purpose government ignores religion and for other purposes it treats all religion alike-as least as far as is practical.Protestants in the USMany U.S.adult citizens identify themselves as Christians(76.5-78.5%)in 2001.According to the CIA,the following is the order of religious preferences in the United States in 2002:Christian:(78.5%)Protestant(51.3%)Roman Catholic(23.9%)Mormon(1.7%)other Christian(1.6%)The main Protestant groups with the origins in Britain have taken on American character,including a tendency to form subgroups.There are more than 100 other protestant sects,with a combined memberships of more than 20 millions.Many of sects are hardly known to anyone else except their own members.4 large Protestants groups(31.9%of American population):Baptists（浸礼会教徒）（浸礼会教徒）Methodists(卫理公会教徒卫理公会教徒)Presbyterians（长老教教徒）（长老教教徒）Episcopalians（圣公会教徒）（圣公会教徒）The Cathedral of St.John the Divine in New York City is the largest cathedral in the world Faith:EpiscopalianThe Baptists are the largest Protestant group.They believe in adult baptism by immersion,symbolizing a mature and responsible conversion experience.Great majority Baptists have prejudice against black,so black Baptists go to different church from the white.BaptistsMethodistsThe second largest Protestants are Methodists,adherent of the groups which grew up in 18th century England following the lead of John Wesley.Most Methodists are united in the Methodist Church,which has a form of service based on that of the Church of England.Four large smaller sects:Latter Day SaintsThe Church of ChristThe United Church of ChristThe International Convention of Disciples Of ChristPlurality of religious preference by state,2001.Data is unavailable for Alaska and Hawaii.CatholicsCatholicsThe largest single religious groups is that of Roman Catholics.About 23.9%of Americans are now of the Roman Catholic faith in 2002.The majority of the Catholics are descendants of immigrants from Ireland,Italy and Poland.The early Catholics were concentrated in New York and Massachusetts and it still dominates these two states.St.Patricks Cathedral is located on the east side of Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st Streets in midtown Manhattan，in New York City.Built in a Neo-Gothic style(新哥特式)in the 19th century,St.Patricks is the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States.Over three million people visit St.Patricks Cathedral each year.Prejudice against CatholicsMore often prejudice took the form of discrimination,particularly at the polls.Anti-Catholic prejudice was so strong that sometimes it broke out in mob violence.John F.Kennedys presidential election victory put to rest the Catholic religion as an issue in national politics.Catholic schools and the problemsCatholics wanted their own schools,colleges and hospitals.They believed that these institution were needed to preserve their faith.In the United States,Catholic schools are accredited by independent and/or state agencies,and teachers are generally certified.Catholic elementary and secondary schools receive virtually no government funding(though state-funded classroom equipment such as overhead projectors have been provided in some areas,but restricted from use in Catholic religion classes).Schools are supported through tuition payments,and fund raising.The costs of modern education had made their schools very expensive to maintain.They began to seek some way in which they could obtain public funds to help meet these expenses.But most attempts to provide help for religious schools were declared to violate the Constitution by the Supreme Court.Three FaithsBy the 1950s,a kind of three faiths model of the US had developed.Americans were considered to come in three basic varieties.ProtestantismCatholicismJudaism:.JudaismnAfter Christianity and no-religion,Judaism is the third-largest religious preference in the US.nThe CIA Fact Book estimates 1%of Americans belong to this group.Approximately 25%of this population lives in New York City.nJews have been present in the US since the 17th century,though large scale immigration did not take place until the 19th century,largely as a result of persecutions in parts of Eastern Europe.A significant number of people identify themselves as American Jews on ethnic and cultural grounds,rather than religious ones.Jewishness is generally considered an ethnic identity as well as a religious one.nWhen faced with prejudice and discrimination,Jews responded by forming organizations to combat prejudice.nThe Anti-Defamation League played a major role in educating Americans about the injustice of prejudice and making them aware of the rights,not only of Jews,but also all minoritiesReligions diversityFrontier America provided plenty of room to set up new church or found a new community.Many religious communities and secular utopias,or experiments in new forms of social living,were founded in 18th and 19th century America.There are many religious communities in the US,including big religious groups and small sects and“cults”.What small sects and“cults”have in common:Regard large society as hopeless corruptive.Prohibit alcohol,tobacco and caffeine.Predict the end of the world or the dawn of a new ageTheir founders are often charismatic person who claim some special revelation or relationship with God.Some groups disappear while others win large followings and grow into the“respectable”denominations.Examples of small sects and their beliefsAmish:want to be left alone in the rural communities;wish to keep their children out of high school so that they will be not affected by modern society.Jehovahs Witness:prefer faith healing to modern medicine or object to certain medical practice.Mormons:could marry more than one wife.Islam:numbers and influence are increasing.Buddhism:a growing faith in the USAmerican Character of Religion1.The freedom of religion and the separation of state and church which is guaranteed in the Constitution.2.The religious beliefs of Americans continues to be strong with social progress.3.Every church is a completely independent organization,and concerned with its won finance and its own building.Conclusion In the US,the church is a place where people can meet others with whom they would like to make friends.People go to church and it helps them feel that they have a place in a community.The Great AwakeningsThe Great Awakenings were several periods of rapid and dramatic religious revival in Anglo-American religious history,generally recognized as beginning in the 1730s.They have also been described as periodic revolutions in U.S.religious thought.The term is also used in some respects to refer to American religious revivalism that the Protestant Reformation inspired during and after the 1500s,as well as to identify general religious trends within distinctly U.S.religious culture.宗教在美国社会中的地位宗教在美国社会中的地位宗教传统上强调原罪意识，以有罪者必得惩罚的观念来警醒世人；今天的美国社会，宗教以一种更轻松和包容的态度来对待追随者，让宗教更友善，更适应人的需要。强调宗教为人带来欢乐和健康，使社区团结一致，使人与人的关系充满和谐，也使个人得到精神上的平静和超越。满足了自我完善、自我修养的需要。在美国，宗教的最大贡献是教育公众并塑造公众道德感，使他们成为有道德的公民。宗教能激发人的潜力，使他们有能力超越自己。宗教就象人的精神家园，人在宗教中获得深刻精神体验，被崇高、大于自己的存在感动。很多走出教堂的人会有快乐，随时准备帮助他人的感觉。宗教组织一直是美国慈善事业和志愿活动中最重要的力量。他们积极参与的活动，包括为无家可归者发放食物、给穷人提供住房、收养孤儿和受虐儿童、为酗酒者和吸毒者提供戒酒和戒毒帮助、探望病人和老年人等。据1996年的调查，美国的志愿者组织中，教徒占将近百分之六十。哈佛大学神学院妇女与宗教研究项目主任安布罗迪女士说，接受救济和帮助的人经常发现，如果是宗教团体提供服务，帮助他们的人出于发自内心的善意。他们不仅提供物质的帮助，而且希望帮助找到自救的精神动力。政府机构提供的社会服务，则往往帮助你是因为这是他们的工作。也许正是因为这个原因，布什政府最近决定增加联邦政府对宗教团体资助，让他们有更多资源从事社会服务，帮助解决吸毒，暴力和无家可归者等社会问题。但是这个计划在美国国内引起很大的争议。全美政教分离联合会传媒主任罗伯特波士顿说，这样的计划违背美国政教分离原则。让宗教组织依赖政府资助是错误的做法，长远来看有害于宗教组织。美国一贯实行政教分离；教会资金来源于教徒自愿捐赠。如果教会资金部份来自政府，就可能失去其独立性。如在政府决定给哪些组织资助，宗教组织可能出现迎合政府做法，也可能失去批评政府的独立性。安布罗迪女士也表示，布什的计划还有一个危险，那就是宗安布罗迪女士也表示，布什的计划还有一个危险，那就是宗教组织在帮助人的过程中，劝诱被帮助的人接受教义，在美教组织在帮助人的过程中，劝诱被帮助的人接受教义，在美国历史中不乏这样先例。国历史中不乏这样先例。布什的计划还有一个危险，那就是宗教组织布什的计划还有一个危险，那就是宗教组织在帮助人的过程中，劝诱被帮助的人接受教在帮助人的过程中，劝诱被帮助的人接受教义，在美国历史中不乏这样先例。义，在美国历史中不乏这样先例。