美国宗教

WASP
• "WASP" culture: "WASP" stands for white Anglo-Saxon Protestant （盎格鲁-撒克逊白人新教）. The majority of the early settlers who came to America from Europe belonged to the various Protestant churches. Their religion and culture had a great impact on the formation of the American mainstream culture. A protestant is a member of the various Christian churches established as a result of the Reformation. Protestantism is a form of Christian faith and practice that originated with the principles of the Reformation. This term, derived in 1529, did not become the official title of any church until the Protestant Episcopal Church assumed it in 1783 in the United States. Some of the chief characteristics of original Protestantism were the acceptance of the Bible as the only source of revealed truth, and the doctrine that a Christian is justified in his relationship to God by faith alone, not by good works or dispensations of the church. Protestants stress preaching by the ministry and reading the Bible. They have their own ethic, a moral code stressing hard work, the rational organization of one's life in the service of God, and asceticism - a doctrine that one can reach a higher spiritual state by rigorous selfdiscipline and self-denial.
Introduction to British and American Culture
Religious Diversity
Refused 5% Judaism Other Religions 4% Nones 15% Catholic 25%
A "Melting Pot"
Hinduism …
Other Christian 51%
Islam
Introduction to British and American Culture
Christianity
• Three major religious groups in the U.S.
Protestant
Catholic
American culture is based on Christianity.
Jewish
Introduction to British and American Culture
Protestantism
• 16th century: the Reformation • 1620: the Mayflower • 1790: the first census held --90% was WASP
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Baptist Immersion
• Baptists （浸礼会教徒）are members of the Baptist churches. Baptism is the ceremony or sacrament of admitting a person into Christianity or a specific Christian church by immersing the individual in water or by pouring or sprinkling water on the individual, as s symbol of washing away sin and of spiritual purification. Baptism is a religious ceremony held by the various Christian churches. But Baptists are members of particular Protestant denomination holding that baptism should be given only to believers after confession of faith and by total immersion rather than sprinkling. The Baptist Church is the largest Protestant group in the Unites States.
• American character of Religion
Before You Read
Warm-up • What is the most popular religion in the United States? • _____________________________ • Do Americans have an official national religion? • _____________________________ • What are American Values? • _____________________________
(White Anglo-Saxon Protestant)
• Main denominations of the protestant church 新教的主要教派 the Baptists– white and black 浸礼教派 the Methodists 卫理公派教徒
Introduction to British and American Culture
“For we know that our patchwork heritage is strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.”
Judaism
wenku.baidu.com
Christianity(30A.D)
• Three major religions in the world
Believe in God Christianity Read the Bible Buddhism
The Roman Catholic Church The Eastern Orthodox Church The Protestant Church
Islam
Islam (伊斯兰教 is the religion of Mohammed, whose adherents are 伊斯兰教) 伊斯兰教 called Muslims or Moslems. They believe in one God-Allah and their one prophet is Mohammed (AD 570-632), an Arab prophet and founder of Islam. Islam emphasizes five duties: (1) bearing witness that there is but one god and one prophet, Mohammed; (2) reciting daily prayers; (3) giving appointed and legal alms, (4) observing the Ramadan, a month's fast; and (5) making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least one in a lifetime. The sacred book of Islam is the Koran. The word means "reading" in Arabic. Written in the purest Arabic, it is considered the Word of God, the uncreated and eternal truth revealed to Mohammed by the angel Gabriel. There are 114 chapters in the Koran, unnumbered but individually named. A Muslim temple or place of worship is called "mosque."
Before You Read
Warm-up • • • • • • What is the most popular religion in the United States? _____________________________ Do Americans have an official national religion? _____________________________ What are American Values? _____________________________
Introduction to British and American Culture
Buddhism (佛教)
Buddhism (佛教 is a system of religion inaugurated 佛教) 佛教 in the 6th century BC by Siddhartha Gautama (563483 BC), also known as Shakyamuni (释迦牟尼)， called Buddha（佛陀）. Believers of Buddhism are called Buddhists. Buddhism's earliest doctrines were based on the Four Nobel Truths: (1) Life is suffering; (2) The cause of suffering is "birth sin," or craving and desire; (3) Suffering can be ended only by Nirvana , the extinguishment of desire; (4) This can be accomplished by the Eightfold Path to righteousness: right views, right intentions, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation. Buddhism spread rapidly from India to surrounding countries and took permanent hold in Ceylon, China
Chapter 8 Religion
American Religion
The care of every man’s soul belongs to himself ---Thomas Jefferson
Learning Focus
• • • • • • Christianity WASP National Religion Self-improvement Individualism Volunteerism