American_Religion
美国宗教中英文对照
Religious preference in the U.S.
• • • • • • Protestant 新教 59% Catholic 天主教 27% Judaism 犹太教 2% Eastern Orthodox 东正教 1% Other 4% None 7%
TБайду номын сангаасn recognizable group of denominations
Self-Improvement
The need for self-improvement, once established, reaches far beyond self-improvement in the purely moral or religious sense. It can be seen in countless books that explain how people can be happier and more successful in life by improving everything from their vocabulary to their tennis game, or even their whole personality. Books of this type are often referred to as self-help books. They are the natural products of a culture in which people believe that "God helps those who help themselves."
The American Religious Heritage
The American Religious HeritageFreedom of Religion in the United StatesThe fundamental American belief in individual freedom and the right of individuals to practice their own religion is at the center of religious experience in the United States. The great diversity of ethnic backgrounds has produced religious pluralism; almost all of the religions of the world are now practiced in the United States. Ninety-three percent of all Americans say that they believe in God. Only 7 percent say they have no religious preferences or beliefs. About 87 percent of Americans are Christians, 2 percent are Jewish, and the other 4 percent belong to other religious faiths such as Moslem, Buddhist, or Hindu. Of the 87 percent who are Christian, 59 percent are Protestant, 27 percent Catholic, and 1 percent Eastern Orthodox. This is a pattern that has persisted for decades.Although the overwhelming majority of Americans are Christians, all religions make important contributions to the American culture. There are now almost as many Mo~lems living in the United States as there are Jews. People of Hispanic origin now make up nearly one-half of the Catholic church. The Asian immigrants have brought with them the traditional religions of East Asia Taoism, Confucianism, and Shintoism, as well as Buddhism. And the Native American religions are still practiced and studied today, particularly for their teachings about living in harmony with nature.From the beginning of its history, religion has played an important role in the United States. The Catholic faith was first brought to the North American continent by the Spanish in the 1500s. For the next 300 years, Catholic missionaries and settlers from Spain and then Latin America came to what is now California and the Southwest. Many of the cities were named by these missionaries and settlers-San Francisco, Sante Fe, and San Antonio, for example. French Canadian Catholic missionaries also came with the explorer sand the traders from Quebec, down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.In the 1600s, the European settlers began establishing colonies along the east coast of North America. Although there were some Catholics, the vast majority of these settlers were Protestants. As the new nation formed, it was the Protestant branch of the Christian faith that had the strongest eHect on the development of the religious climate in the United States. Today, almost two-thirds of all Americans are Protestants.The Development of ProtestantismThe Protestant branch of the Christian faith broke a\vay from the Roman Catholic church in Europe in the 16th century because of important differences in religious beliefs. (The Eastern Orthodox branch of the Christian faith had separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1054.) At the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic church was the center of religious life in Western European countries; the Catholic Pope and the priests played the role of parent tothe people in spiritual matters. They told people what was right and wrong, and they granted them forgiveness for sins against God and the Christian faith.The Protestants, on the other hand, insisted that all individuals must stand alone before God. If people sinned, they should seek their forgiveness directly from God rather than from a priest speaking in God's name In place of the power and authority of priests, Protestants substitute what they called the "priesthood of all believers." This meant that every individual was solely responsible for his or her own relationship with God,After the Protestants broke away from the Catholic church, they found that they could not agree among themselves about many things. Therefore, the Protestants began to form separate churches, called denominations. (The largest Protestant denominations in the United States now are the Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and the United Church of Christ.) In the 1600s, the Catholic church did not recognize the rights of such Protestant churches to exist. There was much bitterness among some of the religious groups, and many Protestant denominations experienced religious persecution. The result of this persecution was that many Protestants were ready to leave their native countries in order to have freedom to practice their particular religious beliefs. Consequently, among the early settlers who came to America in the 1600s, there were many Protestants seeking religious freedom.In the previous chapter, we noted that this desire for religious freedom was one of the strongest reasons why many colonial settlers came to America.Generally speaking, the lack of any established national religion in America appealed strongly to European Protestants, whether or not they were being persecuted. A large number of Protestant denominations were established in America. At first, some denominations hoped to force their views and beliefs on others, but the colonies were simply too large for anyone denomination to gain control over the others. The idea of separation of church and state became accepted. When the Constitution was adopted in 1789, the government was forbidden to establish a national church; no denomination was to be favored over the others. The government and the church had to remain separate. Under these conditions, a variety of different Protestant denominations developed and grew, with each denomination having a "live and let live" attitude toward the others. Diversity was accepted and strengthened.Protestantism in the United StatesTo someone not familiar with the Protestant faith, the religious scene in the United States may be confusing. The various Protestant denominations have completely separate church organizations, and although there are many similarities, there are also significant differences in their religious teachings and beliefs. Some Protestant denominations forbid dancing, playing cards, and drinking alcohol, for example, while others do not.What causes this religious diversity? Perhaps the major cause is the Protestant belief that the individual, not the organized church, should be the center of religious life. This idea was brought to America and firmly established by European Protestants, and it is one reason why no single church has become the center of religious life in the nation. American religious tradition has encouraged not only the development of numerous denominations but also a tolerance andacceptance of all faiths that express the religious preferences of different individuals. This climate of religious freedom has, of course, strengthened the development of cultural pluralism in the United States.The Protestant Heritage: Self-ImprovementAlthough many Protestant denominations exist in the United States today, all of them share a common heritage that has been a powerful force in shaping the values and beliefs of Americans. One of the most important values associated with American Protestantism is the value of self-improvement. Protestant Christianity, like Roman Catholic Christianity, often emphasizes the natural sinfulness of human nature. However, since Protestants do not go to priests for forgiveness of their sins, individuals are left alone before God to improve themselves or suffer eternal punishment by God for their sinful acts. In this way, Protestantism encourages a strong and restless desire lor self-improvement.The need for self-improvement, once established, reaches far beyond self-improvement in the purely moral or religious sense. 'It can be seen in countless books that explain how people can be happier and more successful in life by improving everything from their vocabulary to their tennis game, or even their whole personality. Books of this type are often referred to as self-help books. They are the natural products of a culture in which people believe that "God helps those who help themselves." One of the most popular self-help books ever written in the United States was written by a Protestant minister, Norman Vincent Peale. As its title states, it stresses The Power of Positive Thinking. According to Peale, the key to self-improvement and success is self-confidence. Reading the Bible is like doing regular daily exercises;it can improve one's self-confidence and ensure personal success in life.Americans buy hundreds of millions of self-help books a year, and typically, half of the New York TImes best-seller list of nonfiction books are related to self-help. In addition to that, Americans attend thousands of self-help seminars and support group meetings to help them stop smoking or drinking, lose weight, be better parents, have happier relationships, and, of course, develop self-confidence.Material Success, Hard Work, and Self-DisciplineThe achievement of material success is probably the most widely respected form of self-improvement in the United States. Many scholars believe that the nation's Protestant heritage is largely responsible for bringing this about. The idea of mixing materialism and religion may seem contradictory; religion is considered to be concerned with spiritual matters, not material possessions. How can the two mix?Some of the early European Protestant leaders believed that people who were blessed by God might be recognized in the world by their material success.Other Protestant leaders, particularly in the United States, made an even stronger connection between gaining material wealth and being blessed by God.In 1900, for example, Bishop William Lawrence proclaimed, "Godliness is in league with riches. . .. Material prosperity is helping to make the national character sweeter, more joyous,more unselfish, more Christ like." American Protestantism, however, has never encouraged the idea of gaining wealth without hard work and self-discipline. Many scholars believe that the emphasis of Protestantism on these two values made an important contribution to the industrial growth of the United States. The Protestant view of hard work and discipline differed from the older tradition of the Catholic church where the most highly valued work was that performed by priests and others whose lives were given completely to the organized church. The work and self-discipline of those whose occupations were outside the church might have been considered admirable but not holy. Protestant leaders brought about a different attitude toward work, first in Europe, and later in the New World, by viewing the work of all people-farmers, merchants, and laborers-as holy.Protestants also believed that the capacity for self-discipline was a holy characteristic blessed by God. Self-discipline was often defined as the willingness to save and invest one's money rather than spend it on immediate pleasures. Protestant tradition, therefore, may have played an important part in creating a good climate for the industrial growth of the United States, which depended on hard work and willingness to save and invest money. The belief in hard work and self-discipline in pursuit of material gain and other goals is often referred to as "the Protestant work ethic," or "the Puritan work ethic." It is important to understand that this work ethic has had an influence Jar beyond the Protestant Church. Many religious groups in the United States share belief in what is called the Protestant work ethic. Americans who have no attachment to a particular church, Protestant or Catholic, have still been influenced by the work ethic in their daily lives.It is interesting to note that in the last few decades, there has been a shift both in the work ethic and in the meaning of work. Yankelovich and other researchers report that in the past, most Americans did not expect their work to be interesting or enjoyable. In the 1950s, for example, most people saw their jobs primarily as a source of income. ~ow, by a margin of four to one, they expect their work to give them a sense of personal satisfaction and fulfillment, in addition to their income. Some people are also beginning to question whether working long hours to have success and material wealth is really worth the sacrifice. Perhaps less might be better.V olunteerism and HumanitarianismThe Protestant idea of self-improvement includes more than achieving material gain through hard work and self-discipline. It includes the idea of improving oneself by helping others. Individuals, in other words, make themselves into better persons by contributing some of their time or money to charitable, educational, or religious causes that are designed to help others. The philosophy is sometimes called volunteerism, or humanitarianism.Historically, some of the extremely wealthy Americans have made generous contributions to help others. In the early 1900s, for example, Andrew Carnegie, a famous American businessman, gave away more than 300 million dollars to help support schools and universities and to build public libraries in thousands of communities in the United States. John D. Rockefeller, another famous businessman, in explaining why he gave a large sum from his private fortune to establish a university, said: "The good Lord gave me my money, so how could I withhold it from the University of Chicago?" The motive for humanitarianism and volunteerism is strong: Many Americans believe that they must devote part of their time and wealth to religious or humanitariancauses in order to be acceptable in the eyes of God and in the eyes of other Americans. Many businesses encourage their employees to do volunteer work, and individuals may get tax credits for money given to charity.Born-Again Christians and the Religious RightPerhaps the most dramatic example of the idea of self-improvement in American Protestantism is the experience of being "born again." Some individuals who have had this experience say that before it occurred they were hopelessly lost in their own sinfulness. Then they opened their hearts to God and to His Son, Jesus Christ, and their lives were completely changed. They say this experience is sometimes very emotional, and afterward, their lives are so completely changed that they describe the experience as being "born again." A number of the Christian radio and television shows have been led by born-again evangelists such as Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell.Many of the born-again Christians belong to Protestant churches that are politically very conservative. About 16 percent of Americans now identify themselves as part of the religious conservative political movement. Although many conservative Christians from different Protestant denominations (and a number of Catholic churches) have traditionally had their differences, the issue of legalized abortion has brought them together to form political activist groups. In recent years, under names such as "The Moral Majority," the "Religious Right," the "Christian Right," or "Religious Conservatives," the Christian Conservatives have joined together to oppose legalized abortion and the ban on prayer in the public schools. They have been particularly successful in gaining power within the Republican political party, and they have actively campaigned for candidates who support their views.A National ReligionIn the countries from which the American colonists emigrated, the dominant values of the nation were often supported by an organized national church. American Protestants made certain that no organized national church would exist in their young country.Americans, however, have developed a number of informal practices that combine national patriotism with religion. A number of scholars have referred to these practices as the "national religion" of the United States. The main function of this national religion is to provide support for the dominant values of the nation. Thus, it does in an informal and less organized way what nationally organized churches did for European nations in earlier times. The informal national religion in the United States mixes patriotism with religious ideas in songs and in ceremonies that proclaim God's blessing on America, its basic values, and its actions as a nation. The national religion can be observed on many occasions when Americans gather together-on national holidays, at political conventions, and especially at sports events. Before a ballgame, the players and fans stand up for the national anthem, and sometimes a religious leader will offer a prayer. This practice is taken so seriously that in 1996, the National Basketball Association (NBA) actually suspended a professional basketball player who refused to stand during the national anthem.The NBA stated that he could not play in games unless he agreed to follow their rule requiring players to stand in a respectful manner during the national anthem.Patriotic songs such as "God Bless America," "America the Beautiful," and "My Country 'Tis of Thee" are as well known to most Americans as their national anthem. These songs are sung frequently on public occasions and may also be sung at Protestant worship services, expressing the idea that the United States has received God's speciaJ blessing. Expressions of the national religion can also be seen when the United States sends military forces overseas; the Gulf War provided good examples of the mixing of prayer and patriotism.Some observers of American society believe that the various practices that?are called the national religion can have harmful effects. Sometimes these practices can help to create a climate in which disagreement with current national practices is discouraged or not tolerated. In the 1960s, for example, some citizens considered the young people who protested against the war in Vietnam to be "un-American." They told the young protesters, "America-love it or leave it." This phrase became a slogan that illustrated their excessive patriotism.When the national religion helps to create a climate that encourages excessive conformity with prevailing national practices, it can have a harmful effect. However, it usually serves a different function: to express the belief of most Americans that it is important to be a nation of people who believe in God and are loved and protected by God.The earliest Protestant settlers believed that by coming to America, they were carrying out God's plan. This belief gave them confidence that they would succeed. Today, Americans still need to believe that their nation will continue to succeed, and the national religion helps to answer this need by reminding them of their religious heritage. It is a means of maintaining their national self-confidence in a rapidly changing world.America's Protestant heritage seems to have encouraged certain basic values that members of many diverse non-Protestant faiths find easy to accept. This has helped to unite many different religious groups in the United States without requiring any to abandon their faiths. Cultural and religious pluralism has also created a context of tolerance that further strengthens the American reality of many different religions living peacefully within a single nation.。
American Religion美国宗教
课外空间文化长廊山东省梁山县杨营中学于孔春供稿Diversity1is the main feature of religion in the United States.Although Christianity has al-ways been the major American faith,the existence of more than250different religious sects2here has made Americans tolerant3of all forms of worship—Christian and non-Christian.美国宗教的主要特点就是多样化。
虽然基督教一直是美国人的主要信仰，但还存有250—不论它是基督教或是非基督教。
多种其他宗教派别，这使美国人包容各种各样的信仰——Maybe this tolerant attitude to different religions can be traced back to the early settlers ofthis country.Among the first immigrants4,quite a number of them were Puritans,whose purposeof coming to this New World was to pursue religious freedom,to practice their religion and wor-ship God as they wished.This is why the nation’s forefathers demanded legal guarantees of reli-gious freedom.So the First Amendment to the Constitution not only forbids the establishment of. All Rights Reserved.an offical national religion but also forbids state or federal interference5with religious institu-tions or practices.这种对宗教的宽容态度也许能够追溯到早期殖民地时期。
美国宗教American Religion
The First Amendment guarantees both the free practice of religion and the non-sponsorship of religion by the government. The First Amendment separated church from state but not religion from public life.
Present: In August 2010 67% of Americans say religion is losing influence, compared with 59% who said this in 2006. Majorities of white evangelical Protestants (79%), while mainline Protestants (67%), Black Protestants (56%), Catholics (71%), and the religiously unaffiliated (62%) all agree that religion is losing influence on American life; 53% of the total public says this is a bad thing while just 10% see it as a good thing.
Christianity
The largest religion in the US is Christianity, practiced by the majority of the population (76% in 2008)； Protestants （51.3%）； Catholics（25%）； Mormons （1.7%）（摩门教 徒） (the name commonly used to refer to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)； Other Christian denominations （1.7%） Christianity was introduced during the period of European colonization.
美国宗教--新教
留传统的教堂艺术和宗教表像，如圣像、圣画等，
仪式也较繁复。低教会派以及各种自由教派教会
则崇尚质朴，仪式较简化，教堂内外除十字架外，
一般不多用其他宗教表像；有的连十字架也不用。
教会标志
• 十字架 • 苦像 • A和Ω：意为“元始”和“终末” •鱼 • 鸽子：代表天主圣神。 • 耶稣圣心：耶稣圣心曾向圣女玛加利大显现，表达他对人
• All these religious make improtant contributions to the American culture, although the overwhelming majority of Americans are Christians.
Early Religious Settlement in the
教义
• 因信称义 • 信徒人人都可为祭司 • 《圣经》具有最高权威
因信称义
• 根据基督教教义，人因有原罪和本罪，不能自救，在 上帝面前不能称义。唯一的救法是借上帝之子基督将救恩 赐给世人。因此，拯救的根源来自上帝的恩典。这是基督 教各派共同的信仰。在新教看来，这是把圣事作为上帝和 人之间的一种“交易”，根据《新约》的《罗马人书》和 《加拉太书》的教训，认为遵守律法和诫命不能使人称义。 得救的真谛在于相信和接受耶稣基督为主，凭借信心，通 过圣灵的工作，使信徒和基督成为一体。由于这种神秘的 结合，基督的救赎就在信徒身上生效，使信者“还是作为 罪人的时候，在上帝面前得及被称为义”。新教认为行善 是应该的，但这是重生得救的表现，而不是一种功德，其 本身没有使人得救的效能。
United States
• In the 1600s, the European settlers began establishing colonies along the east coast of North America. Although there were some Catholics, the vast
10.Religion inthe USA美国宗教
2.Protestantism(60% of Americans)P87
The Baptists, the largest Protestant group, adult baptism by immersion, symbolizing a mature and responsible conversion experience; • Some Baptists have liberal attitudes toward the blacks and believe in the equality of all human beings before God. • The majority practice with their racial prejudice. • Methodist, the second largest protestant sect based on the church of England. • More than 100 other protestant sects.
• For some purposes, government ignores religion and for other purposes it treats all religions alike
• When disputes arise, American courts must settle them.
Religion in the USA
Percentage Distribution of the U.S. population, 2001 Judaism Roman Catholic Orthodox Other Christian No Religious Preference Not Reported
【英美概况】【课堂笔记】美国宗教religion in United States
RELIGION in the UNITED STATESReligious Liberty∙“Among the rights which the new nation guaranteed, as apolitical necessity in a religiously diverse society, wasfreedom of religion” (p. 86)∙The Constitution forbade the government to give specialfavours to any religion, nor were they allowed to stop orinterfere with religion. The USA was determined it wouldhave no state-supported religion.∙When there is a disagreement between the government andany religion, the American courts must settle it. Protestants in the United States∙60% of Americans are Protestant believers. The Baptists are the largest Protestant group.* The largest concentration ofBaptists live in the Southern States of America and, although some Southern Baptists have liberal attitudes to blackAmericans, many believe and practice racial discrimination and prejudice towards them.∙Most black Americans are Baptists too, but they go todifferent churches than the white Americans. Church is amajor social and community centre for the black churchgoers. ∙There are over a 100 Protestant sects in America. Theyexpress variety on a theme, rather than major differences inbelief. In recent decades there has been an increase in thenumber of fundamentalist churches, which often use themedium of television to communicate with citizens. Thesefundamentalists are sometimes extreme in their views. Catholics∙The largest single religious group is the Roman Catholics.More than 25% of Americans identify themselves as Catholics.The increase in the number of Catholics is mainly due to laterimmigration waves of Irish, Polish and Italians. For instance, over a million Irish Catholics left Ireland, due to a famine there that saw many suffer starvation.∙There was significant prejudice against the Catholics by the Protestants. *∙In the 1950s, many Catholics began to question the idea of the separation of Church and State. The Catholic Church had developed many social institutions, including schools, to preserve their faith. The Church wanted the government to help fund the cost of these schools. The Supreme Court was asked to rule whether this would be unconstitutional. TheCourt ruled that it was unconstitutional, and that thegovernment could not help religious schools.Three Faiths∙By the 1950s, a kind of “three faiths” model of USA haddeveloped. All Americans were considered to come in one of three basic varieties: Protestant, Catholic and Jewish.∙The Jews were a small minority in the first years of theAmerican republic. Later, many Jews came to the USA and became successful. There are now many Jews in the various professions and in the academic world.Anti-Semitism appeared as the numbers of Jews grew. In response to prejudice and discrimination, Jews formed organisations to fight this. These organisations attempted to educate Americans about the injustice of prejudice.“People are complicated. They are the combinations of good and evil, beauty and ugliness, truth and falsehood, wisdom and stupidity.”He Manzi (1919- ), Chinese writer.Religious DiversityThe USA has seen the growth of many new religiousmovements. There were many experiments, both religious and otherwise, in alternative living. Sometimes communitiesdeveloped with people who wanted to …opt out‟ of mainstream society because they considered mainstream society, corrupt or lacking in moral virtue. One the most well-known is theAmish communities of Pennsylvania.∙Sometimes the beliefs and practices of these sects conflict with American law. Two instances are: the Jehovah‟s Witnesses who want to refuse to allow blood transfusions when they have medical treatment, and the Mormons who believe that a man can have more than one wife.∙The Supreme Court has been asked to make decisions about whether these practices can be allowed or not. In both cases the Supreme Court said no they are not allowable. Another decision that is very well-known was the 1973 decision whichmade abortion legal, even though many Catholics and Jewscampaigned strongly against it being legalised. There still exists a strong emotional reaction to the issue of abortion.*Other world religions have been increasing their numbers in America for example Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism due to immigration trends.American Character of ReligionThere are 3 unique aspects to American religion:∙All Americans of different religions live together under thesame law. There is no stat e interference with people‟sreligious beliefs. There is no state religion. The variousreligious groups have coexisted more harmoniously inAmerica than in the Old World.∙Religious beliefs of Americans have a strong social element to them. Half of all Protestants are active church-members, and even more Catholics attend church regularly. Many attendchurch not only for religious reasons but also to make friendsand to become a part of the community. In contrast, 80% ofEngland‟s Protestants go to church le ss than once a month and in Sweden most citizens do not go to church at all.∙Every church is a completely independent organisation. Apart from having responsibility for finance and the buildings, thepreacher preaches what he/she thinks is important rather than instilling doctrine (church teachings) into the churchgoers. Why do so many Americans attend church?∙In American history, religion has not been associated withoppression or domination by other powerful institutions.∙Generally speaking, Americans have experienced greaterreligious freedom than Europeans.∙Churchgoing in America is seen as an opportunity tobecome a part of the community and to develop friendships.Key Points∙The American government guarantees religious freedom.∙The American Protestants have a very diverse range ofchurches and sects even though they have the same basicbeliefs.∙The Catholic Church is the single largest church in the USA.When immigrants from predominately Catholic countries, like Poland, Italy and Ireland, brought their religion with them.∙There was prejudice and discrimination against the Catholics and the Jews.∙Many Americans go to church for social as well as religiousreasons.∙Attendance at church in the USA is relatively high compared with many European countries.RESULTS OF SURVEY (1995-1997)It polls a statistically valid sample of adults from a total of 60 nations. Some of their findings from their 1995-1997 survey: The United States has a higher level of church attendance than any other country which is "at a comparable level of development."53% of Americans consider religion to be very important in their lives. This compares with 16% in Britain, 14% in France and 13% in Germany.The importance of religion has been declining in developed countries.In those countries which are "experiencing economic stagnation and political uncertainty," the importance of religion is high.。
American Religion 美国宗教发展历程
Religion in AmericaIn a Christian world, many countries in the West have experienced declines in religious observance and increases in secularization in the twentieth century. This is often attributed to the influences of industrialization, consumerism, materialism, hedonism, mass culture, and universal education. The United States, however, seems to be an exception. Despite its materialistic image and intense worship of “mighty dollars”, the U. S. still remains the most religious country in the Western countries. In comparison with European countries, America not only has a greater number of religious believers, but also enjoys a much higher church survey, The Economist reported that about 95 percent of Americans believed in God; four out of five believed in miracles, life after death and the Virgin Mary birth; 6.5 percent believed in the devil; 75 percent believed in angels; and nine out of ten owned a bible. Similarly, surveys by the Gallup Organization in the early 1990s indicated that among Americans under 30 years old, about 36 percent attended church on regular basis, while close to 47 percent of the people at or over 50 went to church once in a week.Is America a religious culture, shaped by men who sought freedom of worship, with God constantly present in their minds even when the Church has become formalized? Or is it a secular culture with religion playing only a marginal role in men’s daily lives since the Untied States long time ago separated Church andState? To answer these two questions is no less than looking into the dynamics of American culture and the complexity of American society. The fact of the matter is that each of these questions can be answered affirmatively. America is as secular as a culture can be where religion has played an important role in its origins and early growth, and has been interwoven with the founding and meaning of the society. America is also as religious as a culture can be whose life goals are worldly and whose daily strivings revolve not around God but around Man.God and ManThe mixture of theocracy and secularism is actually one of the American religious heritages. One can find the strong religious base of American life and thought in the older Puritan communities of New England and in the new frontier states. The Calvinist doctrine of predestination, for example, played a dominant role in the early colonists. People moving to the frontiers in the West were mostly inspired by the vast stretch of land available for attainment. They dreamed of getting rich quick, and at the same time tried to comfort their souls by waging religious revivals there. At the time Americans embraced Enlightenment ideas and applied them in their political, social and economic life, they still constantly referred to the Holy Scripture for conviction and reassurance. Even in the contemporary Atomic Age where science and technology has developed to an unprecedented level, there has been an activerevival of religious feeling among the American people, old and young, in modern cities. To a certain degree, this mixture of 17th-century rationalism (Science and Technology), and mid-20th-century revival may help explain some of the contradictions in the relations between God and Man in America. America is regarded as a “Christian country”. The influence of Judaic-Christian doctrines upon American culture has been profound. For example, the religious doctrine of the soul is so crucial and pervasive in Western (including American) conceptions of man that no one would deny that Judaic-Christian doctrine is a major element in shaping American national character and culture. In the minds of American Christian believers, the idea that man has a soul and that all souls are “equal before God”has been basic to the ethical evaluation of individual personality. The idea of the worth, dignity, and inviolability of the individual unquestionably owes much to this belief, as do humanitarian ideas and various philosophies of human equality.Historically speaking, the whole idea of God and individual soul goes back to the sixteenth century. As the child of the Reformation, Americans took over not only its dominantly Protestant heritage, but also its deep individualistic strain. Every European sect that had found itself constricted or in trouble emigrated to the New World, which thus became a repository of all the distillations of Reformation thought and feeling. Since the Reformation had broken with the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and left to the individual meaning of the Scripture, America became a congeries of judging individuals, each of themweighing the meaning and application of the Word. A Bible-reading people emerged, drenched in the tradition of the Old and New Testaments. This may help explain the stress on the idea of “covenant with God” in Ameri can thought. It also suggests why a people so concerned with the meaning of the Holy Writ have been the first to give a sacred character to a written Constitution but at the same time remain a nation of amateur interpreters of the Constitution.Two basic concepts of the Christian—the soul and sin—took on a new emphasis in individualist America. Each man was the judge of his own religious convictions, since his possession of an immortal soul gave such an inner worth regardless of color, rank, or station, political belief, wealth or poverty. Thus, the foundation was laid for religious freedom early on in the Untied States. On the other hand, if each man had an immortal soul to save, it was because it had been steeped in sin. As a Bible-reading people, Americans took over many of the preconceptions of the Hebraic society in which Judaism and early Christianity were rooted. Among them was the sense of individual sin—aside from original, or inevitable sin—without which there could be no individual salvation.There is a resulting ambiguity between the sin-and-salvation strain in Christian doctrine and the organic optimism of American economic and social attitudes. The Hebrew prophets, as they lamented the disintegration of Biblical society, called on each Jew to war d off God’s wrath from his people by cleansing himself of his own inner guilt; the Christian allegory added to the sombernessof this conception. But there have been few occasions on which Americans could believe with any conviction in an impending collapse of their social structure and their world. The sense of sin and the sense of doom were therefore importations from the Old and New Testaments that somehow flowered in the American soil in spite of worship of money and success, or, perhaps, exactly because of this worship, for in this case, it required a compensating doctrine to ease the conscience.The result has been an American religious tradition which is on the one hand deeply individualistic, anti-authoritarian, and concerned with sin and salvation, and yet, on the other hand, secular and rationalist in its life goals, and concerned with happiness in this world. Americans, growing up in this religious tradition, have been salvation-minded, each believer engrossed in his relation not to the church but to God, in Whom he was to find salvation. At the same time, they have also formed a secular rather than a sacred society, in which everybody pursued his earthly comforts according to his own conscience。
美国宗教介绍Religion in the United States
Religious Diversity:Other Kinds Of Religion
Buddhism
Islam
Hinduism
Taoism
Thank you！
Religion In The United States
Religion In The United States
Religious Liberty Religious Diversity
Religious Liberty
The Declaration of Independence – “endowed by their creator” and “laws of nature and of nature's God”
Many religious communities (宗教团体) and secular utopias (世俗的乌托邦组织)， experiments in new forms of social living (试 验新的生活方式的团体),were founded in 18th and 19th century America. Many small sects（教派）and cults(信徒) appear in American society all the time.
Religious Diversity:Three Main Faiths
By the 1950s, the above three faiths model of American religion had developed.
Religious Diversity:Other Kinds Of Religion
More than 60% of Americans are said to be Protestant believers
American religion
History of Christianity
Christianity is based upon the teachings of Jesus Christ, a Jew who lived his life in the Roman province of Palestine. Christians view him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament and as the Son of God, who provided salvation and reconciliation with God to humankind by dying for their sins, then raising himself from the dead.
Mary and child Jesus
Bible
The Old Testament and The New Testament. Holy book of both Judaism and Christianity. • Old Testament (旧约): an account of the creation of the world (Genesis创世纪), the stories of the life and history of the early men and of the ancient Hebrews (Exodus出埃及记）. • New Testament (新约):an account of the life and teaching of Jesus Christ and his followers. The Gospel(福音）: Christ’s Birth; Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection, etc.; Jude(犹大书) ; Revelvation(启示录）
Religion-AmericaPPT课件
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10
Religion and Politics in America
Despite the first amendment, politics and religion get mixed together.
Politicians frequently discuss their religion when campaigning to get elected. They appeal to people’s religious biases in order to win election.
Protestantism is composed of:
• Denominations, e.g. Methodists, Baptists, Presbyterian, etc. The different denominations are independent.
• Non-denominational churches
Religion in America
.
1
Overview
Religion in America is very diverse
• Christian
Protestant
51.3 %
Catholic
23.9 %
Other Christian
3.3 %
• Jewish
1.7 %
• Buddhist
religion.
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7
Basic beliefs
(very simplified)
Judaism
• One God, called “Yahweh” • Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and the
the Religion of Native Americans 美国土著的宗教信仰
The "Peyote Road" calls for Native American brotherly love (often taking the form of Native American nationalism), family care, self-support through work, avoidance of alcohol, and avoidance of recreational(娱乐 的，消遣的) drug use.
• Major Native American religions : – – – – – – – – – – Longhouse Religion(长屋教 ) Waashat Religion Indian Shaker Religion(印第安瓶教 ) Drum Religion(鼓教 ) Earth Lodge Religion(地球提出教 ) Ghost Dance Religion(鬼舞教 ) Bole-Maru Religion(伯乐丸教 ) Dream Dance Religion(梦想舞教 ) Feather Religion(羽毛教 ) Peyote Religion(仙人掌教)
Longhouse Religion(长屋教 )
• The Longhouse Religion, founded in 1799 by Seneca Handsome Lake, revitalized（复兴） Native American religion among the Iroquois(易洛魁人). The Longhouse Religion is still practiced by the Iroquois today.
religion and American culture
• The Puritans(清教徒 in American influence a lot . 清教徒) 清教徒 They think that the world is their monastery（修道 （ 院）, Doing work in the word is the way of cultivation, It is God's arrangement . Everyone should make their work well arranged .It’s their personal duty.Puritan ’ is entrepreneurship (创业精神 创业精神)spokesperson, they 创业精神 think to create an industry must be abstemious(有节 有节 制的). 制的 They are honesty and trustworthy, They prefer the commercial and industrial activities,But they don’t go for the benefit maximization ,they have a ’ strong consciousness to feed back society
religious influence on on American life habit
We always think that American life rich and colorful, they believe in freedom, the pursuit of self,It may have little to do with religion. But Albert Einste in Medical University to the survey showed, that religion is important! Adults rarely smoking, drinking hard,taking drugs.Having a belief is very necessary for the teens who faced a lot of stress in their life . Adults who view religion as an important part of life make less mistakes than those who neglect religion. So religious at some time can reduce the adverse factors
American Religion
The Changes that Religion Brought to the USA Religion, the worship or belief in a higher, paranormal power has existed since the start of the mankind. It has always played an important part in the history of the mankind, no matter in the western or eastern hemisphere.In America, the great diversity of the ethnic backgrounds has produced religious pluralism. It is said that there are over 300 religions and denomina-tions altogether in the United States, for instance, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. These religions have changed the life of the Ameri-cans immensely.One branch of the Christianity is the Protestants who broke away from the Catholic branch. They insisted that they must stand alone before God they do not go to priests for forgiveness of their sins. Individuals are left alone before God to improve themselves and ask for God’s guidance, forgiveness and grace. This change made by the Protestants encouraged the Americans to be independent and self-reliant. This can be concluded that when people want to change, they often turn to religion. This is because only by this way can they have the determination to make a change with the help of their God. Despite the specifics of what people should change and how vary by traditions, the promise that their lives will become more peaceful through spiritual practice runs through many traditions. This may be one of the most appealing aspects of religion.For this reason, Protestantism has traditionally encouraged a strong and restless desire for self-improvement and have passed it on to the Americans today. Their need for self-improvement reaches far beyond self-improvement in the purely religious sense. Believed in “God helps those who help them-selves”, thousands of self-help seminars and support group meetings are held to help them achieve their resolutions.The idea of self-improvement also includes the idea of improving oneself by helping others, which is volunteering, and the sense of volunteering made the adherents even more considerate. One real example happened around me is my friend Clark. He was my classmate’s brother who went to Singapore with his mother together with my mom and I. Influenced by the environment, he became one of the Christians two years later. He said his prayers everyday and went to the church every week, he was devotional. Unfortunately, Clark was bitten by a kind of poisonous mosquito and sent to a hospital but his mother could not afford the high expenses. Then, the church played its role. It raised money for him and sent volunteers to take care of him, finally he was soon recovered. This event happened in Singapore, which is a not totally Christian country in the eastern hemisphere, made me think of another positive effects that religions have brought to the world, which is to do as much volun-tary work as possible.However, every coin has its two sides, the negative effects of the religions exist as well. Some of the narrow-minded adherents may bring danger to so-cial stability and political construction and cause riots in the country.In consequence, the influence of the American religions on America is broad and great and the changes they brought to the Americans are apparent. Reli-gion has penetrated into every aspect of American life and encourages the development of education, science and technology in the United States. No-wadays, religion is still closely related with traditional American values and shapes the values and spirits in the United States everlastingly.英语学院2012级2班任禹璇（01）。
美国宗教Religion in the United States
I. The Pervasive Influence of Religion on America Socie
A. Political life B. The development of education C. The growth of economy
1. References to God in official customs and acts 2. “One nation under God” “In God We Trust”
Page 7
III. Major Religious Groups in America
B. Roman Catholics
1
The largest unified religious body—50 million
2
Descendants of immigrants from Ireland, Italy and Poland
IV. The Main Characteristics of Religion in America
A. Characteristics of religion
1. Diversity
6. Tolerance
2. Freedom
Characteristics of religion
5. Privacy
A. The most religious country in the developed world B. Explanations
II. Religious Americans
1.
Religious tradition complete religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution Search for social conformity and emotional security
american religion
Problems Exist In American Religion
Some people have fervent religious beliefs . Some of the small sects are extremely intolerant . Some are rather emotional ; some are odd and some are brutal ; and some others are hysterical . Small religious groups like people’s temple are full of violence and made a shocking tragedy in 1978 . All these religious problems are also social problems . In such a highly developed country like the united states of America , the economic decline , constant unemployment , and the disintegration of families make people all more crazy for religion .
The chief features of religion in the U.S
-The Variety Of Beliefs
-The Emphasis On Social Problems
-Separation Of Church And State
The Variety Of Beliefs
Protestant denoptist Church
American_Religion_美国宗教发展历程
Religion in AmericaIn a Christian ['kristjən; -tʃən] world, many countries in the West have experienced declines in religious observance[əb'zə:vəns]and increases in secularization in the twentieth century. The United States, however, seems to be an exception. the U. S. still remains the most religious country in the Western countries. In comparison with European countries, America not only has a greater number of religious believers, but also enjoys a much higher church survey, The Economist reported that about 95 percent of Americans believed in God; four out of five believed in miracles ['mirəkl], life after death and the Virgin Mary birth; 6.5 percent believed in the devil['devəl]; 75 percent believed in angels; and nine out of ten owned a bible. Similarly, surveys by the Gallup Organization in the early 1990s indicated that among Americans under 30 years old, about 36 percent attended church on regular basis, while close to 47 percent of the people at or over 50 went to church once in a week.Is America a religious culture, shaped by men who sought freedom of worship, with God constantly present in their minds even when the Church has become formalized? Or is it a secular culture with religion playing only a marginal role in men’s daily lives since the Untied States long time ago separated Church and State? To answer these two questions is no less than looking into the dynamics [dai'næmiks] of American culture and the complexity [kəm'pleksiti]of American society. The fact of the matter is that each of these questions can be answered affirmatively[ə'fə:mə'tivli]. America is as secular as a culture can be wherereligion has played an important role in its origins and early growth, and has been interwoven [,intə'wəuvən]with the founding and meaning of the society. America is also as religious as a culture can be whose life goals are worldly and whose daily strivings revolve not around God but around Man. SecularizationWhile it is true that the United States in the most religious nation in the world, it is also true that much of religion in American has become a matter of private ethical convictions. Indeed, it is variously noted that American are active in secular affairs, that religious observations have been losing their supernatural or otherworldly character, that religion in America tends to be religion at a very low temperature, and that younger generations, as a rule, have less and less training in, or attachment to, religious doctrine. But on the other hand, militant anticlericalism, as noted previously, is lacking in the United States, and church membership, on the whole, is quite large. Furthermore, religion in modern America is given continued public and political approval, and even the nonrecent domestic debates over such issues as family values, abortion, juvenile delinquency, divorce, and same-sex marriage have in many ways provided fertile soil for the revitalization of religious force in the United States. The enormous influence the Religious Right has enjoyed over the past three decades if a case in point.。
宗教用英语怎么说
宗教用英语怎么说宗教是人类社会发展到一定历史阶段出现的一种文化现象，属于社会特殊意识形态。
旧时由于人对自然的未知探索，以及表达人渴望不灭解脱的追求，进而相信现实世界之外存在着超自然的神秘力量或实体，使人对该一神秘产生敬畏及崇拜，从而引申出信仰认知及仪式活动体系，与民间神话一样，其也有自己的神话传说，彼此相互串联，其是一种心灵寄托。
那么你知道宗教用英语怎么说吗?下面来学习一下吧。
宗教的英语说法1：religion宗教的英语说法2：religious宗教的相关短语：宗教学religious studies ; Science of Religion ; Study of religion ; Religion宗教自由 freedom of religion ; Religious freedom ; Freedom of worship ; Religious liberty美国宗教Religion in the United States ; Religion in USA ; American Religious Identity Survey ; Religion in America 澳门宗教 religion in Macau台湾宗教 Taiwanese Religions中国宗教 Religion in China ; Chinese religion宗教迫害 Religious persecution反宗教 Antireligion各国宗教 Religions by country宗教的英语例句：1. She was a fairly rigid person who had strong religious views.她相当顽固，宗教观念极强。
2. India has always been one of the most religiously diverse countries.印度一直都是宗教信仰最多元的国家之一。
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3. Separation of church and state A. There is no established state religion. B. Religion has much influence over people and education, but the government has nothing to do with this. C. The religious instructions in school lay stress on morals and ethics.
• 4. the religious beliefs of Americans continue to be strong with social progress • 5. every church is a completely independent organization and concerned with its own finance and building
2. The emphasis on social problems and humanitarian ideals rather than on the Calvinist concern with individual sin to improve the present world by doing one’s duty toward one’s fellow man and less toward winning salvation in the next world through repentance
The Characteristics of American Religious Practice
1. The wide variety of denominations and the attitude of permissiveness（纵容，放任） and tolerance （容忍）that exists among them. Reasons: A. Different colonies and immigrants in history. B. The American environment stimulated the religious independence. C. The different denominations are integrated in the pattern of American life.
Protestantism
• Protestantism is a movement in Western Christianity whose adherents（支持者, 拥护者）reject the notion that divine (神的, 天赐的)authority is channeled through one particular human institution or person such as the Roman Catholic pope. Most of them stress the Bible---the Hebrew Scriptures( 希伯来文古本圣经）and the new Testament( 圣经新约)------ as the source and the norm of their teaching.
Chapter V
Religion in the U.S.A.
-----英语10-3 熊敏 赵倩怡
content
• • • • American attitudes towards religion freedom of religious belief religion and education differences between the religion in the US and Europe • major religious groups and their developments
1美分
Religion in the United States
Other Christian 3.3%
protestant 51.3%
Buddhism 0.7% Muslim 0.4 % Hindu 0.3 % Other religions 1.2 %
Three faiths
No religion 16.1 %
The Protestants, on the other hand, insisted that all individuals must stand alone before God. If people sinned, they should seek their forgiveness directly from God rather than from a priest . This meant every individual was solely responsible for his or her own relationship with God.
•
After the Protestants broke away from the Catholic Church, they found that they could not agree among themselves about many things. Therefore, the Protestants began to form separate churches, called denominations (宗派, 教派 ). In the 1600s, the Catholic Church did not recognize the rights of such Protestant churches to exist, resulting in much bitterness among some of the religious groups. Subsequently, many Protestant denominations experienced religious persecution,
3. Major Religions in the U.S.
Christianity [,krɪstʃi:’ænɪti ]基督教 Protestantism [’prɔtɪstən,tɪzəm]新教 Catholicism [kə’θɔli,sizəm]天主教 Eastern Orthodox 东正教 Buddhism[’budizəm]佛教 Judaism[’dʒu:deiizəm]犹太教 Islam [ɪs’lɑ:m]伊斯兰教 Hinduism [’hɪndu:,ɪzəm]印度教
Catholic 23.9%
Jewish 1.7%
religious freedom in America
1.America is remarkable now,as in the past , for its attachment to the principle of freedom of belief or disbelief .2.As the early Americans had escaped from religious persecution in their home land , they were determined to build a society without religious oppression .3.The Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution guranteed the freedom of belief and disbelief .
• Even American money reminds them of religion. The words “ In God We Trust” are stamped on the coins. • For Americans, as for people throughout the world, religion provides a personal identity, social contacts, and important rituals. Social groups, close friendships, and marriages are most often formed with members of one’s own religion.
The Development of Protestantism
Over 60% of Americans are Protestants. The Protestant branch of the Christian faith broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in Europe in the 16th century because of important differences in religious beliefs and religious practices. At the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church was the center of religious life in Western European countries. The Catholic Pope and the priests played the role of parent to the people in spiritual matters. They told people what was right and wrong, and they granted them forgiveness for sins against God and the Christian faith.