How Religion Shapes Society

Paper Summary:

The writer describes that the most amazing thing to know about how religion shapes society in the United States concerns World War II. Before then, Christians and Jews worldwide, and certainly in the United States, viewed each other with a great deal of distrust, based on a profound lack of knowledge. Through a look at religion in politics, Judaism, Christianity and prayer, among others, the writer of this paper maintains that religion is operative in American life, from the ball field to the church itself, to the halls of science and to metaphysical precincts of the new 'quantum' universe.

Outline
Ignorance of Other Religions Before WWII
Impact on U.S. Society
Theology
Political/Atheism
Impact on Judaism and Christianity
Politics and Religion as Co-equals
All Men Created Equal
Constitution
Religious Nation under All
Statistics about Religion
List of Various Religions
When did U.S. Religiosity Begin?
Founding Fathers
Popular Churches
Fundamentalism
Other Forms
Prayer in Daily Life
Issue for Politicians
Kennedy
Kerry
Schools
Excesses on Right
Excesses on Left
Religion and Economics
Religion and Media
Religion and Science
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"Novak believes the discovery of each other happened on three levels. First, there was the theological level. Christians discovered how much closer they had been to their Judaic roots than most people, before World War II, had suspected. Because of that, Novak says, "Judaism can no longer be dismissed as an historical relic, a mere proto-Christianity" By the same token, Jews have discovered that Christianity is "not a one-time deviation from Judaism". Perhaps it would be easiest to say that Christians and Jews, by acquiring greater knowledge of each other fostered by the necessity of the World War II, also gained more respect for each other, and that must certainly have a positive impact on American society. While it is not the religion per se at cause, certainly religion has a profound impact, in any case, on how we conduct ourselves, at least in relation to those of the 'other' religion."

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