Christianity in the USA

Résumé du document

How are evolving the connections between Christianity and the society, between Christianity and the State ? If more and more Christians movements are expanding and gaining clout, what kind of criticisms has the Church to face ? And, basically, it rises the question of the American securalism : to what extent is the United States a secular State ?

Extraits

[...] Its members pledge to abide by seven promises, among which practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity or building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values So, at the heart of their concerns, these movements place religious loyalty, well suggested in the word promise But if reactionary, these groups, according to The Economist, are moving rather than threatening and it woud be crass to deny that good might come from their intentions Hence their relative success: 700,000 men attended the 1997 rally of the Promise Keppers, while the Christian Coalition represents a growing group of more than 2 million people. Boasting this considerable support, Christian movements try to gain political clout. [...]

[...] The slaughters of Jews at Roman time or the Inquisition are the most striking examples, and the Ku Klux Klan as far as the United States is concerned. But Emerson also recalls it when writing: The understanding [ ] said, in the next ages, ²This [Jesus] was Jehovah come down out of heaven. I will kill you, if you say he was a man² Moreover, if Pat Robertson and the Christian Coalition are used to making traditionalist comments, they sometimes sound utterly extremist. [...]

[...] Pat Robertson's extract of The New World Order alludes to this idea: The founders of America [ ] perceived this new land as a successor to the nation of Israel If actually the United States has no real divine origin, it is revealing to see that the Americans have taken care of endowing themselves with one. This qualifies the generally accepted idea according to which the United States is officially a deeply secular State. However, considering the American Constitution, it do is. Or at least it seems to. The first Amendment states: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof [ ] Apparently, here is the official separation of Church and State. [...]

[...] Another example is present in the text of J.K. Toole, where appears evangelization at work: Here we are gathered together again for another glorious night of conversion and salvation the preacher says, who also uses words like lost souls give themselves up to Jee-sus Christ or sinner will surrender to Him Nothing here but mass-religion. Nothing here but drift from true Christianity. As soon as religion has become such collective a thing, one may better understand its media drifts. The example of Pat Robertson is telling. [...]

[...] On the other hand, the Contract argues in favour of the Religious Equality Amendment, which would allow for religious symbols to be erected in public places and get prayer in schools. Recently, they have also called for laws that would allow for federal funds to organization like the Christian Coalition. Critisizing society, many Christian movements have grown in size, advocating a return to traditional and basic biblical values. Nevertheless, this clout has to be qualified, a criticism of Christianity being possible, and even relevant, considering the different drifts of the Church. II. At an ideological level, the drift of Christianity is underlined by R.W. Emerson and the Transcendental movement. [...]