Religion Religion As A Culture - 2134 Words

Religion as a Culture in America Religion in America has helped change and design the American landscape into a unique cultural experience. Early colonists came to America to avoid religious persecution. Many European countries had official religions. Those that wished to practice a religion other than the official religion were persecuted. The New World offered a place of religious freedom for people such as the Pilgrims. Our founding fathers included an amendment to the constitution that separated church and state. The First Amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The concept of separating church and state is often credited to the†¦show more content†¦Among developed countries, the U.S. is one of the most religious in terms of its demographics. According to a 2002 study by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, the U.S. was the only developed nation in the survey where a majority of citizens reported that religio n played a very important role in their lives, an opinion similar to that found in Latin America. Although participation in organized religion has been diminishing, the public life and popular culture of the United States incorporates many Christian ideals specifically about redemption, salvation, conscience, and morality. Examples are popular culture obsessions with confession and forgiveness, which extends from reality television to twelve-step meetings. Americans expect public figures to confess and have public penitence for any sins, or moral wrongdoings they may have caused. Christmas Day, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, is widely celebrated and a federal holiday, though a fair amount of its current cultural importance is due to secular reasons. European colonization has led to some other Christian holidays such as Easter, Lent and St. Patrick’s Day to be observed, though with varying degrees of religious fidelity. Mardis Gras (Fat Tuesday) celebrations are a p ractice of â€Å"fattening up† prior to observing Lent six weeks before Easter. There are other religious observances practiced in America which can attribute to the U.S. being labelled â€Å"a nation with the soul of a church† (Chesterton