Post 13

This post's purpose will basically just be to formulate my views on religion in regards to societal change. I think religion, and the realization of what it is and where it comes from, constantly reshapes societal norms and promotes change.

If we consider how life was in our parents' generation, we can see that life was much different. There were far more rules in school, there were few questions raised about God ingrained in school and government, and even the dress norms were far more limited. Granted, from the beginning of the U.S. "separation between church and state" was declared. However, "God" still appears in a lot of government officials speeches, government documents, and national songs. Fifty years ago people had few problems with it. Today, talking about the America in the sense that it is Christian is often times interpreted as offensive. So, in that sense the U.S. has been forced to steer away from the Christian citations. This could also be do in part to other growing relgions in the U.S. (Hebrews, Buddhists, Hindus, etc.). Immigration may also play a part in it. As more and more religions become prevalent, the U.S. has to build more tolerance.

The way in which we interpet relgious writings such as the Bible, Koran, and Gita has changed as well. Religion propels societal change because people look at the relgious writings in a different light. Most people no longer faithfully believe that Adam and Eve were the beginning of human creation due to significant scientific evidence of evolution (however 5 of the 10 republican candidates for 08 don't believe in evolution). The religion is not lost, it's merely changed. Today, people see the morals that are inferred from the text and not the stories as historical happenings. So, as people interpret differently, society is then changed in the most beneficial intepretation. I'm not finding myself lost in my own discussion. I'm going to end this. I'm sure there will be some responses to this. Please, clear up what I'm trying to say!