1、Religion in the United States,What are your questions?,Topics,General Beliefs Denominations Sects Catholics Ethnic Churches Revival Movement (again) Politics and Religion,Religion in America,Many people in America are “deists”. They believe that there is a God, but they dont think He is involved in

2、our lives to a great extent. They dont seek God or follow Biblical teachings. Many others in America are “practicing Christians”. They seek to follow Gods will in their lives and often meet together with other Christians at church meetings. 42% of Americans “go to church” at least once a week.(2006

3、Gallup survey),Religion in America,The majority of Americans (76%) identify themselves as Christians, mostly within Protestant and Catholic denominations, accounting for 51% and 25% of the population respectively. Non-Christian religions (including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism), collective

4、ly make up about 4% to 5% of the adult population. Another 15% of the adult population identifies as having no religious belief or no religious affiliation. According to the American Religious Identification Survey, religious belief varies considerably across the country: 59% of Americans living in

5、Western states (the Unchurched Belt) report a belief in God, yet in the South (the Bible Belt) the figure is as high as 86%. /wiki/Religion_in_the_United_States,Christian Beliefs,The basic beliefs of the Christian faith, that Christians from all denominations can agree on, are

6、that: Jesus is Gods Son. Jesus came to Earth as a baby, lived a perfect life, and died on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Jesus will come back again as a king. He will take his followers to live with Him in heaven.,Denominations,Denominations are parts of the Christian Church. Most of their bel

7、iefs are similar, but the disagree about some small points of how to live a Christian life. Because of these differences, they choose to worship separately and be called by different names.,Denominations,There are many different denominations in the United States. The largest are: The Catholic Churc

8、h, 68,115,001 members The Southern Baptist Convention, 16,228,438 members The United Methodist Church, 7,853,987 members The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 5,974,041 members The Church of God in Christ, 5,499,875 members,Catholics,More than of all Americans are Catholic. Many came from

9、 Ireland, Italy and Poland. Catholic faith is often passed down from one generation to the next. John F. Kennedy, a very well liked President, was Catholic. There are many Catholic schools and hospitals in the United States. Some of the top universities were founded by Catholics, as well.,Sects,The

10、Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints (Mormons) Believe in the Bible, but also believe there is another book, The Book of Mormon, that is also from God Were taken to court about whether they could marry more than one wife where it was decided that Americans can believe anything they want,

11、but they can not do anything they want As of 1990, nearly 72% of the population of Utah was Mormon, as well as 26% of neighboring Idaho.,Ethnic Churches,Many ethnic minorities choose to worship together, whether due to language or cultural differences. Though there are many all Chinese churches, or

12、all Latin churches, there are many multi-ethnic churches in the United States. People of different ethnicities and cultures are welcome at any church.,Churches primarily made up of African-Americans,“Black churches” are typically more lively than all white churches, with clapping and dancing done by

13、 many members. This is a part of African culture.,Revival in the Church,1740s: A “revival” movement brought new feeling and strength into religion It cut across denominational lines and brought people together as Christians Today, there is also a movement to cut across denominational lines and just

14、be Christians,Politics and Religion,In America, freedom of religion is very important. It is guaranteed in the First Amendment to the Constitution. The United States has no state-supported religion. In some ways, the government supports all religions (ie. Churches dont pay taxes, the armed forces pays chaplains of all faiths, Presidents often call on God to bless America and have national times of prayer) In some ways, the government ignores religion. Unlike in Great Britain, there is no