Secularization is the process by which religion fails to be significant culturally and socially. Hence, the faith of the society ends up lacking cultural power, and the religious groups end up with less social influence. Fundamentalism is a religious measure branded by a stern belief in accurate analysis of religious texts. The US is a highly fundamentalist spiritual country globally. Two-thirds of its population believe in The Second Coming of the Messiah. Nevertheless, the fundamentalists have turned into a political force. They tied the religious fundamentalism of the country to the run up of the presidential elections. This is essentially in the soaring regard of the Republican contestant Donald Trump and the deployment of religious rights. Christianity leads the landscape, with approximately seventy-one percent of Americans being affiliates of the religion. Therefore, I think the United States is becoming more fundamentalist because religion is currently being tied to politics.
Making a comparison of this generation and that of our grandparents and parents, there is a huge gap in the association of society and religion. There is fast evolution due to technological changes. The generation of our parents was individualistic and determined. They underwent the Great Depression, and survived the banking crash. This implies that they sacrificed a lot for their country, and survived the hard economic state of depression. They are concerned about morality, family values, and hate open sexuality made on television. Also, their generation is more religious than ours. They always do things according to their religious beliefs, unlike my peers who use reason. Parents believe that enforcing a religious identity on their children at home is significant in giving them a solid foundation in religion. However, the current media portrays this act negatively making the children to undergo pressure when told to pursue a certain religion. Also, our parents and grandparents attended worship willingly. This is not the case of the new generation as most of the children are being forced to attend formal worship. They claim that they can be spiritual without going to the worship centers.
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The generation of our parents and the society was strict on matters concerning homosexuality and sex before marriage. However, today’s society tolerates these issues, and any restrictions on them make life boring. In the past, it was obvious for our parents to adopt their parent’s religion. However, this generation chooses what values to partake and being forced is not an option for them. This is based on the Durkheim’s theoretical viewpoint of religion in sociology, that is, functionalism. He viewed religion in the entire society’s context and recognized its impact in prompting the behavior and thinking of the society. The sacred objects of religion have divine characteristics, which differentiate them from other profane objects. Hence, despite the present generation developing a disregard for religion, they still view religion with a sense of awe and reverence. This is despite not believing that there is power in religion.
Popular media including television and other social media platforms will portray that the state of religion in the US no longer has a majority of the adults as Protestants. This is in a bid to bring about the notion that the US is becoming a secularized rather than fundamentalist nation. It indicates that most people are not affiliated with any religious group. Moreover, they portray that the percentage population of adult Protestants has fallen gradually. Similarly, the media is portraying that most Americans support homosexuality. This is inclusive of the chief religious groups. However, the population lacking a religious affiliation is portrayed to allow lesbians and gays marriages. Hence, the media tries to make the society believe that the state of religion in the US is on the verge of collapse.
References
OpenStax CNX . (2017). Cnx.org . Retrieved 13 May 2017, from https://cnx.org/contents/r-QzKsl_@7.23:kLNNYgyf@3/Introduction-to-Religion
Variations in Family Life . (2017). OpenStax CNX . Retrieved 13 May 2017, from https://cnx.org/contents/r-QzKsl_@7.23:Ix43J6k1@3/Variations-in-Family-Life
