Religion In George Washington's Farewell Address

Hunter Estes Unit 2, Lesson 2 Gillespie’s Influence, a Legacy of Discrimination and Bigotry George Gillespie played a key role in the formation of the American Union’s fledgling government. Through his works, he convinced our Founding Fathers that civil government should be kept separate from the government of the church. By forcing this, he opened the door to arguments that shut religion out of politics and suppress the wishes of a large portion of our society. Today, we hold the “separation of church and state” to be one of the most important parts of our constitution, but we must confront the uncomfortable fact that, for much of American history, the phrase "separation of church and state" have often been expressions of exclusion, intolerance,

He demanded, “The name of American, which belongs to you, in your national capacity must always exalt the just pride of Patriotism, more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.” Washington

Perhaps, the most frightening aspect of this book is the ever-darkening depravity of American culture. Honestly, if a reader traces the opponents of fundamentalism through the work, they find a disturbing trend that explains why America is facing the problems she’s facing today. Slowly but surely, those who hold to fundamentalism are becoming fewer in number. Now, most well-educated people would not know what fundamentalism is or (more importantly) what it stands for. Small wonder America is going to Hell in a handbasket (pardon my

President Washington also spoke on Religion and Morality. He stated “Where is the security for property, for the reputation for life. In a sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?” He also stated that “Morality is necessary spring of popular government and morality is obtainable without religion.” President Washington asked the American people to look beyond any slight different between religion, manners, habits and political principles and place their independence and liberty above all

Scotty Reston of The New York Times was reminded of the great evangelist William Jennings Bryan when listening to Eisenhower, declaring, “He appealed not to the mind but to the heart” (Kruse 60). Journalist William Lee Miller said, “The American religious tradition is geared to arouse enthusiasm and passion, not to produce wisdom and patience; it is more at home with single, simple, moral choices, than with complex, continuing political problems” (Haberski 41). Miller emphasized that Eisenhower was “a caricature of revivalism: The American people had gone back to God but didn’t know what to do with Him” (41). Chernus disagrees that Eisenhower saw America as a spiritual land that would lead by example, stating, “He waged cold war, not because he saw the U.S. as inherently righteous, but precisely because he saw the U.S. as morally and spiritually ambiguous: a nation where spiritual values might yet prevail, but only if its citizens continued to wage the same apocalyptic spiritual battle they had begun in December 1941” (609). Reston concluded, “His ‘Crusade in Europe over, he opened up a second front here…to start a second crusade in America”

Moore quotes Mark Twain, “Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. … He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself, and cuts his throat if his theology isn’t straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s path to happiness and heaven.” Listing various events Moore shows how history has come to have a relationship with the term “religious”.

From the presidential debates it is quite obvious that religion plays a vital role in the average American’s life and

“Religion itself dominates less a revealed doctrine than a commonly held opinion. I do, therefore, realize that, among Americans, political laws are such that the majority exercises sovereign power over society” (Page 501, Chapter 2, Democracy in America, Tocqueville). In this quote Tocqueville explains how Americans try to find answers to their everyday lives and challenges they encounter in religion. They need something to rely on when everything in their lives turns out wrong, and religion is usually their

When hearing George Washington’s Farewell Address for the first time it is easy to understand it is well written and the substance is things he really felt is important. However once the time is spent relating his speech to todays times and problems the magnitude of his word is really understood. Almost 250 years later and 44 more presidents, George Washington’s thoughts still apply perfectly to the current state of the U.S. So much has change sense he gave this address but unity, Stoping the divide of political parties, morality, and avoiding entangling

While most studies and theories are concerned with the differences between religion and culture, Bellah (1967) spent a lot of time examining the similarities of religion specifically in America. While Rousseau is credited as the one who coined the term “civil religion”, Bellah provided an in-depth study (2007:167). Based in presidential inaugurations, he continuously recites that people in authority often cite a generalized god, one that does not belong to any set religion (Bellah 1967). He goes on to explain that in America, there are “certain common elements of religious orientation that the great majority of Americans share” (Bellah 1967:166). This is important to understand in the sociology of religion because it shows how cultures and ideas can combine to create something the majority of society agrees on, even if it’s something as strongly held as

Jane Dailey’s “Sex, Segregation, and the Scared after Brown”, published in The Journal of American History, couples religion, sex, and the struggles of segregation during the civil rights movement. More specifically, Dailey addresses the language of “miscegenation”; asserting that religion was a vessel utilized by both sides of the segregation argument (Dailey 122). For the believing Christian, segregation of races was of “cosmological significance. The Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education sparked much controversy in the religious word, mainly with those who supported segregation.

Washington uses the trustworthiness he credits himself with to convey to the audience that his speech is worth listening to since he holds a position that requires the utmost amount of trust. Along with the credibility he gives himself through his presidency, Washington reminds the American public about the trust instilled in him, in government positions, and in the American people to uphold the Constitution and make America into the country it aspires to be. Washington presents the idea that those in government positions are those who can be “entrusted with [America’s] administration” who can avoid “that love of power, and proneness to use it” (9). In this statement he offers the idea that it is up to Americans to elect trustworthy people into government and that those who hold government positions should be those who can hold power without succumbing to corruption. Using his position as President of the United States, Washington establishes his credibility in his speech to suggest to the audience that he is trustworthy and that the audience should be able to trust his

Address to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association On September 12, 1960 in Houston, Texas John. F. Kennedy who at the time was campaigning for president, gave a speech to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association. His purpose was to emphasize the separation of church and state, and to promote “the American ideal of brotherhood” (2). Kennedy’s audience consisted of the Protestant Clergy as said in opening statement of the speech; “Reverend Meza, Reverend Reck, I'm grateful for your generous invitation to state my views”.

Precisely, she declared, “The church cannot be defiled by receiving a bigamist into its membership” (Oskison 1040). As a result, from Miss Evans’ behavior, Oskison is able to disseminate America’s true character. Unlike others, he does not excuse or ignore America’s image, instead he confronts

“Religious liberty might be supposed to mean that everybody is free to discuss religion. In practice, it means that hardly anybody is allowed to mention it.” ― G.K. Chesterton Many occasions in the United States history have shown that religion has caused many controversial questions. These questions have brought the American Justice System to a running halt, leading society to begin to ponder about the importance of freedom of religion, true meanings of the free exercise and establishment clause, and if there should be limitations imposed on the free exercise of one’s religious beliefs.