Themes of American Religion

My grandmother embodies a series of themes in American Religious history, most notably cultural religion. Historically, this form of religious expression is meant to carry on the teachings of the religion through practiced creeds, codes and cultuses both public and private while maintaining the community and heritage of a people. Her Irish heritage ingrained a sense of family and tradition deep within her being that stemmed from this innate sense of cultural religion. As she moved from Ireland to San Francisco she continued the sorts of practices that centered around her family and stayed highly involved in the church by sending her kids to the private school connected to the institution as well as helping any way she could. Today, she volunteers at the Irish cultural center and attends an Irish Catholic Church to remember and immerse herself in the ways of her homeland. The culture center acts as a focal point that communicates the essential actions and rituals one may do in order to fully delve into the mainstream and historical culture. She shadows the ritual calendar during the year; as one would in implicit cultural religion, including all of the important holidays as well as her own unique rituals such as lighting a candle every mass for my late grandfather. She celebrates not only her religion, but also the cultuses that sprouted from her religion regarding her background as an Irish immigrant. Though cultural religion is something phenotypically visible my grandmother also houses other themes that are less explicit such as her belief in denominationalism. The Catholic Church is often considered one denomination that constitutes a very organized body of one church that intertwines many. The Protestant Church, on the other hand, is comprised of profuse groups that can vary greatly in ideology, many of which are “vast and profound” differences according to Moberg in an analysis done on San Francisco.¹ This separation develops an overall understanding that they are all under then same vision for religion regardless of labels that have been assigned to them.² The Catholic Church and some Orthodox groups don’t see them as under the same bubble of Christianity but rather fragmented sects of what used to be the one church.³ Although her church may not follow the same ideals, she considers all Christian followers as a part of the same church as in the concept of denominationalism. In that respect, though she considers herself Catholic, she combines other sects of Christianity and acts more reformed like the Protestants. Combination is nothing new in American interpretations of religions. It has been around since the nineteenth century and continues to thrive in today’s society. Taking ideas and principles from the best parts of religion can create a better understanding of religion as a whole as well as a better follower of the religion. Some even take up the actual following of the different religions calling themselves names such as Christian Buddhist Spiritualist or Jewish Catholics to name a few. My grandmother does not go this far, but like I said before, takes a modern approach to certain aspects of Catholicism but stays true to the core practices involved in the Catholic religion. But unlike the Catholic lower clergy that take orders from the hierarchical demands of the Vatican, she does not follow this chain of command that tightly holds the grip of countless members of the church.⁴ These sorts of themes have been integrated in American Society in such a way that it becomes harder to distinguish the black and whites due to the blending greys. Though cultural religion holds tightly on the country, a New Age wave of ideals that challenges Orthodoxy like denominationalism and combination is slowly creeping up on ones vision of religion which is observed in the case with my grandmother.

¹David Moberg O. 2008. "PROTESTANTISM AS A STATISTICAL FICTION AND "THE NEW DENOMINATIONALISM." Review Of Religious Research 50, 30-31. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 5, 2013).

²Rodney Stark, and CHARLES Y. GLOCK. 2008. "THE "NEW DENOMINATIONALISM." Review Of Religious Research 50, 33-42. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 5, 2013).

³Moberg, 31

⁴Andrew Greeley 2001. "THE FUTURE OF RELIGION IN AMERICA." Society 38, no. 3: 32-37. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 5, 2013).