But what happened to the strong and effective role of religion in public life? More importantly, how do Americans today feel about the lack of faith? Emma Green, of "The Atlantic", answers this pressing question in her recent article: Americans Want More Faith in Public Life . According to the article, "41 percent of Americans say there has been 'too little expression of religious faith by political leaders.'" Many Americans appeal to politicians that have some sort of concrete faith, especially Republicans, while others "aren't particular about what exactly their politicians believe", as long as they believe in something. Green's article concludes from the data that "Even as traditional forms of religious worship decline or take on new forms, people are apparently still able to recognize the value of religious insights."
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Religion and Greatness
George Washington led a struggling nation to freedom and posterity, William Wilberforce fought to abolish the slave trade in England, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer jeopardized his life to defy the Nazis. What do these three great men have in common? Faith. And politics. These extraordinary men combined complete trust in God, selflessness, and diligence in order to achieve remarkable and seemingly impossible political goals that exemplify the meaning of greatness.
But what happened to the strong and effective role of religion in public life? More importantly, how do Americans today feel about the lack of faith? Emma Green, of "The Atlantic", answers this pressing question in her recent article: Americans Want More Faith in Public Life . According to the article, "41 percent of Americans say there has been 'too little expression of religious faith by political leaders.'" Many Americans appeal to politicians that have some sort of concrete faith, especially Republicans, while others "aren't particular about what exactly their politicians believe", as long as they believe in something. Green's article concludes from the data that "Even as traditional forms of religious worship decline or take on new forms, people are apparently still able to recognize the value of religious insights."
Like Eric Metaxas, author of Seven Men, Americans who hold faith high disagree with the ungodly behavior of some politicians and believe that faith needs to be a more prominent factor in controversial decision making. Metaxas gives exquisite examples, like the three men mentioned above, to illustrate the noteworthy effect that reliance on God can have on a society. Metaxas believes greatness comes from God; therefore a stronger influence of faith on politics should create better results than America has been seeing lately.
But what happened to the strong and effective role of religion in public life? More importantly, how do Americans today feel about the lack of faith? Emma Green, of "The Atlantic", answers this pressing question in her recent article: Americans Want More Faith in Public Life . According to the article, "41 percent of Americans say there has been 'too little expression of religious faith by political leaders.'" Many Americans appeal to politicians that have some sort of concrete faith, especially Republicans, while others "aren't particular about what exactly their politicians believe", as long as they believe in something. Green's article concludes from the data that "Even as traditional forms of religious worship decline or take on new forms, people are apparently still able to recognize the value of religious insights."
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Ashley, I liked how you connected this article to our summer reading novel, Seven Men. The test of greatness and faith truly do go hand in hand.
ReplyDeleteI like how well you connected the artcile and Seven Men. The connnection seemed natural throughout the entire post.
ReplyDeleteYou connected Seven Men with this article "exquisitely" and in so many different ways. I also like this topic that you brought up because I never knew that people really acknowledged this issue. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI really like your connection to Seven Men. I like the questions you brought up involving religion and politics, it really gave me something to think about. Great connections!
ReplyDeleteAwesome connection to Seven Men. Your word choice kept me interested, and you made it seem like Seven Men obviously should be connected to this article.
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