Cody Phonharath SOC

 Introduction  Spreading of religion  Number of members  More racial diversity  Attitudes toward homosexuality  Leaving the religions  Book summaries  Reflection  Works Cited

 Throughout history many religious groups have been created to help guide many individuals down a spiritual path or influence their lives in a positive way.  Most of the time religious groups have set restrictions or guidelines that are meant to keep its members in balance without causing too many issues or problems but as time goes on many religious groups have had their customs change due to new perspectives demonstrated by the modern culture that we are living in today.  Due to the diversity and culture in the united states some religious groups are having their customs and regulations being changed by influences created by modern society and it’s people.  This presentation will demonstrate certain factors of religious groups that are being affected by modern day influences and examples of how certain religious groups are being affected.

 The identity of a religious group is first shaped by the specific area where the religion began.  The teaching and rules of the religious group greatly affect the lives of the people who live in the area and can help shape it’s society and culture.  Due to new opportunities in new countries many members of religious groups have immigrated to new areas and have taken their religious values to help spread the teachings and culture of their religion.  One article called “immigration and religious freedom” described how immigration led to the spreading religion in America. “the immigration boom of this earlier period did increase American religious diversity, though not in the sense we think of today. Largely as a result of immigration, the Catholic population grew three times faster than the general population during this period, reaching about 17 million by 1920.”

PERCENTAGE OF MEMBERS IN 1910 PERCENTAGE OF MEMBERS IN global-christianity-exec/

 Due to the numerous immigrants entering the United States and other countries many religious groups have had a mixed amount of individuals join or leave the group which has caused a small change in the amount of overall members.  The article called “ Religious census” describes the increase or decrease of members in certain religious groups. “Muslims saw the greatest growth rate among the five main religious groups studied. Their numbers increased by 66.7 percent in the 2010 census from a decade earlier. Latter-day Saints saw the next highest growth at 45.5 percent, followed by evangelical Protestants at only 1.7 percent. The number of Catholics decreased by five percent and the number of mainline Protestants decreased by 12.8 percent.”

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 In the past many religious groups did not consist of many multicultural members which made the religious groups lack a greater sense of equality or racial diversity among members of the group.  One article called “Racial Diversity Increasing In U.S. Congregations” described that the number of ethnic groups today have greatly increased the amount multicultural members. “The study, which included more than 11,000 congregations, found the number of multiracial faith communities has nearly doubled in the past decade. Nearly 14 percent of congregations are considered multiracial, with at least 20 percent of members coming from racial groups different from the congregation's majority race. The study also found 4 percent of America's congregations are multiracial, with no racial group having a majority.”

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 In older centuries Religious rules were obeyed without question and homosexuality and gay marriage were look down upon because religious restrictions made it clear that two people of the same sex should not be married.  Because of modern day society many people aren’t as restricted or influenced by religious rules and regulations and some religions have become more accepting of allowing homosexuality to become part of the everyday culture.  On the other hand even in today’s modern culture there are still numerous people and religious groups who still oppose homosexuality and some churches even encourage there members to protest and try to convince people that homosexuality is immoral.  One article called “Not surprising religion views homosexuality negatively” describes why some religious groups still oppose homosexuality. “religious understandings, has viewed homosexuality negatively for centuries, it is not surprising that the greatest resistance to change should come from those religious people who absolutize their religion's teachings.”

press.org/2013/03/20/growing-support- for-gay-marriage-changed-minds-and- changing-demographics

 Many modern day people are willing to leave a religion because of personal reasons that are being influenced by actions caused by the religious group.  Some of these personal reasons include no longer believing in the teachings of the group, unhappy about the treatment of members, or having their spiritual needs not being met.  One article called “Faith in Flux” described some ways why a person would want to leave a religious group today. “many people who left a religion to become unaffiliated say they did so in part because they think of religious people as hypocritical or judgmental, because religious organizations focus too much on rules or because religious leaders are too focused on power and money. Far fewer say they became unaffiliated because they believe that modern science proves that religion is just superstition.”

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 Ethnic identity: the transformation of white America – This book is about how the ethnic culture of white Americans has greatly changed due to influence from the diverse society. Many white Americans have been affected by modern day culture and have had some change in some perspectives that were brought on them from religion teachings.  Hijacking America: how the religious and secular right changed what Americans think– This book is about how religions and peoples own perspective can change the society and culture of the United States. Even though modern culture has a great impact on religious groups, modern culture can also be influenced by religious and secular pressure which can cause a change in how people think.

 When gathering all this information on religions it was interesting seeing some of the small changes that are happening to religions. With many religious groups growing due to expansion, immigration, and sharing of culture it can be assumed that many society's could become more diverse and accepting of different cultures and ideas. I was surprised to find out why some people opposed homosexuality due to some old customs that were set centuries ago but it is still good to know that some people chose to leave these types of groups if they disrespect how a person lives. I can use these examples for future employment by discussing with many employers and employees on how they view the lives of other people and it can help me find a excellent career based on if the works have a positive attitude towards treatment of individuals.

 "CP U.S." Christian Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec evangelicals-mormons-muslims-decrease-in-catholics-mainline- protestants-74207/ the article about increase in members – Page 6 "CP U.S." Christian Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec evangelicals-mormons-muslims-decrease-in-catholics-mainline- protestants-74207/ the article about increase in members – Page 6  Faith in Flux." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec article on why people leave religions – Pages 12 and 13 Faith in Flux." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec  "Growing Support for Gay Marriage: Changed Minds and Changing Demographics." Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec press.org/2013/03/20/growing-support-for-gay-marriage-changed- minds-and-changing-demographics/ - approval of homosexual marriage – Page 11 "Growing Support for Gay Marriage: Changed Minds and Changing Demographics." Pew Research Center for the People and the Press RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Dec press.org/2013/03/20/growing-support-for-gay-marriage-changed- minds-and-changing-demographics/  Global Christianity – A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population." Pew Research Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec article about spreading of religion – Page 5

 "Immigration and Religious Freedom." Virginia Wesleyan College. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec religious-freedom/education/directors-reflections/immigration-and- religious-freedom-.php – Article on spread of religion page 4 "Immigration and Religious Freedom." Virginia Wesleyan College. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec religious-freedom/education/directors-reflections/immigration-and- religious-freedom-.php – Article on spread of religion page 4  "Not Surprising Religion Views Homosexuality Negatively." On Faith Panelists Blog:. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec /10/not_surprising_religion_views_homosexuality_negatively.html - article on why religions oppose homosexuality – page 10 "Not Surprising Religion Views Homosexuality Negatively." On Faith Panelists Blog:. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec /10/not_surprising_religion_views_homosexuality_negatively.html - article on why religions oppose homosexuality – page 10  "RECENT ARTICLES." World Religions by the Numbers. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec news article about increasing members of religions – Page 7 "RECENT ARTICLES." World Religions by the Numbers. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec  Thumma, Ph.D., Scott. "Racial Diversity Increasing In U.S. Congregations." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Mar Web. 10 Dec thumma-phd/racial-diversity-increasing-in-us- congregations_b_ html - article on more diversity in a religious group – Page 8 Thumma, Ph.D., Scott. "Racial Diversity Increasing In U.S. Congregations." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Mar Web. 10 Dec thumma-phd/racial-diversity-increasing-in-us- congregations_b_ html - article on more diversity in a religious group – Page 8