OCT 20 Religious Engagement With the World

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OCT 20-- Religious Engagement With the World

• Protestantism and Western Culture (John)
• Fundamentalist and Utopian Responses
• Religion Politics in America (Mike)
• Religion on the Internet (Andrea)

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RELIGION AND HISTORY

• Ahistoric nature of Eastern Religions versus the
  historic nature of the Western Religions
  Judaism, Christianity, Islam
• Importance of eschatology in the entrance of
  religion into history. The role of prophecy.
• Religions of Control Medieval Christendom,
  Caliphate Islam, Shinto as a State Warrior
  religion, Confucianism as the basis of Mandarin
  Imperial Bureaucracy.
• Religions of Accommodation Most mainline
  CHURCHES and DENOMINATIONS by definition.
• Religions of Escape Fundamentalist escapes into
  an ideal past and utopian escapes into an ideal
  future.

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PROTESTANTISM AND WESTERN CULTURE Why have the
Protestant religions been the primary vehicle for
the global transformation to modernity?
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FUNDAMENTALISM UTOPIANISM AS RETREATS FROM THE
PRESENT

• Fundamentalism as a retreat into a golden past
• Utopianism as a retreat into a golden future

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Fundamentalism

• Worldwide movement (not just USA)
• Islamic, Hindu, Jewish, Catholic, Protestant,
  Buddhist strains.
• Global characteristics aggressive and confident
  (Weve got the answers and you need the answers)
  tolerance a sin.
• Apocalyptic view of modern trends.
• Involvement in politics a religious duty.
• Anti-intellectual anti-science.

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UTOPIANISM

• Millenarian Utopianism
• Premillennialism
• Postmillennialism
• The Rapture
• When Prophecy Fails
• Pietistic Utopianism (passivity in action)
• Pagan Utopianism (oriented both to mythic past
  and revolutionary future)

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RELIGION POLITICS IN THE UNITED STATES

• The United States as a City on a Hill
• ABOLITIONISM The first American mass movement
• The fundamentalist strain in American history
  (way before 1910) Anti-Masonism, the
  Know-Nothings, Urban Catholic anti-abolitionism,
  Populism, antimodernist 20th century
  fundamentalism.
• Whats the matter with Kansas the replacement
  of populism by religion fundamentalism.

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VARIETIES OF AMERICAN CHRISTIANITY

• Catholicism Ethnic divisions
• Charismatic direct experience of God and divine
  gifts. Speaking in tongues and laying on of
  hands
• Protestantism (overlapping categories)
• Pentecostal Jimmy Swagert, anti-intellectual
• Evangelical Billy Graham, missionary conversion
• Fundamentalist Jerry Fallwell, Bible as literal
  Word premillennial
• Social Action/Liberal ethics economic and
  political action postmillennial

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Religious Activism and radicalism

• The Black Church and the Civil Rights Movement
• Liberal religion and the anti-war movement
• Religion and the environment (a splitting issue
  in Christianity)

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TECHNOLOGY RELIGION

• Televangelism
• Online Religion
• Websites of established religions
• Websites critiquing religion or religions
• Websites that are themselves religions
• Interactive sites
• Web pulpits
• Web blogs