...Amanda Miller Gena Howard ENGL – 111-04A September 22, 2012 Illiterate America Stephen Prothero, the author of “A Nation of Religious Illiterates” is a Professor of Religion at Boston University. He received his Bachelors’ Degree from Yale College in American Studies and received his Masters and PhD in the Study of Religion from Harvard University. As a historian on American religions he has written six books since 1996 (Wikipedia contributors,"Stephen Prothero”). He is also a regular contributor to CNN’s Belief Blog. In his essay Prothero aims to convince the readers that although Americans are far more religious than Europeans, we know less about religion as a whole and aims to convey to us the importance of religious education to us. He also places blame on the educational system due to the First Amendment. Prothero’s work here left me confused due to his lack of facts and information as he seems like someone who is very well educated on the subject. Religion is somewhat of a hot topic to many Americans and brings much controversy with it. But, if we do not talk about it or read about it doesn’t that make us exactly what Mr. Prothero calls us? Prothero starts off by quoting sociologist Peter Berger “that if India is the most religious country in the world and Sweden is the least, then the United States is a nation of Indians ruled by Swedes.” (Prothero, “A Nation”, p1). Prothero believes that does not hold true anymore and I would have to...
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...Prayer in Public Schools Derrick DuHart Race, Religion, Culture Arkansas Baptist College Dr. Johnson, Instructor November 4, 2014 Tables of Contents I. Introduction Background/Statement of Problems pg. 3-4 Purpose of the Study pg. 5-12 Research Questions pg. 13 Significance of the Study pg. 14-19 II. Literature Review Methodology and Sampling Design Strategy pg. 20 Data Collection Procedures pg. 20 Data Analyzed pg. 21 Ethical Issues pg. 21 III. Results Conclusion pg. 21-22 References pg. 23 Appendix: I. Annotated Bibliography pg. 24-26 II. Survey Questions pg. 27 III. Results (Charted/Tables) pg. 28-31 Notes: I. Introduction Background/Statement of Problem Prayer in Public Schools The courts have ruled against prayer in school. Many agree with the decision; yet many disagree. Prayer should be allowed in public schools because it is already practiced. It prevents...
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...humanistic components. Research indicates a balanced approach yields the greatest benefits for the individual and the greater society. This is especially relevant as the world becomes a smaller place and individuals become global citizens. Beginning in the 1600’s in the New England colonies, education was originally a private endeavor conducted in homes with families teaching children how to read, primarily for religious reasons so that they could read the Bible (Thattai, 2001). The country’s oldest school was founded in Boston in 1635 and taught grammar in Latin. Several other communities in the colonies had grammar schools by the 1700’s teaching a curriculum in Latin and Greek. Some of these schools also taught reading and writing in English, but according to Van Scotter (1991), “What students learned about history, philosophy, natural science, and even mathematics came through their study of the classics” (p. 47). Following the American Revolution, a case was made for education being the basis for prosperity and survival of the new nation. In 1779, Thomas Jefferson introduced the idea of...
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