After WWII America went through a religious revival in society. It was in the 1950’s that the mention of God was added to the Pledge of Allegiance and America’s motto.

Established mainline Protestant denominations remained popular, especially in American suburbs. The election of President Kennedy helped bring Catholic Americans to the forefront. Catholic churches also opened more Catholic schools, which helped to separate Catholic children from Protestant ones. The high rate of church attendance could be attributed to American desire to return to peace and normalcy after WWII. The 1960’s and Civil Rights Movement signaled changes in American society. Predominantly black churches in the South helped to spur desegregation.

Evangelicalism was refueled by debates over abortion rights in the 1980s. This brought evangelicalism into the public view, and began the relationship between evangelicalism and political and social issues.  Jacobsen also says that around this time denominations among certain Christians became less important. Catholics still called themselves Catholics, but Lutherans, Baptists and Presbyterians started to refer to themselves simply as Christians. To measure this statisticians ask respondents if “they have been born again” and “do you believe the Bible is the Word of God”.

Today the various cultures and ethnicities that have come to America is reflected in the wide variety of religions in America. Jacobsen does explain that overall religious attendance is declining in America. Evangelicalism is now a movement, with evangelical members in all Christian denominations.  There is also the tendency to associate Christians with conservative politics. Jacobsen points out that Christian churches have also become centers of charity and volunteering in America and abroad. This also includes providing relief after natural disasters, where religious centers often cater to the needs of the communities not only religiously but with basic human needs.

One aspect I would add to my Christianity would be the aspect of forgiveness from Ubuntu and African culture. Americans do not generally focus on forgiveness and reconciliation, generally society is focused on punishment. I appreciate that in Asian cultures they are more accepting of all types of religion, and focus on similarities rather than differences. Americans typically do not face the same levels of poverty as people in other countries, but I think that the sentiment from liberation theology that all people are equally important and that we should be free from social class and oppression is a good one. America has a wide variety of religions, but often people of different religions do not discuss religion with people of other religions. I also think that there is a tendency for non-religious Americans to judge religious Americans. I think a higher emphasis on community service and charity and a emphasize politics could help this issue. There is also a rather big divide among the political beliefs and leanings of Americans, and potentially equality among the religion would go a long way to help bridge political gaps. I think I also would not place a huge emphasis on dogma and rules, because there are many ways to be religious and pray.