I think yes, and the reason why I think this is so is because after 9/11 people needed comfort and many found it in religion.
However, since the War on Terror started, we have been in a state of perpetual war which is seen as a struggle against Islam specifically by many Christians in the US. As such, Christians have "fundamentalized" themselves much more so to clearly have define an "us vs them" mindset.
This is similar to the McCarthy era when the US was at war with the "godless communists" and similarly embraced religion (leading to things like adding "under God" to the Pledge).
Agree or disagree? Any thoughts?
Luckily, I think the unpopularity of the Iraq war and the unpopularity of Christian fundamentalism (not to be confused with regular Christians) is swinging back the religious fervor meter back to pre-9/11 levels.
Agree or disagree with that?
2007-08-09 18:48:49 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Yes, 9/11 did result in a initially large increase in church attendance and participation...I've heard numerous studies to this effect cited on the news and even in a recent textbook I use in my classes.
I would also agree that some Christians have "fundamentalized" themselves to support their fear of Islamic terrorists...seems like a natural reaction to being attacked. But I've also seen a number of articles that have discussed rapid growth in less "fundamental" Christian churches. My own church is far from fundamental and has grown almost exponentially since 2001...and another huge and rapidly growing church in my city is also far from fundamental.
The McCarthy era is one possible historical similarities but I think you can find hundreds if not thousands of other times when people embraced religion for comfort in times of trouble.
Last one sounds reasonable too...I have seen recent studies that show that some of the mad rush to church that followed the tragedy of 9/11 has died down and that some churches are again seeing declines in attendance. I'm not sure whether this is good or bad (so I don't know how to interpret the term "luckily")...
2007-08-09 19:09:29 · answer #1 · answered by KAL 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thankfully the shift to the right will always be met with a shift to the left after such a severe right turn. The US did not see it was looking into a mirror (ie fundy's) when they looked at Iran. Both sides of fundamentalists want a theocracy of sorts and like to have god on their side and an enemy to fight.
By having the president invoke his god and OBL invoke his god, one could be forgiven for thinking that someone was looking for a holy war of sorts. The us and them card was played with great success, and never more than with the religious right on both sides of the world.
As the pendulum has swung so far to the right, it is natural that it will have to correct it self towards the middle at least. History has shown this so many times. The ugliness of fundamentalism on both sides has been to inescapable.
2007-08-10 02:07:59 · answer #2 · answered by nicelyevolve 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The 9/11 attack did just the opposite. We are supposed to forget about the fact that religion was the cause. They call it Jihad, aka, Holy War. Plus the fact that God didn't even bother showing up after wards gave people reason to doubt that really is a man living in a cloud.
2007-08-10 01:58:35 · answer #3 · answered by liberty11235 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Something happens when Muslims kill 3000 Americans. They awaken the sleeping giant. There's no similarity to the McCarthy era. The war on terror isn't Christian against Muslim, it's extremists against America and Israel. I also think you've misjudged the resolve of the American people. We will do what we have to do, whether it's unpopular or not.
2007-08-10 02:01:34 · answer #4 · answered by Paulie D 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Agree with both parts. I have noticed that some people are starting to get the whole war on terror is just stupid and are calming down. Though I'm sure it won't ever end. Things like this will continue on, regardless of how much we study history to prevent things like this.
2007-08-10 01:53:48 · answer #5 · answered by fortyfootpianist 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Fundamentalism can now be propagated under the guise of the war on terror.
The system of beast will be established through the deception of the WOT.
.
2007-08-10 01:51:51 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The plan Bush & Co. set up backfired, it actually created great publicity for Islam. The whole Muslim world is rotfl.
2007-08-10 01:51:59 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋