The debate about the existence of God has been one of the most significant debates in the history of the United States. The debate has been ongoing for many years, most notably in the 1960s. Different people living in the United States have varying cultures and beliefs regarding God and His existence. According to an article written by Jerry Adler in the year 2005, Americans have started looking into their experiences with God in addition to politics.
Americans are said not to mind much about what is happening in their neighborhoods. Science is what has led to this debate. Some scientists argued that anything that is not understood under science does not exist. This brought up the notion that God does not exist. It contradicted the beliefs of Roman Catholics, among other Christian believers. This article discusses the various events that have been happening in the U.S. regarding the existence of God. The paper discusses the article: “In Search of the Spiritual” authored by Jerry Adler.
Socialization Agents
In discussing this topic, it is important to first understand what socialization means. This term is generally used by sociologists, political scientists, as well as anthropologists. The term refers to the process whereby people have disseminated ideologies, customs, as well as norms. This gives them the knowledge and skills that they require in order to fit into their society.
In simple terms, socialization can be defined as the process by which people acquire culture and social continuity. There should be “socialization agents” for socialization to be successful. These are the people who facilitate socializing. These are the various people who interact regularly in the society. It is important to note that “socialization agents” are people who have the ability to influence the behaviour of individuals, as well as the way of thinking of the people in the society.
Among the common “socialization agents” include family members. This is the first group of people that one interacts with before they meet with the outside world. Family is the biological unit that makes up the society. The next agent of socialization is the neighborhood. These are the people who are geographically located in a certain area.
People in a certain neighborhood are likely to behave and think in a certain way since they socialize and influence one another. Other agents include schools, day care, peer groups, media, ideology, workplace, institutions, as well as religion. In the context of this article, religion is focused on as the main socializing agent. Religion refers to systems that connect the moral values of humanity to the spiritual values.
These systems are either cultural or belief systems. One of the religious agents of socialization was Father Thomas Keating in the 1960s in the United States of America. He was the abbot of St. Joseph’s Abbey. Together with his brother Father William Meninger, the two monks spread the teaching of Christianity and created a meditation that went on to become a phenomenon in the whole world.
The phenomenon was referred to as the centering prayer. People learned the art of praying. They would find about 20 minutes at least two times in a day and interact with God. They spread the word of God to those people who were willing to establish a closer and deeper relationship with their Creator. This had a great impact as a socializing agent since it influenced the religious beliefs of many Americans.
Culture
Culture is a very important aspect of the society. It defines the way people in a certain society behave and how they think. In addition, culture has the ability to influence the beliefs of different individuals. Different societies have different cultures, thus they have varying beliefs. Culture has a close association with the religious beliefs of a society. As a result, it is possible to find that people of a given society have similar religious beliefs.
People are known to believe a lot in science in the United States of America. It is in the culture of the United States that all the events and phenomena have to be explained scientifically. It follows that anything that cannot be explained in terms of science is seen as not interesting or as unreal. Scientists developed a belief that God is unreal and do not exist since it is difficult to explain God scientifically.
Status
Status can be defined as a condition manifested by a certain society or individual. The position held by a certain individual can be referred to as a status. In a society, the significance or the prestige that is attached to a certain individual in the society is referred to as a social status. People who have a high social status are usually more influential compared to the rest of the people in the society. Such individuals can influence the behaviors of others and alter their way of thinking.
Scientists and religious leaders in the U.S. have a high status. As a result, they influence the way people think about the existence of God. Religious leaders try to create awareness of God’s existence within the society, while scientists think that God does not exist since He cannot be explained scientifically. This is an issue that has created confusion among Americans for a considerable period of time.
Manifest & Latent Functions
These are terms that are widely used in sociology. Manifest functions are those functions that an individual executes deliberately and consciously. On the other hand, latent functions are not deliberate. They are usually unconscious. One may exercise latent or manifest functions in religious beliefs. For instance, there are people who believe in certain things unconsciously. In most cases, such people have such beliefs since they found them on their birth and do not know any other beliefs.
Others believe in certain things deliberately. For instance, scientists’ functions can be termed as manifest since they come up with those beliefs after a series of studies and researches. It is important to note that manifest functions are usually positive and have positive impacts on the society, but it is also possible to have dysfunctions. Dysfunctions have negative impacts on the society.
Profane
Profane is a term that refers to abusive language. To treat something in a manner that is abusive can be termed as being profane. In addition, using a language that is not acceptable in the society can also be referred to as being profane. The society does not allow profanity since this is against its ethics. In the context of the article, those who believe in God could refer to scientists as being profane for their reference to God as being unreal. This is an issue that American monks have tried to settle for many years.
Sacred
Sacred is generally used to mean holy. God is said to be sacred. This is what the American monks have been trying to preach and instill into the people. On the other hand, it could mean that God is not sacred as scientists refer to God as being unreal. Something that does not exist cannot be sacred. The early years of 1960s were characterized by most people who had the belief that God does not exist. However, this has come to change over the years.