Christianity in the U.S.

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Christianity in the U.S Dante Williams English 1301.286

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Abstract

For my first year in my discourse community, I researched Christianity in the United States and its demographic, based on six characteristics used by John Swales in studying a discourse community. By analyzing and synthesizing texts to gather background information on Christianity in the United States, and the different perspectives on the Christianity. By conducting field research and interviews on a Christian group, and how the group function as a discourse community. From observing the discourse community I saw an issue and proposed a way to fix the issue to help the community achieve their goal, and meet its members demands.

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In recent times, in religious groups such as Christianity, there are many sects and Christianity is a United States most practice religion. Christianity has been in the United States, since it was founded, and has influenced lots of dramatic changes in the way future generations will live. Christianity has run into a problem like most things in time and that is lack of interest, which in turn weakens the religions influence on individuals and traditional morals and values that effect ones political ideology. Not everyone in the united states agree with Christianitys beliefs, because they either want to do things their own way or they just do not want their morals and values to be forced upon them. I wanted to learn more about Christianity and how they were keeping their influence in North America. Too understand more about the Christian religion and its impact on the Corpus Christi population. I observe a Christian group on the Texas A&M campus based on attracting college students. By getting students to assimilate the Christian beliefs and morals, and getting other students on campus to do the same, in order to keep Christianity alive in America. Literature Review

In Corpus Christi, Texas on the Texas A&M campus many students have religious influences that effect their daily lives and the choices that they make. A problem is rising between the American citizens values and how different they are becoming from the Christian values. Many Americans have a problem with the Christians and the Bible, because in the Bible it says that their life is not theirs. Aliprandini, M., & Wagner, G. (2013). Many Christians realize that their problem now a days in their local community is that there is a lack of interest and some people just think Christianity has too many rules and regulations for them as an individual.

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Christianity has played a vital role in the political atmosphere and has been present in America since its founding. Ellis Sandoz (2006), the author of Republicanism, religion, and the soul of America states Christian views are vital to the way the nation was founded and will continue to be the bases. Christianity is always evolving to stay existent and have an impact on the community most recently focusing on policies that protect religious rights. The first amendment guarantees peoples the freedom from any region so that question then is where is the barrier between church and state, in order to meet the demands of the citizens that want religious freedom from religion. The times are changing and citizens want religious freedom over Christianity, in Lee v. Weisman (1992). ,which involved removing prayer from school. A young woman and her daughter fought for religious freedom in school at her middle school graduation that was supposedly enforced by the state of Rhode Island. The plaintiff Deborah Weisman won the case, because the state and school violated the establishment clause, in the first amendment.. Jacobs, T. (2006). Teens take it to court: can you be forced to say a prayers in school?. Also provides other cases that deal with cases that challenge the separation between church and state. Although many people want religion out of their lives and feel like it should be left in the church. There are a lot of Christians that strive hard to share their religious views with others in different ways by going into different settings, sacrificing things. Christians do not realize how much of an impact they have in the political platforms, and must use all limitations to achieve conditions of order and justice. Eric Patterson (2008). Fredrick M. Shepard author of Christianity and Human Rights: Christians and the Struggle for Justice (2009), argues that Christians do not have the right to influence others or make them assimilate to the Christian religion if they do not want to. It is a human right to choose to ignore and not adapt to Christian

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ideology and philosophy. Shepard. F. also argues that although Christianity may have a major impact in the United States there are also others that have different beliefs and have their own entitlement to them. The ongoing battle between Christians and individuals that want religious freedoms will continue. Although it may seem like the United States citizens are diverting from their religious origins there are still Christians in America that are battling these new changes and trying to come up with innovative ways to work with these new found regulations. Ethnography To understand more about the goals and how they work towards keeping their religion in practice, I targeted a Christian group on the Texas A&M campus called Baptist Student Ministry to observe how current Christians practice their religion and how they attract new generations. The Baptist student ministry strives to get everyone on campus focused and centered on God and reading the Bible and defend their beliefs. Method My data was recorded and organized in a way that it could be easily highlight key facts and details within the community. I composed a poll and interview to try to find out more about the individual in the discourse community and how they are influenced by the group, and if their affiliation with the group has changed anything about them. I polled 37 of the members that attended the Baptist Student Ministry to get more of a result in answers. From my results I was able to see what brought the members together and what aspects of the group kept them involved and engaged they were in achieving the group members common goal. Data Collection

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In order to get more of a sense and in order to know more about the member as an individual and their roles in the community and how the community meet the individuals goals. I collected data, by using polls and interviewing some of the members of the Baptist Student Ministry (BSM). By composing ten simple questions for the interview that question, why they joined the group and figuring out if there are any areas within the group that can use improvement. I also observed the community for two months as an incoming freshman and also took notes on how the group worked with freshmen and the ways the community tried to get them to engage and assimilate to the Christian religion in college. Data Organization By creating outlines, deconstructing interviews to highlight main ideas, and comparing poll answers to each other I was easier to keep information together. I was also able to see how organized the BSM was at coordinating its events and meeting the demands of all its members. The outlines helped me how the individual is engaged in the community and ways the community shaped their views. Participants Within the community I interviewed and observed all grades of students and also graduate students. The community was composed of lots of different nationalities and races. I interviewed Male and Female students that where new and old members of the group. There were also Freshmen, Sophomores, Junior, senior that attended the group, and three graduate students. Data Analysis I analyzed my data and observations to try to understand how and why the members of the BSM participated in the group and how the group helped them as a Christian in

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college. It was also important that I analyze the way new members of the community felt about the group and receive any feedback or criticism that they had in the group. From this I was able to see how deep each members participation was to their beliefs and the BSM, these differences varied from individuals. Analysis By using John Swales six characteristics of a discourse community any group can be evaluated and notified as a discourse community based on six characteristics. For a group to be notified as a discourse community the groups participants will need to share or have a common interest that bring them together A discourse community shares the same goals, if they did not the group could not even be considered a community, because communities work together for the same purpose. The data and research helped me see how the group that I choose to research is classified as a discourse community according to John Swales six characteristics, and. Wardles idea of modes of belonging. This process is also helping me brainstorm and pull together information on how a member of the community will be affected by the groups in general. Swales characteristics Using John Swales six characteristics of a discourse community, I evaluated and observed the BSM for swales six characteristics. The members common beliefs brought them together on different topics and they also spoke to one another to comfort each other in times of need. The BSM uses a lot of language that is exclusive to its community that has different meaning from the words people use in their daily lives. The group also has a lot of authority figures that are willing to go out of their day and console an individual that is facing a problem. Membership

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The newcomers that attend group sessions or gatherings usually come with their close friends who regularly attend the group. New comers usually come to the group and convers with the leading figures or experts that coordinate the group and those that have been a member of the group for a long time. The relationships that are created from these interactions create relationships and help the new comer feel comfortable with engaging with the communicating to others and possible joining the group in an effort to share their religious views with others. By adapting to the Baptist ministrys views and ways of communication the new comer would align themselves with members and do as they do, act as if they are a member of the group. Issue At the Texas A&M Corpus Christi campus there are communication problems which in turn affect the groups organization in events and ultimately their members participation. After studying the groups ethnography, and interviewing old and new members of the group. This lack of discourse had some of the new members questioning their place in the group, and those that have been in the group either do not know whats going on in the group. Proposal This proposal will promote sustainable communication within the group and will help the group be more effective when pursuing their goals, by using the same type of communication in the group that a majority of students use on the Texas A&M Corpus Christi campus. With the help of the using these new types of communication members will be able to have access to the groups events and other members anywhere, which can build relationships with them outside if the group. These ways of communication will also encourage new members to get to know existing members and could also stimulate conversations on how the Baptist Student Ministry and its members can be more effective as a group reaching out to other students on campus.

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Discussion After looking back at all my research, I can see that Christianity in the United States is changing and adapting to new techniques of communicating and gaining more members and participants. From observing the community I was able to see things that participants enjoyed and doing and some things that participants shied away from like talking to one another. During the interview I asked a question that revolved around the discourse in the organization and majority of the students that I questioned did not know who half the people in the room. This paradox within the group goes against the groups purpose, because if they will not take the time to get to know each other how are Christians supposed to share their religious views to someone that does not know their views. By keeping Christianitys morals and values in place in America, it in turn affects citizens political ideology and impact on social issues such as abortion and the death penalty. The groups influence on its members is strong and they love working together and sharing their views with others. Since the BSM is aimed at college students I was also able to notice how some of the group members felt about current events in Corpus Christi. Their views political views seemed to be conservative, which could cause some of the students to vote more towards policies that are in accordance with their religion and treated other citizens fairly. My research on Christianity in the United States and the literacy autobiography, and proposal has helped me observe a group and discover different ways that one can engage, assimilate, and interact within a community based on their relationship with their sponsor. One can see that religion can play a big part in ones life and daily decisions. Even though many citizens in the United States may not have any religious beliefs or disagree with Christianity on

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some things, there will always be always be a group of people that focuses on keeping traditional morals and values alive in the political atmosphere.

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References

Aliprandini, M., & Wagner, G. (2013). Christianity in the united states: an overview. Evanston, IL : Lakeside Publishing Group, LLC

Jacobs, T. (2006). Teens take it to court: can you be forced to say a prayers in school?. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing.

Johns A. M. (1997). Discourse communities and communities of practice. Text, Role, and
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Conflict: developing academic literacies. Cambridge, MS. New York, NY: Cambridge

UP. Patterson, E. (2008). Christianity and power today: Christian realism and contemporary political dilemmas. New York, NY: PALGRAVE MACMILLAN.

Sandoz, E. (2006). Republicanism, religion, and the soul of America. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press.

Shepard, F.M. (2009). Christianity and human rights: Christians and the struggle for the global justice. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books

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Swales, J. (1990). The concept of the discourse community. Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Boston, MS: Cambridge UP.

Wardle, E (2004). Identity, authority, and learning to write in new workplaces. Enculturation 5.2.