[MD] Choosing Chance

[David Thomas]

Hi Andre,
You asked 
> I really am surprised to read that 95 percent of Americans ( I do not
> know if this is true so please correct me) living in the most
> democratic and free country on this earth believe in God.
> Is the freedom contained within the choice Steve espouses perhaps not
> so  (spiritually) fulfilling? To wit: is Western freedom really
> unfreedom and we are deluding ourselves?
> 
Not sure that Americans are any more or less deluded about freedom, or for
that matter anything else, than the rest of the world.

But on the religious issue it might be a Statue of Liberty thing. "Give us
your poor and huddled masses...et al.
The earliest settlers of America were by and large Christians. But large
numbers were from sects outside the mainstream that felt and were persecuted
in Europe. They were from different countries, cultures, and their beliefs
and lifestyles were universally viewed as radical (bad) in their home
countries. Early on in America most lived in relatively small isolated
communities for nearly 100 years prior to the separation from England. At
that time about the only thing they really agreed on is they didn't want a
king or any other form of government telling them what to believe. That's
kind of the "party line" American Revolutionary tale.

But IMHO that is just the start. You start out with radical isolated
religious tribes who pass down their beliefs "religiously" very "faithfully"
then you add to the mix "nobody can tell you what to believe" and you get
American religion. What happens is that when ever there was serious dispute
over the practice or doctrine in an individual congregation they split, a
new church is born. This process of splintering over time leads to a huge
number of individual churches, relatively isolated religious tribes that
continue to faithfully copy, even though each believe nearly the same thing.
I do not think that this tendency is exclusive to America or Christianity it
is just more prevalent here because of the freedom to do so. Hence why
"belief in God" is so universal and widely spread here.

In the United States you drive into a small town of less than 3000 people
you may find 3,4, or 5 churches. All different denominations but more
tellingly maybe is two different branches of same denomination. For example
the Primitive Baptist church on the east end of town the Free Will Baptists
on the west. And you will find though each group is Baptists they won't mix
religiously or socialize much privately at all.

Dave