Browsing by Subject "Atheism."
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Item The great American disappointment : an introduction to the Great Disappointment Theory as a way to explain the unique evolutionary processes of socially-guided religion by means of American civil religion.(2010-06-23T12:24:08Z) Quillen, Ethan Gjerset.; Ferdon, Douglas Robert, 1945-; American Studies.; Baylor University. American Studies Program.America is unique when compared to the rest of the world for many reasons, but especially so for its religion. To this, as human beings evolve socially, in the same way animal species evolve in order to seek out variable fitness toward survival, their religion follows suit. This has been particularly so in the United States where absolute religious freedom makes way for one of three processes of evolution within the American church of civil religion. These three processes, atheism, fundamentalism and new religious movements, become the direction in which Americans evolve their religious beliefs in the wake of socially-guided religious disappointment. This Great Disappointment Theory, based on the results of William Miller's Great Disappointment in the 19th century, helps explain the means by which Americans, who act as individuals within an immigrant nation, are able to come together as a congregation within the American church of civil religion.Item Rejecting the definitive : a contextual examination of three historical stages of atheism and the legality of an American freedom from religion.(2011-09-14) Quillen, Ethan Gjerset.; Parrish, T. Michael.; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.The trouble with "definitions" is they leave no room for evolution. When a word is concretely defined, it is done so in a particular time and place. Contextual interpretations permit a better understanding of certain heavy words; Atheism as a prime example. In the post-modern world Atheism has become more accepted and popular, especially as a reaction to global terrorism. However, the current definition of Atheism is terribly inaccurate. It cannot be stated properly that pagan Atheism is the same as New Atheism. By interpreting the Atheisms from four stages in the term’s history a clearer picture of its meaning will come out, hopefully alleviating the stereotypical biases weighed upon it. In the interpretation of the Atheisms from Pagan Antiquity, the Enlightenment, the New Atheist Movement, and the American Judicial and Civil Religious system, a defense of the theory of elastic contextual interpretations, rather than concrete definitions, shall be made.