Religion and Culture
In analysis of the relationship between religion and culture, I see a great opportunity to criticize religion as a form of practice as I find that of religion caves within popular culture it has failed as a bench mark to find truth. I think one of the main purposes of religion is to find truth for human beings to achieve a sort of piece or maintain order of some sort. If religion however caves to whatever is popular, the moral or otherwise behavioral standards that were set by religion are proved to be monikers of its time. Therefore I will give three examples of religion caving to popular culture and to be specific i will target my own lived religion of Christianity as all ideas, even the ones I buy into, are worth criticizing.
The first and I think most obvious one is the newly formed Christian view of the LGBT+ community. Even just fifty years ago those who were gay, and that is to not mention the other members of the extended community, were constantly harassed and unaccepted into society. To be gay was a social crime as the largely Christian nation followed the word of God which condemned homosexuality. However, with increased liberalization of society, things have changed now and there are many churches that are inclusive towards the LGBTQ+ community and large parts of society accept them for who they are. In this the religious culture of the US has shifted from a religious condemnation of a group to an acceptance promulgated by societal and cultural change.
A second example is a popular and main criticism of the bible in its avocation and logistical justification of slavery. Nationally I think the practice of slavery was recognized as inhumane by the early 18th century with several abolitionist movements springing up around the country to protest and fight against the injustice of slavery. However, at the same time religious texts were used to justify slavery, in that if the bible was okay with slavery, the same bible which is the marker and example of all benevolent thought and action, there was ample argument to continue the practice. Even in the debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglass, the Bible was used to justify slavery. As we know after the civil war legal slavery was abolished and in the coming decade slavery was widely considered a moral transgression. In that the change of law and culture changed how religion worked as in now even theological scholars will condemn slavery.
This last one will be likely the most controversial as it is the discussion between Christianity and abortion. In the days of Roe v. Wade, Abortion became legal and the largely Christian country exploded. The outrage behind killing an unborn child was great and powerful. It continued and still continues to this day. However when culture framed abortion around the libertarian framework or live and let live and wrapped it around the compass of women's rights, many churches flipped their position on abortion, deciding that it was an individuals right to choose what to do and furthermore that a Christian woman has every right to have an abortion for the sake of her future stability. Although the controversy still festers, the religious backing behind it, although not vanished, has been diminished. Thus law and culture has changed the fundamentals of Christianity as in influence.