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Impact of Religion and How People Turn to It

Religion is an important part of someone’s life. However, some people do not believe in

religion at first until someone changes their relationship with God. You may go to church every

Sunday, go to youth groups, read the Bible, pray, do Bible studies, and do many other things with

religion as part of your daily life. Some people wonder how religion first started. Were we a

country that was just born with it? Did God travel from Europe to America and give us religion?

Did baptisms change people’s lives with religion? People will always ask questions, and wonder

when they will get answers to them.

Ever since high school, I was always wondering about religion. The year before that, I

made a commitment to believe in Christ at a Winter Retreat with church and since that moment it

has changed my life and many new doors opened for me. My friend at the youth group helped

inspire me to become a Follower of Christ and I was very excited to take that position. I

struggled with opening up about my faith in public because some people at my school did not

believe in religion and some of my friends told me that whenever they talked about going to

youth groups, a classmate would overhear them and would ask them if they were religious.

During that first year, I avoided talking about my religion or wearing any clothes or jewelry in

public places. The reason why I did those things was because I was afraid my school or the

public would say something about it. I did see other people wear those things and I wondered

why they wore them or did anyone say anything about them? This affected me because my

friends were telling stories about other people saying unacceptable things about someone’s

religion after overhearing them going to a youth group. This caused me to be conservative about

my religion and not say anything about it.

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Since becoming a Follower of Christ, I stopped avoiding those things. I started buying

clothes with bible verses on them, jewelry with bible verses and crosses, and decided that I want

to get a religious tattoo. I learned that it was my choice and to not listen to what other people said

about it. I decided to study religious studies and go to a Christian college after I graduate high

school, which is the main reason why I chose this topic.

When researching my topic, I learned that no religious laws were put into place as part of

the Constitution because people believed in different religions. There were many arguments

saying that America was founded as a Christian country. Since the 1985 case, Aguilar vs. Felton,

many Americans have agreed to having religious freedom in America because people did not

want to pay taxes to have private schools be funded by the government. Prior to this case, private

schools were funded by the government like public schools were. People who did not believe in

religion disagreed with this and argued that private schools should not be funded by the

government because of the religion separate from the state rule. That is why private schools are

not funded by the government. It was interesting to learn about this case in my government class

where I first learned about it. I have always wondered how someone’s life can be changed by

God’s relationship and wondered how religion first came to be in the beginning of time. That is

why I decided to choose this question to research: What is America’s Religious Foundation of

Christianity and Why Do People Turn to it?

People always wonder how Christianity was founded. Was America founded with it or

did we later evolve with religion as a country? People argue that America was founded with

Christianity and others say it was never founded that way: “Two popular answers to this

query—’Of course not!’ and ‘Absolutely!’—both distort the Founders’ views. There is in fact a

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great deal of evidence that America’s Founders were influenced by Christian ideas, and there are

many ways in which the Founders’ views might inform contemporary political and legal

controversies” (Hall). Although people believed in different things and there were two different

perspectives on the questions of whether America was religious, there was evidence that the

Founders were affected by Christianity and put elements of relaxation in our government:

“According to those who answer ‘Of course not!’ America’s Founders were guided by secular

ideas and self, class, or state interests. These scholars do not deny that the Founders were

religious, but they contend that they were mostly deists—i.e., persons who reject many Christian

doctrines and who think God does not interfere in the affairs of men and nations” (Hall).

America was not founded by religious teachings because the Founders of the government did not

want to force people to follow religion they did not believe in. Religion was separated from the

government, which gave people the freedom to believe different religious teachings.

Many African Americans were trying to find their religious beliefs during the Civil

Rights Movement during the 50s and 60s led by Martin Luther King Jr. According to Dickerson,

“The many marches that he led and the crucial acts of civil disobedience that he spurred during

the 1950s and 1960s established him and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference as

rallying points for civil rights activities in several areas in the American South” (Dickerson).

Marches led by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference were

very important because African Americans were exercising the same religious free rights as

whites. Dickerson also states that, “The black struggle now had transnational significance, and

this recognition helped to advance the black battle for freedom” (Dickerson). African Americans

wanted freedom of religion during the Civil Rights Movement pursuing the American ideal of

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separating religion from the state. Shelley Pattison is a retired elementary school teacher and

church youth group leader at Saint Matthew Lutheran Church. Pattison states, “There have been

court cases that are things like school districts around the US having kids say the Pledge of

Allegiance including the phrase, ‘One nation under God.’ The argument was that children should

not be able to say that. There’s arguments going on to bring prayer back to the schools but in the

Constitution it is separate from religion and the state. There are two seperate things that people

have freedom” (Pattison). School districts with public schools argued that they did not want

children to say the Pledge of Allegiance because of the phrase, “One nation under God.” Many

school districts have started to ban children from saying the Pledge of Allegiance.

Many people wonder why people are religious and some people may even argue that

religion does not exist and that people should not follow religion. According to Perham, “The

quick and easy answer to why people are religious is that God – in whichever form you believe

he/she/they take(s) – is real and people believe because they communicate with it and perceive

evidence of its involvement in the world” (Perham). People follow different forms of religion

besides Christianity like Judaism and Islam. During childhood, people are often exposed to

religion and they grow up practicing that religion according to Perham’s research: “Sigmund

Freud felt that god was an illusion and worshippers were reverting to the childhood needs of

security and forgiveness” (Perham). According to Freud, practicing religion solves childhood

needs for security and forgiveness. Perham also states that, “In addition to these psychological

aspects, the ritual behaviour seen in collective worship makes us enjoy and want to repeat the

experience. Dancing, singing and achieving trance-like states were prominent in many ancestral

societies and are still exhibited by some today” (Perham). According to the psychological aspects

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of our brain, religion can be a behavioral benefit for us like other physical activities. Waters

states that, “In reaction, some scholars contend that Christian theology provided the intellectual

foundations for modern science and technology” (Waters). Teachings of Christianity have

provided intellectual foundations for improvements in science and technology. Pattison states her

journey growing up with religion, “I was raised in a very conservative, strict household where I

was taught a lot of things. The best part of it was to know the value of the Bible and what the

Bible is all about. All of our scientific learning and knowledge convinces me all the more that we

have a wildly creative and powerful God” (Pattison). People can be raised in a conservative area

where they are taught to follow the Bible and believe in religion and Pattison felt like she had a

great connection to that growing up.

Many people have had their lives changed by God making a huge impact on their life.

These experiences change how people view Him: “The African American prophetic tradition as

black religious intellectuals articulated it in the 1930s and 1940s laid theological foundations for

the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Their set of ideas pertaining to segregation as

sin, Jesus as an ally in the struggle, and racial reconciliation influenced the direction and

objectives of religiously motivated activists” (Dickerson). African Americans had their lives

changed by God because they viewed segregation as a sin and they believed that being consistent

with their religious beliefs ended segregation. That black religious intellectual movement formed

twenty years before the Civil Rights Movement began and laid a religious foundation for those

marches: “The purpose that Jesus came to this Earth to do was to bring transformation of wasted

lives into new and fruitful lives. Jesus tells us that He has come to give life and that more

abundantly” (Reppond). According to Reppond, he believes that Jesus came to the World to help

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people transform their poor lives into great lives. In fact, many people in the World explained

how their journey with God has impacted and changed their life dramatically: “When we read

the Bible, this Holy connection with God feels like someone is talking directly to us through the

anointed words” (Armand). According to Armand, reading the Bible allows us to feel like we are

talking to God. “I have witnessed so many examples of how the Bible can change your life. The

more I invest in reading and studying the Bible the closer I grow to God and understand His

story and experience Godly contentment” (Armand). Passages in the Bible can change a person’s

perspective of God, causing them to become closer to him. The meaning behind each Bible verse

can represent a person’s life and it can become a favorite Bible verse they can refer to.

A Christian singer, songwriter, Jeremy Camp went to a Christian college and his life was

changed by God. When he met his first wife, Melissa at college, his life was changed based on

the experiences he went through while they were together. When Melissa passed away from

cancer, he started to believe more in God and eventually came out into the world sharing her

story. That is the reason why he wrote his song I Still Believe after Melissa passed away for his

memory of her.

Many people’s lives have changed on Christianity and they have shared their stories with

the world. Jeremy Camp’s first wife, Melissa, was changed with God while she was going

through a rough time. Melissa and Jeremy met in a Bible Study in 1999 at college. A year later,

Melissa had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Devastated to hear this, Jermey came to visit

her in the hospital and learned that the cancer had spread throughout her organs.

After hearing the diagnosis, they decided to get married and plan their wedding, not

knowing how much time Melissa had left. Eventually she was healed from all tumors: “One

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month before their wedding, Melissa was healed of all tumors and was cancer free. It was a

miracle. They were married on October 21, 2000, and honeymooned in Oahu, Hawaii — her

favorite place in the world” (Dalton). Melissa experienced the healing powers of God by her side

and showed her story of returning to a normal, cancer-free life. Melissa had a great life but that

all changed once they got back from their honeymoon: “Days upon returning from their

honeymoon, Melissa didn't feel well. They soon discovered her cancer was back and had spread

all over her body. There was nothing they could do and told her she had weeks to months to live.

At the age of 21, Melissa Lynn Henning-Camp went to be with Jesus on February 5, 2001, at

12:05 a.m. She joyfully worshiped and praised the Lord throughout her sickness until her last

words” (Dalton). This was very devastating news to Jeremy because having Melissa in his life

has influenced him to be closer with God. He had prayed all these months to have her healed but

he was upset when the cancer came back and there was nothing the doctors could do. Writing I

Still Believe has helped him move forward with his life and changed others around the world.

In 2020, there was a movie called I Still Believe that came out talking about Jeremy and

Melissa’s life together:

I Still Believe was the first song Jeremy Camp wrote after Melissa’s death and it became

an immediate success across the world. Their story was recently turned into a major

movie motion picture that seeks to share her faith and hope with the world. She would

constantly say: “If just one life comes to know Jesus through my cancer, it will all be

worth it.” And now millions will have the opportunity. (Dalton)

Watching this movie opened up people’s lives through struggles. Melissa's quote reminded them

that Jesus is with them and will support them even in bad times. Melisssa kept a journal while

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going through her struggles and eventually the world came to pray for her to get healed of her

cancer. She was strong throughout her life because her life was changed by God and Christianity

while she was going through a rough time and her story has changed many people throughout the

world.

Life has been changed by Christianity throughout high school with a friend from Saint

Matthew’s high school youth group. Her life changed with God and Christianity. She met an

upperclassman who helped her gain a bit of understanding of her faith and what path she would

choose for herself. That friend stayed in touch with her throughout high school. She never

realized that a friend so powerful could change her views on Christ. During her freshman year,

she had no idea that a friend who was very inspiring could change her perspective on religion.

When she first came into the high school group, she was paired up with someone to pray for each

others’ struggles. She ended up being paired with that friend and during the first semester they

started to get to know each other. However, everything in the second semester changed.

She and her friend went to a winter retreat with their church and were put into the same

cabin. During a gathering in their cabin one day, they started talking about some of the

challenges and struggles they had. It was a great way to let go while talking about their problems

openly so they could move past and focus on the positive things like high school, church,

retreats, sports, and other fun things in their life. After that experience, they became close

friends. Her friend went to a private Catholic school so she was able to talk to her about Jesus,

the Bible, and faith which were topics she could not easily bring up with her public high school

classmates. Being able to open up to someone about their religious beliefs is a big change in their

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life because the most challenging part is knowing when someone will accept them or their

beliefs.

During her sophomore year, she found out she was more confident in my faith. She used

to be really careful talking about her religion to other people because many people at her school

do not believe and no one talks about it. She realized that this is who she wants to be and she

learned that she should not be afraid to talk about her religion just because someone might not

believe in it or might believe a different religious teaching. Since that day, she has been wearing

clothes and jewelry with Bible verses and crosses on them because someone should not judge her

based on what she believes in. Being part of her church youth group every week has helped her

learn more about God and made her become more interested in it. If her friend had not come into

her life and helped her, she would have remained the same person she was in middle school.

Having someone come into her life and change that experience was the best thing that could ever

happen to her. She decided that she would like to help someone change their life and perspective

on God and Chritianity when she is in college. That person was the author of this paper.

The answer to the main question: What is America’s Religious Foundation of Christianity

and Why Do People Turn to it? From the beginning America was not founded with Christianity.

The early settlers did believe in Christianity, but there were many arguments going around that

everyone should believe in religion, but the Founders disagreed with that. However, the

Founders did believe in religion but decided that having the state and religion separate from the

government should give people more freedom to choose what religion they believed in based on

their culture. Therefore, America has many different foundations of Christianity based on

people’s tastes of religion.

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To answer the second part of the question, people turn to religion based on various things

that happen in their lifetime. For example, they may be exposed to religion in their conservertive,

strict household or they may get taught religion as a child whether they go to Sunday School or a

church every week. Others may believe that religion was founded in the old days and they turn to

it that way. Some people may believe in religion based on their beliefs on what they believe in.

Others may find their religion during events that happen in their lifetime, like how African

Americans did during the Civil Rights Movements back in the 50s and 60s. Others may also turn

to religion based on other people inspiring them to follow God and take Christianity as part of

their life.

Jeremy Camp’s wife, Melissa, had her life changed by many people while she was going

through her struggle with cancer which led her to have a strong connection with God before she

went to be with him. Her story has helped change the lives of others by believing in God.

Learning about Melissa’s story while watching I Still Believe has changed people’s lives

dramatically and they are becoming more interested in learning about Melissa’s story.

After researching and learning more about this topic, people should care about this topic

because putting some thought into it could impact someone’s life. People cannot live a certain

way or believe in a certain religion. Helping guide them to their path might help them decide

what path to take. In the end, the more work someone puts into their religion, the more they will

get out of it and they will have a successful life throughout their adult years.

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Works Cited

Armand, Mary Rooney. “How the Bible Can Change Your Life and Understanding the Power

Found in God's Words.” ButterflyLiving, 13 Oct. 2020,

https://butterflyliving.org/how-the-bible-can-change-your-life/.

Dalton, Heather. “Learn about Melissa Camp's Story.” Melissa Camp, 2020,

https://melissacamp.com/.

Dickerson, Dennis C. "African American Religious Intellectuals and the Theological Foundations

of the Civil Rights Movement, 1930-55." Gale In Context Online Collection, Gale, 2007.

Gale In Context: High School,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ2181700470/SUIC?u=wal55317&sid=bookmark-SUIC&xid=8

b5b6102. Accessed 19 Mar. 2022.

Hall, Mark David. “Did America Have a Christian Founding?” The Heritage Foundation, 7 June

2011,

https://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/did-america-have-christian-founding.

Pattison, Shelley. Personal interview. 23 February 2022.

Perham, Nick. “Why Are People Religious? A Cognitive Perspective.” The Conversation, 11 June

2020,

https://theconversation.com/why-are-people-religious-a-cognitive-perspective-108647.

Reppond, Rev. Benny. “God Can Transform Our Lives If We Let Him.” Daily World, Daily

World, 30 June 2018,

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https://www.dailyworld.com/story/opinion/2018/06/30/god-can-transform-our-lives-if-we

-let-him/748403002/.

Waters, Brent. "Christian Perspectives: Historical Traditions." Encyclopedia of Science,

Technology, and Ethics, edited by Carl Mitcham, vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA,

2005, pp. 337-340. Gale In Context: High School,

link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3434900135/SUIC?u=wal55317&sid=bookmark-SUIC&xid=

564d2c6b. Accessed 19 Mar. 2022.

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