基督教文化对美国商业文化的影响.docx
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基督教文化对美国商业文化的影响.docx
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基督教文化对美国商业文化的影响
1.Introduction
ThehistoryoftheNorthAmericabeganintheearly17thcentury.ThefirstsettlerswhobecamethefoundingfathersoftheAmericannationwerequiteafewpuritans.Theywereagroupofserious,religiouspeople,advocatinghighlyreligiousfreedomandmoralprinciples.Theycarriedwiththemacodeofvalues,andaphilosophyoflife,andapointofview,whichisrootedinthenewlandandbecamewhatispopularlyknownasAmericanPuritanism.Ithasbecomeastateofmindratherthanasetoftenets.
PuritanswerethosewhofollowedthedoctrineofJohnCalvinandwantedtopurifytheChurchofEngland.TheywerepersecutedforreligiousdissatisfactionandthedemandtoremovecorruptioninthechurchlatertheyfledtoAmericancontinentandrootedPuritanisminAmerica.TheyinsistedtheopinionthathumanbeingswerepredestinedbyGodbeforetheywereborn£®SomewereGod¡¯schosenpeoplewhileotherswereabandonedtoHell£®Nochurchnorgoodworkscouldsavepeoplewhowereabandoned£®PuritansinsistedthattheonlysignofbeingGod¡¯selectpeoplewasthesuccessinhisworkortheprosperityinhiscalling.TheyalsoarguedthateveryonemustreadtheBibleinordertomakesenseofGod¡¯swillandestablishadirectcontactwithGodspiritually£®Theyadvocatelivingamorallifeanddesiredtobuild¡°acityuponahill¡±intheNewWorld£®PuritansconstitutedthemainbodyofimmigrationinNorthAmerica£®InnorthernpartofNewEnglandtherewereallPuritans£®¡°Puritanismbecamethecommonvaluesofpeopleatthattime£®Theideastheypromotedare:
reverence£¬humility£¬seriousness£¬honest£¬industriousandthrifty¡±governedbythesevalues£¬Puritandidn¡¯tfearthestrangeanddangerousenvironmentatall£¬theyconquereddifferentkindsofdifficultiesandsoonharvestedprosperityandabundanceinthewildnessofthecontinent£®Therefore£¬theyweremoreconvincedoftheirPuritanism£¬andambitiouslyexpandedtheterritory£®Meanwhile£¬Puritanismvaluesspreadtoawiderlandwiththeexpansionofterritories£¬exertinggreatinfluenceonAmericansociety£®ThispapertriestoexpoundtheinfluenceofPuritanismonAmericanbusinessvalueonthreeparts:
1.Individualism.Individualism,frompuritanculture,isregardedasthecorevalueofAmerican,whichpromotetheexerciseofone'sgoalsanddesiresandvalueindependenceandself-reliancewhileopposingmostexternalinterferenceuponone'sowninterests,whetherbysociety,familyoranyothergroup
2.Pragmatism.Pragmatismisaphilosophicaltraditioncenteredonthelinkingofpracticeandtheory.Itdescribesaprocesswheretheoryisextractedfrompractice,andappliedbacktopracticetoformwhatiscalledintelligentpractice.Generallyspeaking,instrumentalism,radicalempiricism,verifications,conceptualrelativity,adenialofthefact-valuedistinction,andahighregardforsciencethatareallregardedastheimportantcharacteristicofpragmatism.
3.Christy.ChristyhasbeenhighlyadvocatedinAmerica.Whatismore,ChristianchurchisseenasthesymbolofAmericanChristyamongthepastcenturies.Christyisanethicofkindness,benevolenceandsympathyextendeduniversallyandimpartiallytoallhumanbeings.Christyhasbeenanevolvingconcepthistoricallybutuniversalityisacommonelementinitsevolution.
4.OverviewoftheDevelopmentofAmericanChristianity
4.1.OriginofAmericanChristianity
IntheAmericancontext,ChristianValuereferstotheinfluenceoftheHebrewBibleandNewTestamentthoughtandvaluesonProtestant,especiallythePuritan,PresbyterianandEvangelistattheveryearlytimeofthiscountry.TheseideasfromtheHebrewBible,broughtintoAmericanhistorybyProtestants,areseenassupportingthoughtsoftheAmericanRevolution,DeclarationofIndependenceandtheUnitedStatesConstitution.ThefoundinggenerationsofAmericanssawthemselvesasheirstotheHebrewBible.AndHebrewteachingsonliberty,responsibility,hardwork,ethics,justice,equality,whichhavebecomekeycomponentsoftheAmericancharacter,arecalledthe¡°AmericanCreed¡±.Inaddition,sincethefounding-dayoftheUnitedStates,AmericansarefriendlytoJewssincetheybelievedintheJudeo-ChristianValue.
WhenthefirstfewsettlegroupsarrivedinAmerica,theydidnotonlycometothisnewlyfoundlandforbusinessopportunities.WiththeirreligionoppressionbytheEnglishChurchandgovernment,thesmallpartyofreligiousPuritanseparatistswhocomprisedabouthalfofthepassengersontheshipdesiredalifewheretheycouldpracticetheirreligionfreely.Then,thecolonialhistoryoftheUnitedStatesbeganwiththesubsequentarrivalofsettlersfromtheEurope.Inaddition,gradually,theseideasfromtheHebrewBible,broughtintoAmericanhistorybypilgrims,areseenasbeliefsoftheearlypioneersinthisnewland.ThefoundinggenerationpushestheChristianValuetothesummit.Thefoundinggeneration,explicitlyexpressmanyoftheirBiblicalmotivationsandgoals,theirinterestsinHebrewandtheHebrewBible,theiruseofJewishandChristianimagesandideas.InthewordsofpatriotBenjaminRush,"TheOldTestament¡±isthebestrefutationthatcanbegiventothedivinerightofkings,andthestrongestargumentthatcanbeusedinfavoroftheoriginalandnaturalequalityofallmankind."Amongfifty¨CfiveprintedtextsfromtheRevolutionaryperiod,thirty-threetooktextsfromtheHebrewBible.ThomasJefferson,intheDeclarationofIndependence,referredtoGodtwiceinHebrewterms,andCongressaddedtwomore:
Lawgiver,Creator,JudgeandProvidence.TheseChristianvalueswereespeciallyimportantatthekeyfoundationalmomentsofthesettlersofAmerica,theWarforIndependenceandtheCivilWar.In1920s,liberalgroupstofighttheprevailinganti-SemitismpromotedtheChristianconcept.Itgainedpopularityespeciallyinpoliticalfield,althoughitfacedsubstantialanti-Semitichostilityanddiscrimination.YetunderPresidentFranklinD.Roosevelt,moreJewshadenteredpubliclifethaneverbefore.AsHitler'sarmiesreducedEuropeanJewishcommunities,theJewishleadershipfirmlydescendeduponAmericanJewry.Americain1945stoodunrivaledasthelargest,richest,andpoliticallymostimportantJewishcommunityintheworld.SmallerJewishcommunitiesturnedincreasinglytoAmericanJewryforguidanceandsupports.ThousandsofJewishrefugeeslikewiseturnedtoAmericaandundermoreliberalimmigrationpolicies,manygainedadmission.
Duringthesecondhalfcenturyof20thcentury,theconceptofChristianitybecamemuchmilder,whichisbelovedbyAmerica.Inrecentdecades,modernAmericansseemtofavorthevalueofJudeo-ChristianConceptmorethanbefore.Forinstance,thedominantadministrationtakesprideintheirheritageofChristianvaluesaspride.Oneofthemostfamouscandidatesforpresident,McCaindeclaresAmericawasfoundedonChristianvaluesandprinciples.Healsodeclared,"OurChristianprinciplesdictatethatwedowhatwecantohelppeoplewhoareoppressedthroughouttheworld.TheChristianvaluesthattheyholdarethestrengthofAmerica
4.2.MajorBranches
BaptistsarethelargestdenominationintheUnitedChurchofChrist.Intheearly17thcentury,thefirstgroupofBaptistsbelieverscametoAmericafromEngland.Intheyearof1639,believersfoundthefirstBaptistschurch.In1707,fiveBaptistChurchinPhiladelphiawasestablishedtheFederationofPhiladelphiaBaptists.Sincethenmultipleorganizationsweresetup.TheBaptistsestablished3.8millionlocalchurches,1.5millionbelievers.
IrishimmigrantsbroughttheWesleyansinitially,andimmigrantsestablishedtheWesleyanChurchin1784.Inthefollowing50years,theWesleyansinthenewreclamationareadevelopedrapidly.Intheyearof1968,Wesleyanshavedevelopedinto5subsidiaryfederationand45parishes.
Lutheran,foundin1623byGermanreachedNewYork,andfinallypromotedasthechurchin1649.FollowersareconcentratedintheDakota,Minnesota,Wisconsin,andNebraska.Theamountofthefollowersismorethan8.5millionuntiltheyear2010.
Calvinism,alsoknownasthePresbyterian,Reformed,thisbranchisoneoftheAmericanProtestantdenominations.AmericanPresbyterianandReformedChurchesbelongtotheCalvinism.OtherorganizationsofthisbrancharenamedOrthodoxPresbyterianChurch,theU.S.PresbyterianChurch,USAReformedChurchandNorthAmericaChristianReformedChurch.
TheU.S.EpiscopalChristianrootedfromAnglicanChurch.Intheearly17thcentury,therewerethebelieversofAnglicanChurchamongtheearliestimmigrants.later,inVirginia,Maryland,achurchorganizationwasfound.TheU.S.AnglicanbelieverswereseparatedfromtheChurchofEnglandafterAmericanIndependenceandestablishedtheAmericanEpiscopalChurch.In1974,EpiscopalformedanineArchdiocese,92ofthediocese,andobtainedmorethan300millionbelievers.
HolinessChurchisanameofpartoftheAmericanChristianbranches,whichincludedatleast20sectariangroups,thenumberofbelieversisover100million.Pentecostalholinesswasformedin1911;theNorthAmericanFreeMethodistChurchwasfoundedin1860;TheSalvationArmywasestablishedin1880.
3£®IndividualismofChristianity
3.1IndividualisminCommerce
IndividualismisthecorevalueofAmericanvalues;anditisderivedfromtheearlyPuritanideology.Americansworshipindividualism.JustlookattheEnglishdictionaryofthecompoundwords,howmanywordsaremadeinprefixof¡®self¡¯thatwecanseehowimportanttheconceptofindividualismintheAmerican.E.g.self-control,self-respect,self-confidence,self-dependence,self-reliance.Everyonewantstobeself-mademanorself-madewomanwhocanachieves
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- 基督教 文化 美国 商业 影响