Discussion 3
Read the article “It’s Getting Harder to Talk About Religion” by Jonathan Merritt which can be found in the “Discussion #3” folder in the “Course Content” module.
Merritt produces data to suggest that Americans increasingly avoid spiritual conversations and that a shared American “spiritual vocabulary” is in decline. He points to one practical consequence: as more Americans stop having spiritual conversations, religious and political leaders use spiritual language in a growing vacuum to advance causes that blatantly oppose religious values.
To quote Merritt: “That toothy televangelist keeps using spiritual language to call for donations to buy a second jet. The politician keeps using spiritual language to push unjust legislation. The street preacher keeps using spiritual language to peddle the fear of a fiery hell. They can dominate the conversation because we’ve stopped speaking God. In our effort to avoid contributing to the problem, we can actually worsen it.”
In your initial post, use what you’ve learned about spirituality and religion in this class to explain why you agree or disagree with Merritt’s thesis.
In replies all the members of your group, find points of either agreement or disagreement and build on your classmates’ thoughts.
# just to let you know i am muslim and I just need to take this course
