Braunstein 5, 6

Compare and contrast how the two groups used religion as a symbolic resource and as a repertoire of practices. How does this fit with our understanding of religion and politics in contemporary American society?

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Interfaith groups are meeting at different places. Basically the sites of meetings should rotate among the faiths, such as a church and a temple. People enjoy having food at their gathering and they prepares the refreshments. However, patriot is a collection of independent, mainly rural, small government and tax protesters. In my perspective, I think most of people are very open-minded, they tend to surround themselves with people who share the same value and beliefs.

The two groups used religion as a form of identity and as a means to historicize their political stance. For the patriots, religion is used to connect them to their idealized form of American identity, which is implicitly White and protestant. The Prophets on the other hand use the history of religious figures who advocate for political change like Ghandi, MLK and others to establish their idea of what it means to be a prophet and a member of their organization. This fits with the way politics and religion is often used to create a personal identity that bends to the follower, rather than the follower adapting to the faith.

I agree with you. The Patriots are mostly Protestant members who already have a fixed definition of who an "American" is. Anyone who isn't a White Protestant is not an "American". I also believe that in these meetings, religion isn't really what unites the Patriots as much as religion unites the Interfaith members. I say this as, the Patriots use their interpretation of the constitution to shape their ideas of how an effective government should be whereas the Interfaith members invoke the idea of social justice based on religious and historical events. Religion serves as a different form of identity for both groups.

I agree. Because the patriots already have a majority of protestant members, religion isn't a conflict or the topic of discussion of within the group. Religion is not what not unites the members of the patriots because their purpose for the group lies elsewhere.

They view different authorities and sources of information as credible and had different ways of doing research. Interfaith members primarily gather knowledge through personal experiences which intern they produce documentation. They will also collect stories of both community and member experiences. Patriots learned about issues by comparing multiple media accounts and referencing primary sources of information. They also understood the practical meaning and role of this knowledge in different ways. This fit with our understanding of religion and politics in contemporary American society, because Some things that are legally permissible may still be damaging to religious tolerance and civic discourse. It is important to acknowledge that some situations bring the principles of free expression and nonestablishment into creative tension, and there is room for principled disagreement about just where the lines are drawn. Judges, as well as policymakers, wrestle with these complexities when it comes to the type of information they gather.

The Patriots are very independent and voice their own opinions. They try to create political change through their form of identity and what they are known for. On the other hand, the Interfaith groups are more reserved and a smaller group, they use past events to influence their views. This fits in with our understanding of religion and politics in contemporary American society by seeing how the different groups vary in opinions. They use their own beliefs and identity to create their understanding and morals.

I agree the Patriots are fearless because of their political affiliations and their status in society so they are definitely more vocal on their beliefs vs. the Interfaith the are not as wealthy or vocal in society they tend to so to speak lack behind the shadows. They have lack of resources and try to configure solutions to problems in a modest way.

The Patriots are very independent and voice their own opinions. They try to create political change through their form of identity and what they are known for. On the other hand, the Interfaith groups are more reserved and a smaller group, they use past events to influence their views. This fits in with our understanding of religion and politics in contemporary American society by seeing how the different groups vary in opinions. They use their own beliefs and identity to create their understanding and morals.

I agree that the Patriots follow an individualistic root to voice their own opinions. They gather information through several media descriptions to understand the meaning of American identity. While the Interfaith comprehends through personal experiences of small reserved groups, learning from those practices. This ties to a contemporary American society because of the amount of contrasting opinions both acquire.

The Interfaith community are strong In faith and use their religion as a to unite. The Interfaith group has a an more intimate approach on their beliefs and morals and their society as a entirety. They are more independent and functional with supporting facts and come together in small spaces that do not challenge their practices such as churches and other religion sanctuaries. Interfaith is stronger when collective rather than independent. The Patriots are politically connected power independently and gather at public spaces such as hotel halls, banquet halls and do not not rely on religion to conflict with their morals. They are firm in their views and expectations by all means necessary. The Patriots use religion as something that bring them together to combat the opposition even if that means being at odds with the government. The Patriots are usually financial stable and does not mind getting their hands dirty.

I agree, the difference between the Interfaith groups and the Patriot groups is the purpose and reason for which they gather. The interfaith group are more concerned with society and their power comes from a shared concern for society as a whole, while the Patriots are concerned with the government which comes from a shared awareness of political power.

The Patriots stand as a group where they are able to have a voice and state formulate their own opinions allowing them to understand things in a political manner. Religion for the patriots is used to unite them however, they tend to be more vocal because they believe that it is necessary to have a voice heard so that they can articulate their intentions. The patriots also had a strong desire for speaking publicly regardless of the outcome which is one of the reasons for utilizing religion. Additionally they tend to be very strict about most of their intentions and strong desires for members of their communities. Interfaiths on the other hand tend to utilize their past and personal experiences as well as having organized meetings with one another in different locations. The Interfaith groups is different from the Patriots in the sense that they display unity through their organized meetings as a society. This fits in with our understanding of contemporary American society because we can see how different groups have different opinions and standpoints on certain positions, we form opinions differently based on how much knowledge we have acquired and the differences in our perceptions thus giving us different standpoints.

In my opinion, I think patriots are very independent and are willing to express their opinions. They try to create political change through their forms of identity and what they know. On the other hand, different faith groups are more conservative. patriots tends to working alone and make people follow their believe. While Interfaith groups is more welcoming about new ideas.

There is no doubt that Interfaith and the Tea Party Activists use religion differently as a symbolic resource and as a repertoire of practices. Interfaith members use religion as a symbolic resource as they attempt to establish a political goal through collective unity. They gather in churches and also start their meetings with an opening prayer while the Tea Party Activists do not. The Tea Party Activists gather in secular spaces such as restaurants and do not invoke religion in the few collective gatherings they have. They are much more individualistic as they rely on themselves to be self-educated on the topics that interest them. As the Tea Party Activists can be describes as conservative Christians, I am not surprised they are much more individualistic in their practices than the members of Interfaith. For this reason, the Tea Party Activists tend to favor policies that limit government spending on the American public, whereas the Interfaith members who preach the idea of social justice encourage policies that increase government spending on its people.

The Interfaith group held meeting at various places of faiths, such as a church and a temple. Meetings would be held by a pastor and prayers are said during meetings. One the other hand, patriots consists of members of small government and tax protesters. Held meetings in non religious settings such as restaurants, hotel etc.