However, the constitutions of American States still recognize the superiority of a certain church for a long time. For example, before 1822, the constitution of Massachusetts stipulated that only Puritans had the right to vote, and the constitution of New Jersey stipulated that only Protestants could hold public office. Before 1790, Pennsylvania also stipulated that public officials must believe in the New Testament and the Old Testament.
During the colonial period, the church played a great role in American life. Especially for the daily life of Americans. A contestant who does not belong to any church group. He will be in a position of being cast aside, no one will communicate with him, and even his family will be discriminated against. Pastors become the most important advisers in American family life and various affairs. A large number of books published by various churches are widely circulated and regarded as proverbs.
/kloc-During the transitional period from 0/9 to the 20th century, with the breaking of rural isolation, the religious system was hit in many ways, and the church gradually lost control of folk customs. For example, people began to think that marriage and divorce were important personal issues and could not be restricted by church approval. In the past, priests were always authoritative on all secular and religious issues, but now this prestige has lost. With the development of higher education, the knowledge level of believers is no less than that of priests, and social work is no longer monopolized by priests. Science, morality, religion and other issues are almost well known and are no longer the exclusive scope of missionaries.
At the beginning of the 20th century, 50% people in America were members of the church, which is roughly the same as today. But more and more people's attitudes towards religion have changed. In the new generation of Americans, family prayers and familiarity with the Bible are rarely held, and religious precepts no longer constrain American life and customs. When talking about this issue, American ethicists said: "Although we still live in a society with Christianity as the main religion, our personal morality first resists Christian morality. American society no longer accepts Christian morality about sexual life. Divorce has been fully recognized, and sexual freedom between young men and women is fully accepted. "
During the Second World War and its post-war period, the number of religious groups in the United States increased significantly. The war dragged millions of American families into Christian churches or synagogues, praying for the safe return of their loved ones at the front. The horror of war and the loss of confidence in the future drove millions of people to seek religious asylum.
After the end of 1950s, the upsurge of this religious belief declined greatly. The growth rate of church members has stabilized. In the 1960s and 1970s, the proportion of church members in the total population remained stable at 63%.
Since 1970s, a new religious fanaticism has appeared among some American youths. They often wear long hair shawls, hold prayer beads, study the Bible, preach the gospel and invent gospel rock music. Perhaps influenced by this group of people, there are new forms of religious worship in American churches at present. Many churches use pop jazz, rock music, modern dance, contemporary art, folk music, folk dance, poetry, drama, slides and movies in their activities. These new ceremonies angered some traditionalists. Once, a parishioner saw a rock band playing in his church and asked the priest angrily, "What do you think this place is?" Nightclubs? "But many Christians are enthusiastic about this new change, because in this way, they don't have to listen to the priest casually repeating those cliches for a long time in church, and they don't have to always listen to ancient music from centuries ago.