The biases of those in positions of authority led to situations where African-Americans were hindered and prevented from achieving their own happiness as promised by the mythos of the American Dream. President Lyndon Johnson, in a speech to Congress, declared that the government of the United States of America had pledged to each person regardless of gender or skin color to protect their civil liberties and ensure that each citizen of the United States had the same opportunities, a promise that was not being kept because of the institutionalized racism in the nation (Johnson 369)
.You think only white fellows got sense enough to drive a truck" (Wilson 9)
Emotions are also integral to music. When music and social protest are combined, the results can be highly effective as emotions have an effect on crowd psychology (Danaher 813)
Britain rapidly embraced Protestant ideals, leading to centuries of struggle and ongoing conflicts in Ireland, a Catholic stronghold. From the time King Henry VIII first disavowed Rome as the Christian authority, the Church of England upheld the basic tenets of the Reformation and was challenged by the Tudor dynasty, which sought to reinstate Catholicism (Bremer)
Theologically, Protestantism distanced itself from the Church in several key ways. Whereas the Catholic Church established itself and its clergy as mediators between individual worshippers and God, the Protestant view shifted attention toward the Bible and encouraged Christian believers to read the Bible for themselves (Cotter)
. and the development of industrial capitalism in European countries in the mid- to late nineteenth century," (Delacroix and Nielsen 509)
Protestant revivalist movements have sought to narrow the divide between church and state in America, fusing religion and politics as they were in the initial days of Puritan settlements in the colonies. "Christian faith and economic striving were blended together to encapsulate a vision of Christian destiny and civilization," (Lindner 1)
A Third Great Awakening in the late 19th century continued the uniquely American tradition of prayer revivals, only now the religious fervor was felt in urban as well as rural populations (McLoughlin). During all stages of America's evangelical movements, Protestantism became a means by which Americans justified slavery, oppression and social control (Massey)
" According to McLoughlin, the First Great Awakening occurred in the 1730s and 1740s, marking the "most extensive intercolonial event," as well as a "new order" in colonial American identity (viii). Less than a century later, the Second Great Awakening helped to generate a new national identity much in the way that religion and national identity was becoming a trend in Europe (McLoughlin)
Because it threatened to undermine the power of the Roman Catholic Church, Protestantism therefore led to major upheavals and wars. From the time of Luther's 95 Theses until the middle of the 17th century, Reformation-related wars erupted in France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Britain (Trim)
The religion also changed the nature and method of evangelism. Core Protestant beliefs that continue to distinguish it from Catholicism include the belief that faith in Jesus Christ alone is necessary and sufficient to achieve salvation; Catholics continue to value "works," or actions in the world as being important for achieving salvation (Wilhelm)