{"id":7624,"date":"2022-06-02T20:56:59","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T20:56:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=7624"},"modified":"2022-07-25T19:12:55","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T19:12:55","slug":"historical-hack-page-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/chapter\/historical-hack-page-2\/","title":{"raw":"Context of the Culture Wars","rendered":"Context of the Culture Wars"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Demonstrate the importance of historical context, including milieus like religion and social norms, in interpreting primary source documents<\/li>\r\n \t<li><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">Examine the historical context of documents composed during the rise of Reagan-era conservatism<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nNow you are familiar with some of the core ideas that surround the concept of historical context. With this new understanding, let's push the boundaries a bit. We will take a look at a document that comes from a similar milieu as Falwell's <em>Listen America!<\/em>\u00a0but imparts a very different message.\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Chicago Declaration of Social Concern in 1973<\/h3>\r\nThe Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern\r\nNovember 25, 1973\r\n<blockquote>As evangelical Christians committed to the Lord Jesus Christ and the full authority of the Word of God, we affirm that God lays total claim upon the lives of his people. We cannot, therefore, separate our lives from the situation in which God has placed us in the United States and the world...\r\n\r\nWe acknowledge that God requires love. But we have not demonstrated the love of God to those suffering social abuses.\r\n\r\nWe acknowledge that God requires justice. But we have not proclaimed or demonstrated his justice to an unjust American society...\r\n\r\nWe affirm that God abounds in mercy and that he forgives all who repent and turn from their sins. So we call our fellow evangelical Christians to demonstrate repentance in a Christian discipleship that confronts the social and political injustice of our nation...<\/blockquote>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpjustice.org\/public\/page\/content\/chicago_declaration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">READ THE FULL EXCERPT HERE<\/a>\u00a0(scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says \"Chicago Declaration of Social Concern in 1973\"). This will prepare you to answer the questions that follow.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/f9aecfa5-4f46-4dbf-8b4e-6f8539c25bdc\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nNow that we have established the Chicago Declaration, let's look more at the circumstances and milieu surrounding the authors of this document. As is clear from the title of this document, the men and women who composed it are <strong>evangelical<\/strong> Christians. As such, the authors of this document broadly share the same religious tradition as Jerry Falwell and his audience.\u00a0In contrast to Falwell and the Moral Majority, they belong to a school of thought called the Evangelical Left, or Progressive Evangelicals. Many of them were in college during the protests against the Vietnam War or the civil rights movement; they saw these crises as not just social problems but as spiritual problems as well.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_8605\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"681\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5696\/2022\/06\/28191308\/1920px-Lakewood_worship.jpeg\"><img class=\"wp-image-8605 \" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5696\/2022\/06\/28191308\/1920px-Lakewood_worship.jpeg\" alt=\"Lakewood Church worship inside a huge auditorium with stadium seating, packed with people.\" width=\"681\" height=\"453\" \/><\/a> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. This image shows worship at the nondenominational evangelical church, Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas. The image was taken in 2013 with nearly 45,000 people in attendance. The church was founded in 1959 and grew to a regular weekly attendance of over 5,000 by 1979. The church moved into an old stadium in 2005.[\/caption]\r\n\r\nSince the 1920s and the fallout of the Scopes Trial, evangelical leaders urged followers to avoid social activism and focus instead on \"saving souls\" rather than \"saving society.\" The evangelicals who signed this document, most of whom were under 40 at the time, saw this as a false choice.[footnote]David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012); Brantley Gasaway, Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2014); Mark A. Lempke, My Brother's Keeper: George McGovern and Progressive Christianity (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2017).[\/footnote]\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nKnowing more background about progressive evangelicals, how would you explain the historical context of this document? You can jot down answers inside the space below.\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"914147\"]The Progressive Evangelicals were also\u00a0influenced by the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s. Rather than seeing them as proof that American society was becoming less faithful, they saw the civil rights movement, feminism, and the antiwar movement as an impetus. To them, these were crises that forced a reconsideration of how their religious ideals operated in the public sphere.[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"914147\"][\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Historical Context and Subcontexts<\/h2>\r\nYou might wonder\u2014evangelical Christians produced Falwell's \"Listen, America!\" which warned against the liberalization of American society. Yet, a very different subset of evangelical Christians also composed the Chicago Declaration that broadly saw the 1960s social movements as something evangelicals should emulate.\r\n\r\nHow do we resolve this apparent contradiction? It may be helpful to think of historical context as a pair of binoculars: we can zoom in and zoom out and change our focus, even as we are ostensibly looking at the same thing. In the case of our evangelicals in this example, considering the different layers of milieu and context we can observe:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>What is happening in American society at large? That is, what are developments, beliefs, and technologies that most Americans would be aware of and influenced by? Are there people pushing back against larger trends and developments in American society?<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Activity #1<\/h3>\r\nTake a moment, then, to sketch out how the milieu between the evangelicals who produced the Chicago Declaration and the evangelicals supportive of Falwell's \"Listen, America!\" might differ, based on clues that the text might give you. How does the above description of progressive evangelicals compare with what you learned about the Religious Right or Christian Right in the past few modules of this text?\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n\r\nBoth documents are calling for deep reform of American society. Choose one of the documents or the other and reflect: how are they pushing back against that common milieu shared by most Americans in the 1970s and early 80s when these were written?\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Differing Influences<\/h2>\r\nYet, these particular groups and movements aren't monolithic; they too have smaller wings and factions with their own distinct milieus and contexts. Think for a moment about how broad a group like \"Catholics,\" \"African-Americans,\" or \"Millenials\" might be. In some ways, it's problematic to talk of them as one undifferentiated whole. When you read documents from a certain area, it's also important to consider the\u00a0ways that that person may have a unique perspective and background that does not match the overall stereotype associated with that group.\r\n\r\nPsychologist\u00a0Urie Bronfenbrenner developed a framework known as the ecological systems framework, which identifies five environmental systems with which an individual interacts.\u00a0Although Bronfenbenner wrote this in relation to children's development, the concept can also be used more generally to understand an individual's interaction in society.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>Microsystem<\/strong>: Refers to the institutions and groups that most immediately and directly impact the person's development, including family, school, religious institutions, neighborhood, and peers.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Mesosystem<\/strong>: Consists of interconnections between\u00a0microsystems, for example between the family and teachers or between a person's peers and the family.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Exosystem<\/strong>: Involves links between social settings that do not involve the individual. For example, a child's experience at home may be influenced by their parent's experiences at work. A parent might receive a promotion that requires more travel, which in turn increases conflict with the other parent, resulting in changes in their patterns of interaction with the child.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Macrosystem<\/strong>: Describes the overarching culture that influences the developing child, as well as the microsystems and mesosystems embedded in those cultures. Cultural contexts can differ based on geographic location, socioeconomic status, poverty, and ethnicity. Members of a cultural group often share a common identity, heritage, and values. Macrosystems evolve across time and from generation to generation.<\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>Chronosystem<\/strong>: Consists of the pattern of environmental events and transitions over\u00a0the passage of time and as circumstances change.\u00a0As another example, one might consider the\u00a0increase in opportunities for women to pursue a career during the last thirty years.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_8598\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"409\"]<a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5696\/2022\/06\/28174956\/Bronfenbrenners_Ecological_Theory_of_Development_English.jpeg\"><img class=\"wp-image-8598\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5696\/2022\/06\/28174956\/Bronfenbrenners_Ecological_Theory_of_Development_English.jpeg\" alt=\"Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory of Development showing concentric circles of influence.\" width=\"409\" height=\"389\" \/><\/a> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory shows the various influences impacting a person's development. Think about ways each of these systems might have impacted the authors of the documents we've read.[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nLet's borrow\u00a0Bronfenbrenner's\u00a0ideas and apply them to our two competing groups of evangelicals. This may involve some conjecture, but which of these systems can help us explain the differences between them? Do you think they might share any systems? You can jot down your ideas in the space below and compare your response with the possible answer.\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"931803\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"931803\"]Given their common Biblicism and hope to transform American society, it seems as though these evangelicals share a common macrosystem because of their shared religious theology, though their attitudes about their shared theology may differ.\r\n\r\nFalwell and the authors of the Chicago Declaration\u00a0differ because of competing mesosystems. Progressive evangelicals encountered the 1960s social movements as part of their generation, as part of their peer group. Falwell's subset of evangelicals did not; the lack of interaction may explain why they see feminists, antiwar protestors, or those on welfare in a more adversarial light.\r\n\r\nThey also come from different ecosystems and chronosystems\u2014their different ages, different political and social influences, different media consumption, and life experience all result in different outcomes despite their same shared beliefs.[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nA key takeaway from this example is that even though evangelical Christians might share a common approach to the Bible or\u00a0an appreciation of figures like the famous revivalist\u00a0Billy Graham, they do not always see the world the same way. The same is true of people who claim membership of the same group. For example, just because someone professes to be a feminist does not mean they share the same opinions as other feminists.\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Activity #2<\/h3>\r\nTake a moment to reflect on your own identities as they relate to the idea Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems framework. Try to write down a few words for each of the systems affecting your own life and development:\r\n\r\nMicrosystem:\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]\r\nMesosystem:\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]\r\nExosystem:\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]\r\nMacrosystem:\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]\r\nChronosystem:\r\n\r\n[practice-area rows=\"1\"][\/practice-area]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Religion and History<\/h2>\r\nAltogether, we have seen how a particular religious milieu can shape how people perceive society around them. You don't necessarily need a religious faith of your own to understand that this has been a powerful force that shaped the worldviews of many Americans at key moments in our history. The American Association for State and Local History lists a number of reasons why a knowledge of religious context is essential to the study of history and other disciplines.[footnote]Genton, Aaron. \u201cIs Religious History Relevant?\u201d AASLH. American Association for State and Local History, June 9, 2016. https:\/\/aaslh.org\/is-religious-history-relevant\/.[\/footnote]\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>\"It promotes greater understanding of people...When their religious commitment infuses their entire outlook, everything from politics to business to architecture to recreation will be influenced by that worldview. An identity is created that is inseparable from everything else. Understanding our religious history can help us to see the complexities amongst people, and perhaps help us to understand where they are coming from, even when we may not agree with them.\"<\/li>\r\n \t<li>It can provide both inspiration and warning. \"Concepts of love, hope, peace, and justice are inseparable from many religious belief systems and have been positively used by many to change the country for the better (the civil rights movement quickly comes to mind). A proper understanding of the motivation that people have can inspire others to follow the path already trod. Alternately, many have misused and abused religion to achieve a variety of ends throughout history. Understanding this can inspire people to be careful how they use their beliefs, and ultimately learn from the mistakes of the past.\"<\/li>\r\n \t<li>A study of religious context can also shed light onto topics not normally associated with religion.\u00a0For example, a knowledge of the Mormon worldview\u00a0is essential to understanding the development of Utah and other places in the mountain west. Or consider how the Shakers' hymns (such as \"Simple Gifts\") and even their famously well-crafted\u00a0furniture have a significance that lasted well after the Shakers died out.\u00a0To fully appreciate these legacies, it's helpful to be aware of Shaker values of community, simplicity, and utopianism.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>Religions Review<\/h3>\r\nIf you are interested in religious history and want to review some of the distinctions and evolution of many of the Christian religions in the United States, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1291677853982523278\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">work through this interactive<\/a>. While religiosity on the whole has been on the decline, from this you can see the tremendous impact that religion has had on American life over the years. Understanding religion is an important part of understanding historical context.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\r\nWe have seen that the simple idea of \"context\" is actually rather complex and multilayered. There is no one \"context\" but many ways to consider the environment in which a document is written. Not only is there a context for, say, America in the 1970s, but social movements and communities have their own distinct milieus as well. Determining what these milieus are can be challenging, but the reward is great: you'll have an understanding of history that transcends a rigid, straightforward reading of any text. By seeing it through the light of its context, its fuller meaning and significance can be understood. In a recent episode from the <em>Star Trek<\/em> franchise, a starship captain told a crewperson that \"context is for kings.\" For the student of history this is certainly true. A keen and multilayered awareness of context is often the difference between reading history and understanding history.\r\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\r\n<h3>Activity #3<\/h3>\r\nPick one of these documents below related to Reagan-era conservatism. Read through it and look for clues about the historical context of the piece. Then, pick at least two significant events that happened within three years before the source was written and explain how these events connect to the milieu in which the document was written. You will not submit this work here but can use the space below to jot down your ideas.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li class=\"chapter standard\"><a href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/chapter\/primary-source-statements-from-the-parents-music-resource-center-1985\/\">Primary Source: Statements from The Parents Music Resource Center (1985)<\/a><\/li>\r\n \t<li class=\"chapter standard\"><a href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/chapter\/primary-source-pat-buchanan-on-the-culture-war-1992\/\">Primary Source: Pat Buchanan on the Culture War (1992)<\/a><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Glossary<\/h3>\r\n<strong>evangelical<\/strong><strong>:\u00a0<\/strong>a branch of Christianity that stresses the authority of the Bible and the necessity of personal conversion\r\n\r\n<strong>intersectionality:<\/strong>\u00a0an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities (including gender, caste, sex, race, class, sexuality, religion, etc.) combine to create different modes of both discrimination and privilege\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Demonstrate the importance of historical context, including milieus like religion and social norms, in interpreting primary source documents<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">Examine the historical context of documents composed during the rise of Reagan-era conservatism<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Now you are familiar with some of the core ideas that surround the concept of historical context. With this new understanding, let&#8217;s push the boundaries a bit. We will take a look at a document that comes from a similar milieu as Falwell&#8217;s <em>Listen America!<\/em>\u00a0but imparts a very different message.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Chicago Declaration of Social Concern in 1973<\/h3>\n<p>The Chicago Declaration of Evangelical Social Concern<br \/>\nNovember 25, 1973<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>As evangelical Christians committed to the Lord Jesus Christ and the full authority of the Word of God, we affirm that God lays total claim upon the lives of his people. We cannot, therefore, separate our lives from the situation in which God has placed us in the United States and the world&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>We acknowledge that God requires love. But we have not demonstrated the love of God to those suffering social abuses.<\/p>\n<p>We acknowledge that God requires justice. But we have not proclaimed or demonstrated his justice to an unjust American society&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>We affirm that God abounds in mercy and that he forgives all who repent and turn from their sins. So we call our fellow evangelical Christians to demonstrate repentance in a Christian discipleship that confronts the social and political injustice of our nation&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cpjustice.org\/public\/page\/content\/chicago_declaration\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">READ THE FULL EXCERPT HERE<\/a>\u00a0(scroll down to the bottom of the page where it says &#8220;Chicago Declaration of Social Concern in 1973&#8221;). This will prepare you to answer the questions that follow.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_f9aecfa5-4f46-4dbf-8b4e-6f8539c25bdc\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/f9aecfa5-4f46-4dbf-8b4e-6f8539c25bdc?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_f9aecfa5-4f46-4dbf-8b4e-6f8539c25bdc\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Now that we have established the Chicago Declaration, let&#8217;s look more at the circumstances and milieu surrounding the authors of this document. As is clear from the title of this document, the men and women who composed it are <strong>evangelical<\/strong> Christians. As such, the authors of this document broadly share the same religious tradition as Jerry Falwell and his audience.\u00a0In contrast to Falwell and the Moral Majority, they belong to a school of thought called the Evangelical Left, or Progressive Evangelicals. Many of them were in college during the protests against the Vietnam War or the civil rights movement; they saw these crises as not just social problems but as spiritual problems as well.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_8605\" style=\"width: 691px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5696\/2022\/06\/28191308\/1920px-Lakewood_worship.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8605\" class=\"wp-image-8605\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5696\/2022\/06\/28191308\/1920px-Lakewood_worship.jpeg\" alt=\"Lakewood Church worship inside a huge auditorium with stadium seating, packed with people.\" width=\"681\" height=\"453\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-8605\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. This image shows worship at the nondenominational evangelical church, Lakewood Church, in Houston, Texas. The image was taken in 2013 with nearly 45,000 people in attendance. The church was founded in 1959 and grew to a regular weekly attendance of over 5,000 by 1979. The church moved into an old stadium in 2005.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Since the 1920s and the fallout of the Scopes Trial, evangelical leaders urged followers to avoid social activism and focus instead on &#8220;saving souls&#8221; rather than &#8220;saving society.&#8221; The evangelicals who signed this document, most of whom were under 40 at the time, saw this as a false choice.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012); Brantley Gasaway, Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2014); Mark A. Lempke, My Brother's Keeper: George McGovern and Progressive Christianity (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2017).\" id=\"return-footnote-7624-1\" href=\"#footnote-7624-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>Knowing more background about progressive evangelicals, how would you explain the historical context of this document? You can jot down answers inside the space below.<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q914147\">The Progressive Evangelicals were also\u00a0influenced by the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s. Rather than seeing them as proof that American society was becoming less faithful, they saw the civil rights movement, feminism, and the antiwar movement as an impetus. To them, these were crises that forced a reconsideration of how their religious ideals operated in the public sphere.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q914147\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Historical Context and Subcontexts<\/h2>\n<p>You might wonder\u2014evangelical Christians produced Falwell&#8217;s &#8220;Listen, America!&#8221; which warned against the liberalization of American society. Yet, a very different subset of evangelical Christians also composed the Chicago Declaration that broadly saw the 1960s social movements as something evangelicals should emulate.<\/p>\n<p>How do we resolve this apparent contradiction? It may be helpful to think of historical context as a pair of binoculars: we can zoom in and zoom out and change our focus, even as we are ostensibly looking at the same thing. In the case of our evangelicals in this example, considering the different layers of milieu and context we can observe:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is happening in American society at large? That is, what are developments, beliefs, and technologies that most Americans would be aware of and influenced by? Are there people pushing back against larger trends and developments in American society?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Activity #1<\/h3>\n<p>Take a moment, then, to sketch out how the milieu between the evangelicals who produced the Chicago Declaration and the evangelicals supportive of Falwell&#8217;s &#8220;Listen, America!&#8221; might differ, based on clues that the text might give you. How does the above description of progressive evangelicals compare with what you learned about the Religious Right or Christian Right in the past few modules of this text?<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<p>Both documents are calling for deep reform of American society. Choose one of the documents or the other and reflect: how are they pushing back against that common milieu shared by most Americans in the 1970s and early 80s when these were written?<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Differing Influences<\/h2>\n<p>Yet, these particular groups and movements aren&#8217;t monolithic; they too have smaller wings and factions with their own distinct milieus and contexts. Think for a moment about how broad a group like &#8220;Catholics,&#8221; &#8220;African-Americans,&#8221; or &#8220;Millenials&#8221; might be. In some ways, it&#8217;s problematic to talk of them as one undifferentiated whole. When you read documents from a certain area, it&#8217;s also important to consider the\u00a0ways that that person may have a unique perspective and background that does not match the overall stereotype associated with that group.<\/p>\n<p>Psychologist\u00a0Urie Bronfenbrenner developed a framework known as the ecological systems framework, which identifies five environmental systems with which an individual interacts.\u00a0Although Bronfenbenner wrote this in relation to children&#8217;s development, the concept can also be used more generally to understand an individual&#8217;s interaction in society.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Microsystem<\/strong>: Refers to the institutions and groups that most immediately and directly impact the person&#8217;s development, including family, school, religious institutions, neighborhood, and peers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mesosystem<\/strong>: Consists of interconnections between\u00a0microsystems, for example between the family and teachers or between a person&#8217;s peers and the family.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Exosystem<\/strong>: Involves links between social settings that do not involve the individual. For example, a child&#8217;s experience at home may be influenced by their parent&#8217;s experiences at work. A parent might receive a promotion that requires more travel, which in turn increases conflict with the other parent, resulting in changes in their patterns of interaction with the child.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Macrosystem<\/strong>: Describes the overarching culture that influences the developing child, as well as the microsystems and mesosystems embedded in those cultures. Cultural contexts can differ based on geographic location, socioeconomic status, poverty, and ethnicity. Members of a cultural group often share a common identity, heritage, and values. Macrosystems evolve across time and from generation to generation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Chronosystem<\/strong>: Consists of the pattern of environmental events and transitions over\u00a0the passage of time and as circumstances change.\u00a0As another example, one might consider the\u00a0increase in opportunities for women to pursue a career during the last thirty years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_8598\" style=\"width: 419px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5696\/2022\/06\/28174956\/Bronfenbrenners_Ecological_Theory_of_Development_English.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-8598\" class=\"wp-image-8598\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5696\/2022\/06\/28174956\/Bronfenbrenners_Ecological_Theory_of_Development_English.jpeg\" alt=\"Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Theory of Development showing concentric circles of influence.\" width=\"409\" height=\"389\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-8598\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. Bronfenbrenner&#8217;s ecological systems theory shows the various influences impacting a person&#8217;s development. Think about ways each of these systems might have impacted the authors of the documents we&#8217;ve read.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>Let&#8217;s borrow\u00a0Bronfenbrenner&#8217;s\u00a0ideas and apply them to our two competing groups of evangelicals. This may involve some conjecture, but which of these systems can help us explain the differences between them? Do you think they might share any systems? You can jot down your ideas in the space below and compare your response with the possible answer.<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q931803\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q931803\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">Given their common Biblicism and hope to transform American society, it seems as though these evangelicals share a common macrosystem because of their shared religious theology, though their attitudes about their shared theology may differ.<\/p>\n<p>Falwell and the authors of the Chicago Declaration\u00a0differ because of competing mesosystems. Progressive evangelicals encountered the 1960s social movements as part of their generation, as part of their peer group. Falwell&#8217;s subset of evangelicals did not; the lack of interaction may explain why they see feminists, antiwar protestors, or those on welfare in a more adversarial light.<\/p>\n<p>They also come from different ecosystems and chronosystems\u2014their different ages, different political and social influences, different media consumption, and life experience all result in different outcomes despite their same shared beliefs.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A key takeaway from this example is that even though evangelical Christians might share a common approach to the Bible or\u00a0an appreciation of figures like the famous revivalist\u00a0Billy Graham, they do not always see the world the same way. The same is true of people who claim membership of the same group. For example, just because someone professes to be a feminist does not mean they share the same opinions as other feminists.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Activity #2<\/h3>\n<p>Take a moment to reflect on your own identities as they relate to the idea Bronfenbrenner&#8217;s ecological systems framework. Try to write down a few words for each of the systems affecting your own life and development:<\/p>\n<p>Microsystem:<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"1\"><\/textarea><br \/>\nMesosystem:<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"1\"><\/textarea><br \/>\nExosystem:<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"1\"><\/textarea><br \/>\nMacrosystem:<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"1\"><\/textarea><br \/>\nChronosystem:<\/p>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"1\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Religion and History<\/h2>\n<p>Altogether, we have seen how a particular religious milieu can shape how people perceive society around them. You don&#8217;t necessarily need a religious faith of your own to understand that this has been a powerful force that shaped the worldviews of many Americans at key moments in our history. The American Association for State and Local History lists a number of reasons why a knowledge of religious context is essential to the study of history and other disciplines.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Genton, Aaron. \u201cIs Religious History Relevant?\u201d AASLH. American Association for State and Local History, June 9, 2016. https:\/\/aaslh.org\/is-religious-history-relevant\/.\" id=\"return-footnote-7624-2\" href=\"#footnote-7624-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>&#8220;It promotes greater understanding of people&#8230;When their religious commitment infuses their entire outlook, everything from politics to business to architecture to recreation will be influenced by that worldview. An identity is created that is inseparable from everything else. Understanding our religious history can help us to see the complexities amongst people, and perhaps help us to understand where they are coming from, even when we may not agree with them.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>It can provide both inspiration and warning. &#8220;Concepts of love, hope, peace, and justice are inseparable from many religious belief systems and have been positively used by many to change the country for the better (the civil rights movement quickly comes to mind). A proper understanding of the motivation that people have can inspire others to follow the path already trod. Alternately, many have misused and abused religion to achieve a variety of ends throughout history. Understanding this can inspire people to be careful how they use their beliefs, and ultimately learn from the mistakes of the past.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>A study of religious context can also shed light onto topics not normally associated with religion.\u00a0For example, a knowledge of the Mormon worldview\u00a0is essential to understanding the development of Utah and other places in the mountain west. Or consider how the Shakers&#8217; hymns (such as &#8220;Simple Gifts&#8221;) and even their famously well-crafted\u00a0furniture have a significance that lasted well after the Shakers died out.\u00a0To fully appreciate these legacies, it&#8217;s helpful to be aware of Shaker values of community, simplicity, and utopianism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>Religions Review<\/h3>\n<p>If you are interested in religious history and want to review some of the distinctions and evolution of many of the Christian religions in the United States, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1291677853982523278\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">work through this interactive<\/a>. While religiosity on the whole has been on the decline, from this you can see the tremendous impact that religion has had on American life over the years. Understanding religion is an important part of understanding historical context.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<p>We have seen that the simple idea of &#8220;context&#8221; is actually rather complex and multilayered. There is no one &#8220;context&#8221; but many ways to consider the environment in which a document is written. Not only is there a context for, say, America in the 1970s, but social movements and communities have their own distinct milieus as well. Determining what these milieus are can be challenging, but the reward is great: you&#8217;ll have an understanding of history that transcends a rigid, straightforward reading of any text. By seeing it through the light of its context, its fuller meaning and significance can be understood. In a recent episode from the <em>Star Trek<\/em> franchise, a starship captain told a crewperson that &#8220;context is for kings.&#8221; For the student of history this is certainly true. A keen and multilayered awareness of context is often the difference between reading history and understanding history.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox exercises\">\n<h3>Activity #3<\/h3>\n<p>Pick one of these documents below related to Reagan-era conservatism. Read through it and look for clues about the historical context of the piece. Then, pick at least two significant events that happened within three years before the source was written and explain how these events connect to the milieu in which the document was written. You will not submit this work here but can use the space below to jot down your ideas.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"chapter standard\"><a href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/chapter\/primary-source-statements-from-the-parents-music-resource-center-1985\/\">Primary Source: Statements from The Parents Music Resource Center (1985)<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"chapter standard\"><a href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/chapter\/primary-source-pat-buchanan-on-the-culture-war-1992\/\">Primary Source: Pat Buchanan on the Culture War (1992)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><textarea aria-label=\"Your Answer\" rows=\"4\"><\/textarea><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Glossary<\/h3>\n<p><strong>evangelical<\/strong><strong>:\u00a0<\/strong>a branch of Christianity that stresses the authority of the Bible and the necessity of personal conversion<\/p>\n<p><strong>intersectionality:<\/strong>\u00a0an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person&#8217;s social and political identities (including gender, caste, sex, race, class, sexuality, religion, etc.) combine to create different modes of both discrimination and privilege<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-7624\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Context of the Culture Wars. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Mark Lempke for Lumen Learning. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Ecological systems theory. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Wikipedia. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecological_systems_theory\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecological_systems_theory<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Bronfenbrenner&#039;s ecological systems theory. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Hchokr. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Wikipedia. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecological_systems_theory#\/media\/File:Bronfenbrenner&#039;s_Ecological_Theory_of_Development_(English).jpg\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecological_systems_theory#\/media\/File:Bronfenbrenner&#039;s_Ecological_Theory_of_Development_(English).jpg<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Lakewood Church. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: ToBeDaniel. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Wikipedia. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lakewood_Church#\/media\/File:Lakewood_worship.jpg\">https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lakewood_Church#\/media\/File:Lakewood_worship.jpg<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-7624-1\">David R. Swartz, Moral Minority: The Evangelical Left in an Age of Conservatism (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012); Brantley Gasaway, Progressive Evangelicals and the Pursuit of Social Justice (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2014); Mark A. Lempke, My Brother's Keeper: George McGovern and Progressive Christianity (Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 2017). <a href=\"#return-footnote-7624-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-7624-2\">Genton, Aaron. \u201cIs Religious History Relevant?\u201d AASLH. American Association for State and Local History, June 9, 2016. https:\/\/aaslh.org\/is-religious-history-relevant\/. <a href=\"#return-footnote-7624-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":169554,"menu_order":20,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"{\"0\":{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Context of the Culture Wars\",\"author\":\"Mark Lempke for Lumen Learning\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},\"1\":{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Ecological systems theory\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Wikipedia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecological_systems_theory\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},\"4\":{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Bronfenbrenner\\'s ecological systems theory\",\"author\":\"Hchokr\",\"organization\":\"Wikipedia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ecological_systems_theory#\/media\/File:Bronfenbrenner\\'s_Ecological_Theory_of_Development_(English).jpg\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},\"5\":{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Lakewood Church\",\"author\":\"ToBeDaniel\",\"organization\":\"Wikipedia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lakewood_Church#\/media\/File:Lakewood_worship.jpg\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}}","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"fb11bf0f-250a-41ba-a9ac-edc3c8501f12,69bad2f7-023e-44ad-af5a-916eda21aec4","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-7624","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":420,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/169554"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8945,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7624\/revisions\/8945"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/420"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/7624\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=7624"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=7624"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=7624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}