The Culture Of Disbelief Summary

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Pages: 3

America is a country that was founded on the idea of religious freedom, but as the modern Americans culture develops, religion is fading away from the forefront of our identity. It has changed from a group of people who once sought to be the purest in God’s eyes to a people who are offended at the mention of a religion. In the article “The Culture of Disbelief” by Stephen L. Carter, Carter explores the idea that Americans see religion as something for private life and not to be seen or talked of in public. Through his sarcasm and multiple stories, Carter beings to show the surprisingly obvious faults in the American culture. He writes to the American people in hope that they might take action and begin repair the broken society. In Carter’s writing he reveals that while Americans have struggled to keep the separation of church and state, we have …show more content…
He introduces the idea of toxic faith, putting one’s faith before basic needs, wondering how some would view “the toxicity of the faith of Jesus, Moses, or Mohammed” (4.) He continues to be extremely sarcastic always poking fun at the failures of the American culture and while his comments may draw a laugh from some readers, they are never without purpose. He purposefully paints the culture as a joke; the way peoples’ religion is treated is ridiculous so why take any of it seriously? At the close of the article he pleads that while religion may be an important part of some peoples’ life, please “whatever you do, do not on any account take your religion seriously” (23). Carter’s ending paragraph is dripping with sarcasm to get his readers to consider the absurdity of the American culture, he never makes a distinct call to action, rather he leaves the reader with their eyes opened. Carter only shows the faults in the system, it is left to the reader to make the proper