Annotated Bibliography 1

Robinson, Marilynne. "Awakening." Commonweal 142.17 (2015): 10-17. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Nov. 2016.

Name: Meg Hansen

Source # 1 Bibliography

Robinson, Marilynne. "Awakening." Commonweal 142.17 (2015):

10-17. Literary Reference Center. Web. 5 Nov. 2016.

Annotation:

In this article Marilynne Robinson discusses the separation of church and state, great awakenings and their sources, and religion, specifically Christianity in America. Robinson seems to view Religion in America with cynical drawing the conclusion at the end that it is for God to decide who has truly done the will of the father, implying that today many christians aren’t. She relates many of the Great Awakenings that have occurred across the country to a revival of rights, such as the civil rights movement or women’s suffrage. Essentially people are “added” to the congregation of the church creating a surge of emotionally charged enthusiasm. A main point she makes is that all of these influxes of “religiousness” have resulted in something secular. In other words, they always die out. These outbreaks are never sustainable and as a result, Robinson questions the legitimacy of their sentiments. In the final paragraphs she reaches the climax, explaining that Christianity has become diluted and more of a demographic or image than an ethic. The most recent “awakening” has left bitterness and rejection that churches now attempt to cover up, unsuccessfully. She claims the church has rejected its heritage and christianity has become in many cases falsely motivated.

Potential Quotes:

“It is an essential principle of American government and society that there should be a separation of church and state.”

“I hasten to say that in these instances religious passion — and there were occasions of hysteria, fainting fits, visions — led to, and was consistent with, stable and thoughtful social change.”

“The sobering truth is, however, that these reform movements fall back. They exhaust themselves and trivialise themselves.”

“There is a truth that lies beyond our capacities. Our capacities are no standard or measure of truth, no ground of ethical understanding.”

“But there appears to me to be a dynamic at work that is new for us, a polarisation of the good on one side and the religious on the other, which will be a catastrophe for American Christianity.”

“I have recourse here to chapter and verse to make the point that all the praying on street corners, or, in contemporary terms, all the making of elaborate claims for one’s special piety on cable channels, and, heaven help us, at political events, might be evidence of an upsurge of enthusiasms that assume the colouration of religion for purposes that are not, strictly speaking, terribly religious.”

Assessment:

This article is written by a famous author, Marilynne Robinson who has been recognized with many writing awards including Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, the 2012 National Humanities Medal, and the 2016 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. She has been a professor at numerous acclaimed universities and has received a Doctorate in literature. Her studies on the church, John Calvin, and her upbringing give her the credibility to write this article. She has been involved in church her entire life as well as studied the ins and outs of religion. The article can also be found through the database Galileo, which is a credible source.

Reflection:

I intend to use it as a source of information for discussing the future of the modern church and the relationship it holds with the government in light of the recent political climate. As mentioned in her essay, the ethic of the church seem to be disintegrating and as an intern for a youth ministry I am trying to do historical and educated research on how to revitalize it.

This article will be useful to me and my research as it is very straightforward and broad. It talks from all perspectives, and while there is some bias, it is easy to differentiate from the facts. It adds a historical factor that would be difficult for me to research and knowledge from a credible and intelligent writer learned from education, but also experience. Now I am able to essentially skip a step, by learning from what this author has written as opposed to having to experience it for myself. The source is very relevant which I think will be very helpful to my overall research. It deals a lot with problems that are happening right now in our country and in the church. It speaks intelligently to these areas, taking in all sides, and reaching a fair conclusion.

I could use this source as an example of the problem we face now as Americans, particularly in the church. It demonstrates eloquently the precise issue of apathy and of conforming to the world’s whims and can be easily quoted throughout a research paper. The topic of my research project will essentially be the exact same one discussed in this source. I was able to find many quotes that I could use to back up my points. My intention will be to come up with a solution the modern church faces and this source will be very useful because it points out the problem I desire to fix.