NATIVE AMERICAN
View of man
View of
society
Purpose/view
of
government
Man’s
purpose for
existence
View of God;
View of
man’s
relationship
to God
Man is a part of creation
Society is based upon closely-knit
tribes; inclusion within the group is
essential
To provide for and protect the
tribe;
They did not really question why
mankind exists. Rather they
focused on what their purpose was
within the group. (vision-quest)
PURITANISM
Man is evil
Society’s purpose is to
get everyone to
heaven
To get everyone to
heaven; theocracybased upon the Bible
“To glorify God and
enjoy him forever”
from the
WESTMINSTER
SHORTER CATECHISM
Believed in multiple spirits; their
God is omnipotent,
Great Spirit was powerful; man was omnipresent, and
to maintain a right relationship to
omniscient. He is holy,
the spirits through rituals
benevolent, and
merciful, but wrathful
towards non-believers
(and sinners,
depending upon the
preacher).
ENLIGHTENMENT/AGE OF REASON
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
Man is logical
Society’s purpose is to protect the
rights of each person through the
use of government
Government’s purpose is to
provide for the needs of the group
through technology, reasons, and
science AND to protect the natural
rights of man (life, liberty,
property)
Work to make this life more
comfortable through reason,
science, and technology
Deism; God is not a vending
machine for blessings, nor a
lightning-bolt hurler for
punishment. He is like a
CLOCKMAKER; he conceived the
plan, put it into motion, and is now
sitting back watching his plan
unfold. Punishment for sin in this
life is the logical consequences for
your actions.
ROMANTICISM
Man is good
Society is bad
When men get together to
form societies and create
governments to control
those societies, individuals
lose their humanity and
are oppressed
Work to fulfill your
individual dreams
God is in all and through
all, and can be experienced
by looking at nature (no
wrath)
View of church/
religion/spirituality;
View of the
relationship
between church and
state
Spirituality was essential
to well-being; leaders
would need to have a right
relationship to the gods to
maintain his abilities
The church is the
state; church with all
the superstition/
mystery/fear
View of nature and
the relationship
between man and
nature
Man is a part of nature and
must show respect for how
nature provides for man
Nature is sinful from
original sin; wild
nature, like natural
man (unconverted),
harbors the devil;
nature requires our
toil to make it do what
God intended it to do
for us; we must take
back the wild and
tame it
Schools teach us to
read so that we can
read the Bible and get
to heaven.
view of schools/
education
Education was practical and
cultural; cultural traditions
were essential for the
continuation of the tribe
and for the continuation of
a good afterlife for their
ancestors
View of the source of based upon strength and
legitimate power
wisdom
The Bible/God
Separation of church and state; it’s
social tradition; some founding
fathers saw it as a way to control
the people, but not as a part of the
federal government—its
admonitions for morality are good
for social order
Nature is chaotic; it is a tool for
man to use; it needs man’s logic
imposed upon it to improve it and
make it useful.
The church is a societal
institution designed to
induce conformity; nature
is the true place where one
can commune with the
universe.
Schools teach logic and scientific
knowledge; they pass on cultural
traditions that strengthen the
community; they help people to
conform to society’s expectations.
Schools are evil because
they are the way that the
government gets everyone
to “think” the same way
(induces conformity).
Logic/ science/knowledge/
Consent of the governed
One’s own conscience
Nature is where we
experience God because
it’s not tainted with the
corruption of society.
REALISM
View of man
Man has the capacity for
good and bad
View of society
Society has the capacity for
good and bad
Purpose/view of
government
To establish order;
sometimes it works, and
sometimes it doesn’t
Man’s purpose for
existence
I’m too busy trying to get by
to worry about higher
“purposes.”
View of God; View
of man’s
relationship to God
Differs from person to
person
NATURALISM
Man is an organism reacting to environmental
forces that he can neither understand nor
control; his logic does nothing to give him power
over extreme environments; individuality is an
illusion—any person put in the same situation
will react the same way
Ordered civilized society can exist only in the
more temperate regions of the earth
MODERNISM
Man is alienated and powerless to
impact his universe
Society is a futile effort to establish
meaning and connection in our
existence
Government is simply an extension of the human Government is simply an extension of
organism; it works to procure necessary
the alienated human; it works to
resources and to establish order as established by procure necessary resources and to
the environment
establish order, thereby futilely
attempting to establish meaning and
connection in our daily lives
Man’s existence has no purpose. He’s here just
Man’s existence has no purpose; any
like any random bacteria reacting to
purpose he attempts to give it is an
environmental forces that he can neither
illusion; the EXISTENTIALSISTS say that
understand nor control.
man gives himself purpose by deciding
to live a life of integrity in a
meaningless universe
There is no supernatural; objective reality
There is no supernatural; perception
determines reality
determines reality
View of church/
religion/spirituality;
View of the
relationship
between church
and state
View of nature and
the relationship
between man and
nature
Differs from person to
person; separation of church
and state
There is no supernatural; church is an illusion of
civilization that man tries to placate himself with;
separation of church and state
There is no supernatural; church is an
illusion of civilization that man tries to
placate himself with; separation of
church and state
Nature is a force that we can
sometimes overcome and
sometimes not
view of schools/
education
It is necessary and can be a
force for good or bad
Nature, is a force stronger than man, and, in the
extreme environments, will inevitably overcome
man and reduce him to an animal body and soul
before it kills him; it is an indifferent force that
we can neither understand nor control
Education is another illusion of man’s power, as
we are unable to understand or control the
forces that determine our reactions
View of the source
of legitimate power
Democratic vote
Existence has no meaning or order, so
there is no relationship between man
and nature; it is an indifferent force
that we can neither understand nor
control
Schools attempt to create the illusion
of order and meaning in our existence.
Therefore, they are part of the
problem.
Power is an illusion; governments
attempt to create the illusion of order,
meaning, and connection in our
existence. Therefore, they are part of
the problem.
Survival of the fittest