Men and women

Generally speaking, British people invest about the same amount of their identity in their gender as people in other parts of northern Europe do. On the one hand, society no longer overtly endorses differences in the public and social roles of men and women, and it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of sex. On the other hand, people still (often unconsciously) expect a fairly large number of differences in everyday behaviour and domestic roles.

In terms of everyday habits and mannerisms, British society probably expects a sharper difference between the sexes than most other European societies do. For example, it is still far more acceptable for a man to look untidy and scruffy than it is for a woman; and it is still far more acceptable for a woman to display emotions and be demonstrably friendly than it is for a man to do so.

As far as roles are concerned, most people assume that a family’s financial situation is not just the responsibility of the man. On the other hand, they would still normally compliment the woman, not the man, on a beautifully decorated or well-kept house. Everyday care of the children is still seen as mainly the woman’s responsibility. Although almost as many women have jobs as men, nearly half of the jobs done by women are part-time. In fact, the majority of mothers with children under the age of twelve either have no job or work only during school hours. Men certainly take a more active domestic role than they did forty years ago. Some things, however, never seem to change. A comparison of child-rearing habits of the l950s and the l980s showed that the proportion of men who never changed a baby’s nappy had remained the same (40%).

In general, the sharpest distinction between the expected roles and behaviour of the two sexes is found in the lower and upper classes. The distinction is far less clear among the middle classes, but it is still there.

At the public level there are contradictions. Britain was one of the first European countries to have a woman Prime Minister and a woman chairperson of debate in its Parliament. However, in the early nineties, only about 5% of MPs were women, only 20% of lawyers in Britain were women, less than 10% of accountants were women and there was one female consultant brain surgeon in the whole country.

At the 1997 election the proportion of women MPs increased sharply (to 18%) and nearly every institution in the country has opened its doors to women now. One of the last to do so was the Anglican Church, which, after much debate, decided in favour of the ordination of women priests in l993. However, there are a few institutions which, at the time of writing, still don’t accept female members – for example, the Oxford and Cambridge Club in London, an association for graduates of these two universities.

16. The religious scene in the US: the Protestant heritage.

There are two main brunches of the Christian faith in America: Roman Catholic and protestant. The Protestant branch has many different denominations (Methodism, Baptism, Episcopalian church, Presbyterian church, Lutheran church, Pentecostals, Mormons, seventh-day Adventists.)These denominations are completely separate church organizations and although there are many similarities, there are also significant differences in their religious teaching and beliefs. The major course for religious diversity is perhaps the Protestant belief that individual not the organized church should be the center of religious life. The Protestant tradition has encouraged the development of numerous denominations which express the religious preferences of individuals.

The Protestant brunch of the Christian faith broke away from the Roman Catholic church in Europe in the 16^th century because of important differences in religious life in European countries. The protestants insisted that the individuals must stand alone before God they don’t need a medium in the face of Pope and Priest. After the Protestants broke away from the Catholic Church many denominations expensed religious persecution. Consequently, among the early settlers who came to America in the 1600s there were many Protestants seeking religious freedom. As a result the Protestantism became the Dominant religious influence in the new land. When the Constitution was written in 1789 the government was forbidden to establish a national church. The government and the church had to remain separate. Under this condition many Protestant denominations grew and developed with each denomination having a “live and let live” attitude toward the others. Thus the diversity was accepted and strengthened.

Although many Protestant denominations exist in the USA today all of them share a common Protestant heritage. One of the most important values associated with Protestantism is the value of self improvement. Protestant Christianity like Roman Catholic often emphasizes the natural wickedness of human nature. So, individuals are therefore left alone before God to improve themselves or suffer eternal punishment from God by their wickedness.

The achievement of material success is probably the most widely respected form of self-improvement in the US. Some people believe that those who were blessed by God might be recognized in the world by their material success.

American Protestantism has never encouraged the idea of gaining wealth without hard work and self-discipline. The belief in hard work and self-discipline in pursuit of material gain and other goals is often referred to as “the Protestant ethic”. There also exists an idea of improving oneself by helping others. In other words individuals make themselves into better persons by contributing some of their time and money to charitable educational and religious causes which are designed to help others. This philosophy is sometimes called “humanitarianism”

17. “National religion” in the USA. Religious diversity.

The degree of religious diversity in America becomes evident when one compares the religious composition of American society with that of its neighbours. Mexico’s population is 96% Catholic. Canada’s three largest denominations: Roman Catholic, Anglican and the United Church of Canada. To account for 86% of America’s total church membership it is necessary to add together 19 separate denomination. The 1^st amendment to the constitution prohibits an established national religion and protects the individuals’ right to practice the religion of his or her choice. The freedom of worship is the result of the separation of church and state that’s why there is no organized national church in the USA. Americans however have developed a number of informal practices which combine national patriotism and religion. These practices are referred to as “national religion” of the USA. Their main function is to provide support for the dominant values of the nation. Although the official separation of Church and State provided a climate for these diverse religious practices to flourish Protestantism because of numbers and influence occupies a dominant position in American society. The Protestants insist that the individual is the center of religious life he must stand alone before God. In place of the power and authority of a priest Protestants substituted the priesthood of all believers which means that every individual is responsible for his own relationship with God. There is a large number of Protestant denominations established in America each having a “live and let live” attitude toward the others. So diversity is accepted and strengthened.

Major Protestant denominations in the USA are: Mormonism, Christian science, Seventh-day Adventism, Jehovah’s witnesses, Pentecostalism, Baptism Methodism Lutheranism and others.

The Presbyterian, Lutheran, Episcopal and Reformed churches along with the Congregational church constitute “mainstream Protestantism” in America. Baptists and Methodists once peripheral sects are now usually considered part of mainstream Protestantism as well. Other protestant denominations such as Pentecostals and Southern Baptists are sometimes referred to as “radical” Protestants. Worship services of radical churches are less formal and liturgical than services of mainstream Protestants.

There are some others denominations in America that are not considered to be protestant or Christian.

So non-protestant are: Orthodox, Catholic church, Jewish.

Non-Christian denominations are: Hinduism, Islam, Sickism.