1. The „American Dream‟ as a
Religious Idea.
Jenn Lodge, Lauren
Haywood, Caitlyn Gray and
Jordan Creasey.

2. Manifest Destiny: The Origins
of the American Dream?
What is Manifest Destiny?
 From the Oxford English Dictionary:
◦ “The doctrine or belief that the expansion of the
United States throughout the American
continents was both justified and inevitable.”
◦ It was believed that this expansion was the will
of God; the United States had a “divine right” to
expand.

4. John Ghast‟s
American Progress (1872)
 Americans heading west.
 Going towards Native Americans:
◦ Americans‟ divine right to take control of the
Native American land.
 Angel-like figure facing the west, guiding the
Americans‟ journey:
◦ Personification of “Progress”
◦ It is God‟s will that American expands and its
citizens prosper.
◦ She carries a school book –
intelligence, wisdom.
 Steam engines also facing west: expansion and
urbanisation of the American landscape.

5. Manifest Destiny & Religion
 There are several different stories about the
religious origins of the term “Manifest Destiny”:
◦ 1845: Democratic Review, “…the fulfilment of
our manifest destiny to overspread the
continent allotted by Providence for the free
development of our yearly multiplying
millions.”
◦ “We are entered into a covenant with [God]…”
◦ “There is a right for a new chapter in the law
of nations; or rather, in the special laws of our
own country; for I suppose the right of a
manifest destiny to spread will not be
admitted to exist in any nation except the
universal Yankee nation!”

6. Manifest Destiny & Religion
The U.S.A.‟s Manifest Destiny promised Americans
an early version of the American dream, a term
that had not yet been coined:
 Monetary success in life
 A chance to find happiness
 A chance to start anew in a new place
 Freedom
 Independence

7. Destiny and The Dream
 The American Dream:
 “The ideal by which equality of opportunity is
available to any American, allowing the highest
aspirations and goals to be achieved.”
◦ Manifest Destiny:
 “The doctrine or belief that the expansion of
the United States throughout the American
continents was both justified and inevitable.”
◦ - From the Oxford English Dictionary

8. „American Dream‟ as an Idea
What is the „American Dream‟?
 The concept of the American Dream has been
subject to a fair amount of criticism due to
many individuals have their own
interpretations of the American Dream based
on their own values and upbringing.

9. Contrasting The American
Dream and Manifest Destiny
The American Dream Manifest Destiny
Arguably/implicitly religious Explicitly religious
- Implication of the United States as a land - A right given by God
of freedom and miracles, but success
comes from the immigrant seeking the
American Dream
First use 1931 Originated in the 1840s
Directed toward and believed in by Directed to and believed in by American citizens
immigrants
Movement to the United States as a nation Movement to the American West
Pursuit of greater opportunities in the United States of Pursuit of greater opportunities in the United States of
America America

10. The American Dream
 Fundamentally, the American Dream is about
hope and the potential for change in some
way.
◦ Living the dream.
 Many believe that the structure of American
society contradicts the idealistic goal of the
„American Dream‟, pointing to examples such
as inequality rooted in class, race and ethnic
origin which suggest the „American Dream‟ is
not attainable for all.

11. Religion and the „American
Dream‟
 When the Pilgrim Fathers came to America they
believed that God that kept America hidden until
the day when it would provide mankind with an
opportunity for regeneration.
 America was seen as a Promised Land full of
opportunities away from the corruption and
inequality of England.
 Pilgrim Fathers dreamt of a new utopian kind of
world of hope and prosperity based on Christian
principles in America.

12. Religion and the „American
Dream‟
 The original „American Dream‟ consisted of
individuals improving their own situation and
having of a faith-based nation where society had
the freedom to love God and to worship God in
their own way.
 Religion is a major aspect of America and has
similar connotations to the aims of the
„American Dream‟, so many people incorporated
personal ideals of religious freedom into their
version of the „American Dream‟.

13. Samir S. Gupte
Development of the dream:
 Return to Eden
 Freedom
 Independence
 Opportunity
 20th Century dream – achievement
Gupte looks at the origins of the American
Dream as a religious idea, and says that in
each stage of the development of the
American Dream, there has been
significant religious influence that shapes
and redirects the Dream.

14. The 16th Century:
Return to Eden
“The religious connection to the dream
commences with Christianity„s quest to Return
to Eden, and desire to make amends for the fall
of humanity.”
“Because the religious community believed that
God directed all human activity, the discovery of
the Americas was perceived as a sign in itself
that God had finally relented in his punishment
of humanity. All that was needed to return to
paradise…”

15. The 17th Century:
Freedom
“Where moral and theological ideologies were
involved, there could be no compromise. In
order to establish themselves [puritans] as the
austere interpreters of the Bible free from
existing social, cultural and political
constraint, they had to physically remove
themselves from the reaches of the Anglican
Church so they could practice Christianity as
they believed it was destined be.”

16. The 18th Century:
Independence
“The Great Awakening marked the end of
European ideas of authority. This was to have
enduring implications on American society
through its rejection of the European notion of
society. The spirit of American democracy was
awakened. American independence was born
of the new light imparted to the American
mind by the Awakening and the evangelical
clergy of colonial America.”

17. The 19th Century:
Opportunity
“The future was wide open for any and all
Americans. ―The limitless geographical space
offered inexhaustible social space. There was
room for all comers at the top and middle of
the social ladder and ample room at the
bottom. The channels of economic mobility
were wide open…”

18. The 20th Century:
Achievement
“The apocalyptic criticism of the American Dream
did not come from religion but in twentieth
century novels such as Death of a Salesmen, A
Cool Million, and The Day of the Locust,
American Tragedy, Babbitt, Reagan Dick and
The Great Gatsby. 200 Authors of modern
literature took up the cause and began to
challenge the prevailing forces of the American
economic machine.”

19. James Truslow Adams
The Epic of America (1931) was a major
influence on Samir Gupte‟s essay.
 “We have seen the rise of our own nation from
a handful of starving Englishmen in Virginia to
a people of 120,000,000 made up of all the
races of the world”
 “In the eighteenth century we had an
established civilisation, with stability of
material and spiritual values. Then we began
our scramble for the untold wealth which lay
at the foot of the rainbow”

20. The Downside
 The „American Dream‟ as a religion is flawed
as it‟s focus has shifted towards materialism
than that of self-improvement and equal
opportunities.
◦ “The barbarian carelessness of the motoring
millions, the littered roadsides, the use of
our most beautiful scenery for the
advertising of products which should be
boycotted for that very reason.”

21. The Downside
Religious?
The cost of losing the
countries beauty and
its raw charm in
favour of the
materialistic egotistical
money-making
ideology that religion
usually seeks to
thwart.

22. The ‘American Dream’
 Equality is seen in access to opportunity but
not once the „dream‟ is achieved. The rich
become richer, the poor get poorer.
 Conventional religion seeks to help the
collective, prosperity of the nation through
social drive and understanding. The
„American Dream‟ as a religion is about
individual prosperity available to the
collective. The dreams emphasis is on the
incline, once you are „living the dream‟ you
do not simply share the wealth but strive to
better the dream

23. Religion: „American Dream‟
So does the „American Dream‟ act as a religion?
 We see the predisposed nature of American people
to manifest their nation‟s identity. The belief that the
expansion and development of their country is
inevitable and justifiable. Freedom and
independence is available on the same level as
money and success.
“It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages
merely, but a dream of social order in which each man
and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest
stature of which they are innately capable, and be
recognized by others for what they are, regardless of
the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

24. References