Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Definitions and Interpretations of Rhetorical Irony

Definitions and Interpretations of Rhetorical Irony To state a certain something yet to mean something different - that might be the least complex meaning of incongruity. Be that as it may, in truth, theres nothing at all straightforward about the expository idea of incongruity. As J.A. Cuddon says in A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Basil Blackwell, 1979), incongruity evades definition, and this trickiness is one of the primary reasons why it is a wellspring of so much captivated request and hypothesis. To empower further request (instead of diminish this unpredictable figure of speech to shortsighted clarifications), weve assembled an assortment of definitions and understandings of incongruity, both antiquated and current. Here youll locate some repetitive topics just as certain purposes of difference. Does any of these essayists give the single right solution to our inquiry? No. Be that as it may, all give food to thought. We start on this page with some wide perceptions about the idea of incongruity - a couple of standard definitions alongside endeavors to order the various sorts of incongruity. On page two, we offer a concise overview of the manners in which that the idea of incongruity has developed in the course of recent years. At long last, on pages three and four, various contemporary authors talk about what incongruity means (or appears to mean) voluntarily. Definitions and Types of Irony The Three Basic Features of IronyThe head deterrent in the method of a basic meaning of incongruity is the way that incongruity is anything but a basic marvel. . . . We have now introduced, as fundamental highlights for all irony,(i) a differentiation of appearance and reality,(ii) a certain ignorance (imagined in the ironist, genuine in the casualty of the incongruity) that the appearance is just an appearance, and(iii) the comic impact of this ignorance of a differentiating appearance and reality.(Douglas Colin Muecke, Irony, Methuen Publishing, 1970)Five Kinds of IronyThree sorts of incongruity have been perceived since relic: (1) Socratic incongruity. a cover of honesty and numbness received to win a contention. . . . (2) Dramatic or terrible incongruity, a twofold vision of what's going on in a play or genuine circumstance. . . . (3) Linguistic incongruity, a duality of importance, presently the great type of incongruity. Expanding on the possibility of sensational incongruity, the Romans reasoned that language regularly conveys a twofold message, a second frequently taunting or cynical importance negating the first. . . .In present day times, two further originations have been included: (1) Structural incongruity, a quality that is incorporated with messages, in which the perceptions of an innocent storyteller point up further ramifications of a circumstance. . . . (2) Romantic incongruity, in which authors plan with perusers to share the twofold vision of what's going on in the plot of a novel, film, etc.(Tom McArthur, The Oxford Companion to the English Language, Oxford University Press, 1992) Applying IronyIronys general trademark is to make something comprehended by communicating its inverse. We can in this way segregate three separate methods of applying this logical structure. Incongruity can allude to (1) singular interesting expressions (ironia verbi); (2) specific methods of deciphering life (ironia vitae); and (3) presence completely (ironia entis). The three elements of ironytrope, figure, and all inclusive paradigmcan be comprehended as logical, existential, and ontological.(Peter L. Oesterreich, Irony, in Encyclopedia of Rhetoric, altered by Thomas O. Sloane, Oxford University Press, 2001)Metaphors for IronyIrony is an affront passed on as a commendation, hinting the most annoying parody under the diction of laudatory; putting its casualty exposed on a bed of briars and thorns, daintily secured with rose leaves; enhancing his temple with a crown of gold, which copies into his cerebrum; prodding, and worrying, and riddling him totally with ceaseless releases of s uperstar from a covered battery; revealing the most delicate and contracting nerves of his psyche, and afterward flatly contacting them with ice, or smilingly pricking them with needles.(James Hogg, Wit and Humor, in Hoggs Instructor, 1850) Incongruity SarcasmIrony must not be mistaken for mockery, which is immediate: Sarcasm implies absolutely what it says, yet in a sharp, harsh, cutting, burning, or acerb way; it is the instrument of anger, a weapon of offense, while incongruity is one of the vehicles of wit.(Eric Partridge and Janet Whitcut, Usage and Abusage: A Guide to Good English, W.W. Norton Company, 1997)Irony, Sarcasm, WitGeorge Puttenhams Arte of English Poesie shows thankfulness for unpretentious logical incongruity by deciphering ironia as Drie Mock. I attempted to discover what incongruity truly is, and found that some antiquated essayist on verse had discussed ironia, which we call the drye fake, and I can't think about a superior term for it: the drye mock. Not mockery, which resembles vinegar, or criticism, which is regularly the voice of disillusioned vision, yet a fragile throwing of a cool and enlightening light on life, and in this manner an augmentation. The ironist isn't severe, he doesn't look to undermine everything that appears to be commendable or genuine, he disdains the modest scoring-off of the wisecracker. He stands, in a manner of speaking, fairly at one side, watches and talks with a balance which is periodically decorated with a glimmer of controlled misrepresentation. He talks from a specific profundity, and consequently he isn't of a similar sort as the mind, who so frequently talks from the tongue and no more profound. The brains want is to be entertaining, the ironist is just interesting as an auxiliary achievement.(Roberston Davies, The Cunning Man, Viking, 1995) Vast IronyThere are two expansive uses in regular speech. The first identifies with grandiose incongruity and has little to do with the play of language or figural discourse. . . . This is an incongruity of circumstance, or an incongruity of presence; it is just as human life and its comprehension of the world is undermined by some other significance or plan past our forces. . . . The word incongruity alludes to the furthest reaches of human significance; we don't see the impacts of what we do, the results of our activities, or the powers that surpass our decisions. Such incongruity is vast incongruity, or the incongruity of fate.(Claire Colebrook, Irony: The New Critical Idiom, Routledge, 2004) A Survey of Irony Socrates, That Old FoxThe most powerful model throughout the entire existence of incongruity has been the Platonic Socrates. Neither Socrates nor his counterparts, in any case, would have related the wordâ eironeiaâ with current originations of Socratic incongruity. As Cicero put it, Socrates was continually claiming to require data and declaring appreciation for the shrewdness of his partner; when Socrates questioners were irritated with him for acting along these lines they called himâ eiron, a disgusting term of rebuke alluding for the most part to any sort of tricky misdirection with hints of joke. The fox was the image of the eiron.All genuine conversations ofâ eironeiaâ followed upon the relationship of the word with Socrates.(Norman D. Knox, Irony, The Dictionary of the History of Ideas, 2003)The Western SensibilitySome venture to such an extreme as to state that Socrates amusing character initiated a particularly Western reasonableness. His incongruity, or his capaci tyâ notâ to acknowledge regular qualities and ideas yet live in a state ofâ perpetualâ question, is the introduction of theory, morals, and consciousness.(Claire Colebrook, Irony: The New Critical Idiom, Routledge, 2004) Doubters and AcademicsIt isn't without cause that such a significant number of fantastic thinkers became Skeptics and Academics, and prevented any assurance from securing information or perception, and held feelings that the information on man stretched out just to appearances and probabilities. The facts demonstrate that in Socrates it should be nevertheless a type of irony, Scientiam dissimulando simulavit, for he used to disguise his insight, as far as possible to upgrade his knowledge.(Francis Bacon, The Advancement of Learning, 1605)From Socrates to CiceroSocratic incongruity, as it is built in Platos dialogues,â is thereforeâ a technique for ridiculing and exposing the assumed information on his questioners, thus driving them to truth (Socratic maieutics). Cicero sets up incongruity as a talk figure which faults by acclaim and acclaims by fault. Aside from this, there is the feeling of grievous (or sensational) incongruity, which centers around the complexity be tween the heroes obliviousness and the observers, who know about his lethal predetermination (as in Oedipus Rex).(Irony, in Imagology: The Cultural Construction and Literary Representation of National Characters, altered by Manfred Beller and Joep Leerssen, Rodopi, 2007) Quintilian OnwardsSome of the rhetoricians perceive, however as though in passing, that incongruity was considerably more than a normal expository figure. Quintilian says [in Institutio Oratoria, interpreted by H.E. Butler] that in theâ figurativeâ form of incongruity the speaker masks his whole importance, the camouflage being evident instead of admitted. . . .Be that as it may, having addressed this marginal where incongruity stops to be instrumental and is looked for as an end in itself, Quintilian steps back, appropriately for his motivations, to his useful view, and essentially conveys about two centuries worth of rhetoricians alongside him. It was not until well into the eighteenth century that scholars were constrained, by hazardous advancements in the utilization of incongruity itself, to start considering amusing impacts by one way or another independent artistic finishes. And afterward obviously incongruity burst its limits so adequately that men at long last excused on ly utilitarian incongruities as not even unexpected, or as self-clearly less artistic.(Wayne C. Booth, A Rhetoric of Irony, University of Chicago Press, 1974) Infinite Irony RevisitedIn The Concept of Ironyâ (1841), Kierkegaard explained the possibility that incongruity is a method of seeing things, a method of review presence. Afterward, Amiel in his Journal Intimeâ (1883-87) communicated the view that incongruity springs from a percep

Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Battle of Ypres 1915 Cost 6000 Canadian Casualties

The Battle of Ypres 1915 Cost 6000 Canadian Casualties In 1915, the second Battle of Ypres built up the notoriety of the Canadians as a battling power. The first Canadian Division had quite recently shown up on the Western Front when they won acknowledgment by holding their ground against another weapon of present day fighting - chlorine gas. It was likewise in the channels at the second Battle of Ypres that John McCrae composed the sonnet when a dear companion was killed, one of 6000 Canadian setbacks in only 48 hours. War World War I Date of Battle of Ypres 1915 April 22 to 24, 1915 Area of Battle of Ypres 1915 Close to Ypres, Belgium Canadian Troops at Ypres 1915 first Canadian Division Canadian Casualties at the Battle of Ypres 1915 6035 Canadian losses in 48 hoursMore than 2000 Canadians kicked the bucket Canadian Honors at the Battle of Ypres 1915 Four Canadians won the Victoria Cross at the Battle of Ypres in 1915 Edward Donald BellewFrederick Bud FisherFrederick William HallFrancis Alexander Scrimger Outline of the Battle of Ypres 1915 The first Canadian Division had quite recently shown up at the front and were moved to Ypres Salient, a lump in the front of the City of Ypres in Belgium.The Germans held the high ground.The Canadians had two British divisions to their right side, and two French armed force divisions on their left.On April 22, after a cannons siege, the Germans discharged 5700 chambers of chlorine gas. The green chlorine gas was heavier than air and sank into the channels constraining officers out. The gas assault was trailed by solid infantry attacks. The French resistances had to withdraw, leaving a four-mile wide opening in the Allied line.The Germans needed more holds or security against the chlorine gas for their own soldiers to exploit the gap.The Canadians battled during that time to close the gap.On the principal night, the Canadians propelled a counter-assault to drive the Germans out of Kitcheners Wood close St. Julien. The Canadians cleared the forested areas yet needed to resign. More ass aults that night brought about sad losses yet got some an ideal opportunity to close the hole. After two days the Germans assaulted the Canadian line at St. Julien, again utilizing chlorine gas. The Canadians hung on until fortifications showed up.

Greece And Rome Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Greece And Rome - Essay Example The Gods’ existences influenced the psyches of each person who lived in Rome among different areas. How is what somebody does or doesn't do relate to the Gods? Does it influence their way of life? Do certain Gods meet explicit models for the residents of Rome? These inquiries influence the uneasiness of how life is lived dependent on how every God is seen. Luckily, these concerns are frequently settled for the vast majority when rules are executed and stories are informed that anticipate the fallout of loving one God versus another. Quintus Horatius Flaccus, or Horace as present society knows him by, is no special case to making and encourage the thoughts of life within the sight of Gods (Horace, standard. 1). Horace portrays his occupation as: â€Å"Ye commendable trio! we poor children of tune/Oft find ‘tis liked right that drives us wrong† (Flaccus, standard. 3, ll. 33-34). We poor children of tune alludes to other melodious artists. The following line oft find ‘tis liked right that drives us wrong methods their ability of rehashing history, commenting on thoughts and sharing them ought not be a conscience help. As it were, their capacity in performing tributes is a decent deed in the event that it is done accurately and not deciphered the manner in which the artist trusts it ought to be to pick up preference. Horace comments on how writers, or specialists, are not divine beings and that it is essential to recollect that in lines 45-46: By feeling of craftsmanship, makes another imperfection/Fix on some easygoing model; he will know/How to give nails their sharpness, hair its stream;/Yet he will come up short, since he does not have the spirit/To grasp and repeat the entirety. (Flaccus, standard. 3) The watchwords referenced first are craftsmanship and imperfection since it demonstrates that residents need to keep a level head. He does not have the spirit advances Horace’s contention in that spirit is characterized as the pro found or unimportant piece of an individual or creature, viewed as undying. Horace is stating that individuals may see how common things work, however they don't accomplish the ability to make it dependent on the way that he composed recreate the entirety. Entire, for this situation, which means containing all its normal constituents, parts, or components expresses that people can't reproduce life in its careful total the manner in which Gods can when it is matched with the activity of propagation. In this manner, the Gods are seen as being over the Romans, and they are substances that ought to be regarded and venerated so as to have fruitful existences. Horace’s tribute keeps on talking about the topic of the Gods and how they sway Roman life. He says, â€Å"To Vesta’s sanctuary and King Numa’s royal residence/†¦ Wild, love-lorn stream god! He considered himself to be/Avenger of his long-bemoaning llia† (Horace, tr Michie, 5, ll. 15, 17-18). The God s are a piece of Roman life. Here, Vesta is referenced for she is the goddess of the hearth, and the main goddess to disdain if an untouchable trespasses on a home. Additionally, the waterway God as well, yet what is generally obvious about this section is that human feeling is embodied on the Gods through words like love-lorn, which means being without adoration; spurned by one’s sweetheart, and justice fighter that is characterized as to get revenge in the interest of. The Romans did this so as to identify with the Gods and produce understanding. The Gods were seen as having broad impact in forming the lives of the residents of Rome. At the point when something significant occurred, particularly on the off chance that it was a turn for the more awful, individuals went to the Gods. Horace says, â€Å"Which of the divine beings presently will the individuals gather/To prop Rome’

Friday, August 21, 2020

Concept Paper- Research Method, Measurement, and Summary sections Assignment

Idea Paper-Research Method, Measurement, and Summary areas - Assignment Example This has been ascribed to cultural viewpoints that incline men to request for sex reasonably. With an end goal to control and wipe out sex dealing, interest for administrations collected from abuse of sex dealing casualties has been distinguished as urgent purpose of center for relief and mediation systems. The purpose behind this is past and current methodologies coordinated at fighting sex dealing, which demonstrated to have been uneven. The fact is significant intercession procedures have been aimed at the flexibly side of sex dealing, which leaves a hole in information and information with respect to angles that drive sex dealing on the interest side. This paper is planned for featuring the proposed look into techniques that mirror an applied examination objective and exhibit legitimacy inside the setting of the picked inquire about structure and by and large logical thoroughness. The examination strategies utilized inside the structure of this investigation require a multi-facet ed way to deal with encourage the extensive social occasion of information that is applicable and critical to request decrease in sex dealing. This requires research of the interest for sex dealing to adopt on a blended strategy while applying approach and mediation systems. ... The examination techniques ought to likewise ensure the legitimacy of research study, which includes the correspondence between the measure and the idea or idea it is intended to gauge (Moustakas, 2001). As indicated by Moustakas (2001), likeness of the exploration study’s results and information should ensure their outer legitimacy. Subjective research techniques encourage the revealing of multifaceted parts of people’s encounters with sex dealing. Specifically, this technique can be utilized to get information on the particular factors that decide and impact interest for sex dealing (Bernstein, 2001). Subjective research strategies are perfect in revealing cultural elements that legitimize men’s attack into the universe of sex dealing, where they fill in as the essential drive of the interest for sex dealing. The generalizations built up in the public arena that legitimize men’s invasion and requesting for business sex administrations can be assessed and explored through subjective research strategies (Bernstein, 2001). Quantitative research techniques empower the examination and estimation of information (Moustakas, 2001). It makes it workable for analysts to independently assess free and ward factors in detail being material in speculation applied inside the structure of examinations. Examination into completion interest for sex dealing should consider that assessment and examinations include shrouded parts of the populace. Therefore, examine philosophies applied ought to be intended to address these conditions and envision difficulties that will be experienced because of this viewpoint. Concealed populaces are people whose size and limits are obscure, and for whom no examining outline exists (Moustakas, 2001). Subjective techniques require authoritative

Sunday, August 16, 2020

10 Humorous Audiobooks by Women Funny Ladies Being Funny

10 Humorous Audiobooks by Women Funny Ladies Being Funny Its been a day. I spent the hours from 9:00 to 5:00 being screamed at by baby boomers   (#notallboomers) who still use AOL exclusively and wonder why Im not literally Google. In my brief respite from that, I check into Twitter only to regret doing so immediately. My brain reels as I read the words fake news for the 3 bazillionth time and the fact that I even know the term tender age shelters leaves me with a crushing sense of despair. Its mid-July. Although right wing, science-denying pundits tell me that climate change doesnt exist, I find it odd that it went from frozen tundra in June to sweltering July-appropriate temperatures in the span of three days. My body, now unaccustomed to what summer heat feels like, pours itself into my sweltering car as I sigh out my knowledge of   unarmed men of color being shot by the very people tasked with protecting them and melanin-deficient people calling the cops on children trying to have a childhood. I need a release. And that release is funny-ass audiobooks by funny-ass ladies. I need that reminder that humor can be found in dire situations and that women have, the world over, adjusted to their experienced injustices by laughing in the face of their oppressors. For centuries we took to laughing with each other at your ridiculousness over fences, while you thought we were exchanging recipes for some vile casserole featuring the much-lauded cream of mushroom soup. If you need an escape from the 7th circle of hell (were not yet at number nine, stay tuned) in which we currently live, even if its only for a 30 minute commute, here are a handful of hilarious-yet-honest books by some of the funniest and smartest women ever gifted to us by the heavens. And these selections get extra bonus points for being narrated by these funny ladies, only adding to this small blessing. SO CLOSE TO BEING THE SH*T, YALL DONT EVEN KNOW BY RETTA In  So Close to Being the Sh*t, Yall Dont Even Know,  Parks and Recreation  star Retta takes us on her not-so-meteoric rise from roaches to riches (well, rich enough that she can buy $15,000 designer handbags yet scared enough to know shes always a heartbeat away from ramen with American cheese). SELF-INFLICTED WOUNDS: HEARTWARMING TALES OF EPIC HUMILIATION BY AISHA TYLER Here, Aisha Tyler, comedian, actress, cohost of CBSs  The Talk,  star of  Archer,  and creator of the top-ranked podcast  Girl on Guy,  serves up a spectacular collection of her own self-inflicted wounds. From almost setting herself on fire, to vomiting on a boy she liked, to getting drunk and sleeping through the SATs, to going into crushing debt to pay for college and then throwing away her degree to become a comedian, Aishas life has been a series of spectacularly epic fails. And shes got the scars to prove it. Literally. YOU CANT TOUCH MY HAIR: AND OTHER THINGS I STILL HAVE TO EXPLAIN BY PHOEBE ROBINSON Being a black woman in America means contending with old prejudices and fresh absurdities every day. Comedian Phoebe Robinson has experienced her fair share over the years: Shes been unceremoniously relegated to the role of the black friend, as if she is somehow the authority on all things racial; shes been questioned about her love of U2 and Billy Joel (isnt that…white people music?); shes been called uppity for having an opinion in the workplace; shes been followed around stores by security guards; and yes, people do ask her whether they can touch her hair all. The. Time. Now shes ready to take these topics to audioâ€"and shes going to make you laugh as shes doing it. ONE DAY WELL ALL BE DEAD AND NONE OF THIS WILL MATTER BY SCAACHI KOUL In  One Day Well All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter, Scaachi Koul deploys her razor-sharp humor to share all the fears, outrages, and mortifying moments of her life. She learned from an early age what made her miserable, and for Scaachi anything can be cause for despair, whether its a shopping trip gone awry, enduring awkward conversations with her bikini waxer, overcoming her fear of flying while vacationing halfway around the world, dealing with Internet trolls, or navigating the fears and anxieties of her parents. IM JUDGING YOU: THE DO-BETTER MANUAL BY LUVVIE AJAYI With over 500,000 readers a month at her enormously popular blog, AwesomelyLuvvie.com, Luvvie Ajayi is a go-to source for smart takes on pop culture.  Im Judging You  is her debut book of humorous essays that dissects our cultural obsessions and calls out bad behavior in our increasingly digital, connected lives. It passes on lessons and side-eyes on life, social media, culture, and fame, from addressing those terrible friends we all have, to serious discussions of race and media representation, to what to do about your fool cousin sharing casket pictures from Grandmas wake on Facebook. FUNNY IN FARSI: A MEMOIR OF GROWING UP IRANIAN IN AMERICA BY FIROOZEH DUMAS In a series of deftly drawn scenes  Funny in Farsi  chronicles the American journey of Dumas wonderfully engaging family: her engineer father, a sweetly quixotic dreamer who first sought riches on  Bowling for Dollars  and in Las Vegas; her elegant mother, who never fully mastered English (nor cared to); her uncle, who combated the effects of American fast food with an army of miraculous American weight-loss gadgets; and Firoozeh herself, who as a girl changed her name to Julie, and who encountered a second wave of culture shock when she met and married a Frenchman, becoming part of a one-couple melting pot. WHY NOT ME? BY MINDY KALING In  Why Not Me?  Kaling shares her ongoing journey to find contentment and excitement in her adult life, whether its falling in love at work, seeking new friendships in lonely places, attempting to be the first person in history to lose weight without any behavior modification whatsoever, or, most important, believing that you have a place in Hollywood when youre constantly reminded that no one looks like you. WELL, THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY: MEMOIRS AND MISTAKES OF AN ACCIDENTAL ACTIVIST BY FRANCHESCA RAMSEY Well, That Escalated Quickly  includes Ramseys advice on dealing with Internet trolls and low-key racists, confessions about being a former Online hater herself, and her personal hits and misses in activist debates with everyone from bigoted Facebook friends and misguided relatives to mainstream celebrities and YouTube influencers. With sharp humor and her trademark candor, Ramsey lets listeners know we can have tough conversations that move the dialogue forward, rather than backward, if we just approach them in the right way. WE ARE NEVER MEETING IN REAL LIFE. : ESSAYS BY SAMANTHA IRBY With  We Are Never Meeting in Real Life., bitches gotta eat blogger and comedian Samantha Irby turns the serio-comic essay into an art form. Whether talking about how her difficult childhood has led to a problem in making adult budgets, explaining why she should be the new Bacheloretteâ€"shes 35-ish, but could easily pass for 60-somethingâ€"detailing a disastrous pilgrimage-slash-romantic-vacation to Nashville to scatter her estranged fathers ashes, sharing awkward sexual encounters, or dispensing advice on how to navigate friendships with former drinking buddies who are now suburban momsâ€"hang in there for the Costco lootâ€"shes as deft at poking fun at the ghosts of her past self as she is at capturing powerful emotional truths. THE LAST BLACK UNICORN BY TIFFANY HADDISH Tiffany cant avoid being funny: Its just who she is. But  The Last Black Unicorn  is so much more than a side-splittingly hilarious collection of essaysâ€"its a memoir of the struggles of one woman who came from nothing and nowhere. A woman who was able to achieve her dreams by reveling in her pain and awkwardness, showing the world who she really is, and inspiring others through the power of laughter. What humorous audiobooks by women have you enjoyed lately? Sign up for Audiobooks to receive the latest from the audiobooks world. Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox.

Monday, June 29, 2020

Essay on How Religious Young People Are

Essay on How Religious Young People Are How Religious Are Young People? In many cultures religion is considered to be a part of tradition, and as such it is seen as an integral part of social life. However, younger people are not likely to be tied to tradition, and are more prone to expose themselves to diverse cultural influences. Youth considers religion to be a practice of the elderly. This is due to the fact that people are seen to embrace religion as they age and get closer to death, thus seeking the scenario of an afterlife for comfort. Young people are introduced to religion by their parents, but many of them decide to abandon their faith later in life. Studies conducted on Protestants aged between 18 and 30 showed that seventy percent of them stopped going to church by the age of 23, despite having attended it regularly in high school (Wilson, 2009). Studies carried out on young people and their attitude towards religion help understand its place in modern society and its future. It is the young generation that is at the forefront of social and cultural change. Their engagement in religion provides information on its innovation, transformation and adaptation in relation to wider cultural and social trends, as well as the future of faith and how resilient practices and beliefs are (Wilson, 2009). Further studies conducted on people under 30 showed that both Christians and non-Christians are now more critical of Christianity, than their peers were ten years ago. The study conducted by Bama Group showed that opinion of non-Christians about adherents of this religion was also more favorable than it is now. A research conducted on senior pastors indicated that they were having difficulties in church, as Christianity was facing a lot of negativity and hostility. The common perceptions expressed by young people regarding present-day Christianity included seeing it as too involved in politics, old-fashioned, hypocritical, and judgmental. The interviewed people were not ignorant, as they had been either attending church themselves before stopping to do so, or had at least five friends who were Christians (Grossman, 2007). The contempt for faith was seen to come from a position of familiarity with it, through personal interactions and true stories from other people that provided non-Christian experiences. One of the reasons that young people specified in a survey conducted to find out why they disdain Christianity was the excessive unloving attitude and disdain that Christians showed towards lesbian and gay people. They said that church regarded homosexuality as a bigger sin than others, and failed to provide biblical teachings that would help them relate to or have friendships with such people (Robinson, 2007). Both young Christians and non-Christians are frustrated at the level by which modern Christianity has shifted from its earlier teachings. This opinion was discovered to be shared by the majority of the population, implying that the common trend whereby more people became religious as they aged would be a thing of the past as well. Christianity is the most common faith in the United States, though there is a possibility that the situation will change with more people becoming secular in a few years to come. Many high school and college students get involved in community service and volunteerism. Their participation in such activities is seen as a way to define themselves and their identity as Christians. Religion is often presented as compulsory by parents, denying young people the experience of spiritual and personal understanding, but in doing so they only provoke rebellion and make youngsters disdain religion even more (Grossman, 2007). Some young people are able to maintain their tolerance, and are, therefore, able to grow in both spirituality and religion, irrespective of their denomination. It is, however, possible that some young people are beginning to understand religion in ways that they did not before, and are, consequently, strengthening their religious beliefs and faith.