All posts by Chloe

Mental Health and the Islamic Faith

News Item

It is no secret that mental health issues do not discriminate. They can effect any one at anytime. What happens then, when many people of your faith believe that depression is caused by God or Allah being upset with you. It’s extremely hard to get treatment when even the therapist that is supposed to help feels the same way that everyone else does. This has been very common for people of Islamic faith to face these issues of blaming themselves for having mental health problems. According to BBC news, “This stigma does involve the idea that maybe if you need treatment, there might be something wrong with your faith identity in the first place.” Due to this stigma, people are often under referred to seek help. Even when they do seek help there is an issue in how the therapists go about trying to help. There is issue with the therapists leaving out faith when trying to help someone, when faith is a huge part of their daily lives. According to Dr Ghazala Mir, “Not only is there under-referral but the outcomes for people who do actually get referred are not as good as the general population.” This is believed to be because of the absence of faith in therapy sessions. The movement of including faith has slowly started to pick up because for many Muslim people, faith is their world and it influences every decision that they make. This story reminded me of the Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes were religion plays a role in everyday life and how other people have to respect that in order to understand where a person is coming from.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-38932954

“Always Searching, Always Seeking”

Reflection

The presentation of Passionate Journeys really changed my perspective on “cults” or new age religious movements. From mainstream media, the story of Bhagwan Rajneesh and his followers was one of “brainwashing” and poisoning of some of Organs people, but in reality that was only one women that the media focused on. The reality of the majority of the people on this commune was just about finding yourself without the limits that society has placed on people. The stories of the Rajneesh’s followers were rarely told to the public. I knew the story of the poisoning but I never knew anything about the other people on the commune. I now have a whole new understanding of what drew these women to leave their lives and their families to become a part of this movement. Their lives in the “normal” world were unsatisfying and they wanted to break away from the idea of traditional women and find themselves. The idea of “always searching, always seeking” really stuck with me because I think majority of people do spend their live searching for something larger then themselves to believe in. These women broke out of the cages that society had put them in, and then never looked back. Even after Rajneesh fled the United States, many of his followers still practiced his teaching and never really assimilated back into society completely. Rajneesh’s teaching gave them a sense of purpose that mainstream religions just couldn’t give them. The presentation gave me a new perspective on new religious movements.

Religion and Jobs

News Item

There are many reasons why a person wouldn’t get a job, but is their name part of the equation? A study done by BBC found that if you have a name like Mohamed, compared to Adam, you are three times less likely to get an interview for a job. This study was conducted by sending out two resumes with the exact same qualifications and skills to 100 different job opportunities. The only difference was the same they placed at the top; one was Adam Henton and the other was Mohamed Allam. Adam was offered 12 interviews, while Mohamed was offered four. This is a relatively small sample size but it does aline with larger academic studies that have been done.  According to research by the Research Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship at the University of Bristol “Muslim men are 76% less likely to be employed than their white Christian counterparts.”  One man Yogesh Khrishna Davé recalls when he first enter the job market and sent in his resume with his name on it, and another exact one that had the John Smith. He then states, “John Smith got the interview. I got rejected for the interview.” This shows the employment bias due to ones name. In much of our society, people have scapegoated muslims as “less then” due to the extremists in their religion. So they throw out anyone they consider to be muslim simply because of their name, making life extremely more difficult for them on an everyday basis.

Adesina, Zack, and Oana Marocico. “Is It Easier to Get a Job If You’re Adam or Mohamed?” BBC News. BBC, 06 Feb. 2017. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

American Civil Religion

Reflection

Countries and societies themselves can create a religion for its people. Civil religion is important because it shows that unity can be found amount the differentiated. According to Hammond, civil religion is “any set of beliefs and rituals, related to the past, present, and/or future of a people which are understood in some transcendental fashion.” Civil religion influences the people. Civil religion eclipses all ethnic and religious boundaries. In America, there are many civil ceremonies that mimic a religious quality such as the Fourth of July. There are also sacred places for Americans to make a “pilgrimages” to such as the Capitol building or war memorials. There are also sacred objects that many Americans “worship” such as the American flag. Many people have tried to ban burning a flag in political protest, showing that it is believed sacred because it should not be defiled. American civil religion also has its saints and myths. American saints would be Lincoln, Washington, or Theodore Roosevelt. American saints can also be anyone that society has looked up to such as Davy Crockett or MacArthur. There are stories of the American dream of land, social mobility and achievement. These stories influence people to carry themselves in a certain way and influence people to treat others in specific ways as well. American civil religion is a powerful force that drives the way people act. American civil religion is a nonofficial religion that effects the American people everyday and they may not even notice it.

Religious Leaders and the Immigration Ban

News Item

Religious leaders across all religions have condemned Trump’s immigration ban. There are few issues in which unite religious leaders, but the new executive order is one of them. Trump signed a executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries for 90 days and suspending all refugee admission for 120 days. This ban applies to seven countries; Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.  According to CNN, “Since the order was released on Friday, a growing chorus of top Christian, Muslims, Jews and leaders of other faiths have denounced it, calling it contrary to their spiritual traditions and the country’s values.”  A letter to Congress and President Trump from the Interfaith Immigration Coalition has more than 2,000 signatures, including from the heads of several Jewish organizations and Protestant denominations. These heads represent millions of Americans.  Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, a top ally of Pope Francis, expressed his distaste at the new ban, “The world is watching as we abandon our commitments to American values.” Also, nearly 18,500 people have signed a statement promoted by a coalition of evangelical groups pledging to welcome refugees and urging elected officials to assist them. The Rev. J. Herbert Nelson, the top official in the Presbyterian Church in the United states, called Trump’s order “a miscarriage of justice” and “I urge the president and his administration to reverse this very harmful decision regarding refugees.” As we learned in class, religious leaders can have a large impact on how the community handles situations. Different religions have different leaders, but majority feel that Trump’s ban does not reflect their values.

America’s Religious Involvement

Reflection

According to Chaves, American religious involvement has “softened” overall. Tracking involvement in religion is not an easy thing to do because people are not always truthful when asked if they have been to church in the past seven days. Although, when asked to do a time log, we find that less people go to church. The American Time Use Survey in 2005 reported 26% of people went to church while the General Social Survey, using the question, came out with 38%. Overall, time diaries are more accurate then direct questions. The evidence shows that attendance has not gone up. The only number that has gone up is the percent of people who never attend religious services; going from 11% in 1990 to 22% in 2008. This could point to the fact that the percentage of Americans that are not raised in a religious household has increased. If a person is not raised in a religious household, they are more likely to not be religious later in life. This shows that there will be a generational shift with our generation and involvement with churches. Another reason religious involvement could have “softened” is because the American household structure has changed. One of the most religiously involved demographic groups are a married couples with children, which is a shrinking proportion of American society. More families are considered “untraditional” now, such as single moms or couples without children. It could also be due to the bad name religious leaders have gotten in the past 10 years after the national publicity about child sexual abuse by priests. People are less likely to say their involvment with the church if they feel like majority of society is judging them due to all the bad press. Overall, church involvement has not increased over the past years.

The Role Religion Played in Trump’s Inauguration

News Item

On Friday Janunary 20th, the United States swore in a new president, and faith played a prominent role in Trump’s Inauguration. Trump’s religiously rich ceremony was notable for a president whose personal faith wasn’t a prominent part of his campaign. Church choirs sang, a half-dozen religious leaders prayed and Trump mentioned God in his inauguration speech. Trump stated, “We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God”. Two prominent religious singing groups performed on Inauguration Day; The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, accompanied by the United States Marine Band and The Washington National Cathedral Choir of Men, Boys and Girls. Trump also invited six faith leaders to take part in Friday’s swearing-in ceremony, surpassing the standard set by the last few presidents. Trump ended his oath of office with “so help me God,” joining a tradition that isn’t mentioned in the Constitution. Trump continued with, “When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice. The Bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity.” Although not part of Friday’s main ceremony, there were two religious services that were also part of inauguration weekend. This worried me deeply as in the United States we have separation of church and state. Now, it is not always enforced but to see the man who is running our country have such a religious inauguration in 2017, makes me wonder what the future of this country holds. Our country needed to continue in the direction of religious acceptance that we have been going, not fall back into the “old days” were anyone that thinks differently from you is wrong.

Spiritual but not Religious

Reflection

A small but growing group of Americans describe themselves as spiritual but not religious. This is partly due to people wanting a way to reject the super conservative right-wing  ideals that are often associated with organized religion and the stereotype that goes with it. It is a way to say that “I’m not like those people” but I still believe in a higher power. There is also a growing skepticism in America about the value of organized religion. Our society values the individual, thus making people feel that they don’t need someone else telling them how to worship their god. Religion has started to be seen as a very personal and individual thing. This trend is very pronounced among young people because they do not seem to have as much interest in organized religions. I believe that this is due to the fact that the teaching of organized religions are no longer connecting to the younger generations. In our society today, we are exposed to so many different types of religion from our own just due to immigration and inventions like the internet. People have started to feel that their religion isn’t necessarily the one true path to salvation. Religious diversity has increased in many Americans everyday lives, making it harder to claim that one religion is the “right one”. Americans now have a greater appreciation for religions other than their own, making it more acceptable to try out other religions because they are more accessible. Americans are starting to reject organized relgion and started to move towards spirituality.

Ireland consdiering banning schools from using religion in admissions

News Item

In Ireland, 90% of primary (K-8th) schools are under the control of the Catholic church and 6% are controlled by other religious groups.  This means that only 4% of schools in Ireland are not religiously affiliated. The education minister, Richard Bruton said “religious parents’ wishes to educate their children in their faith should be respected but that non-Christian parents should not be unfairly disadvantaged.”  Resources are often given to the religious schools before the non-relgious ones, effecting many children’s educations. Bruton has set out plans to tackle the religious discrimination in the Irish education system, cutting out the unfairness of a baptism requirement for school enrollment. Bruton has four different plans   to stop schools discriminating against non-religious families, but Irish secularists say that each proposal is “deeply flawed”. Three of the proposals would  continue some form of religious discrimination and only a full ban would actually make any difference within the schools. Some school officials see this as a good thing because it would make it easier to convert the atheist children if they are already within the school. They see it as a way to further their following especially with children being so impressionable. Although if the schools are forced to mix, it could create discrimination for the children who are the minority religion. In McGuire books she talks about how in a society like Ireland where majority of people around have the same beliefs, the child’s exposure to religion is informally and continuously. In Ireland, children go to school where they learn about their religion and then they go home to their families that reenforce that learning. If children get taught at school, but then hear different things at home it could cause an identity crisis for the child.

Religion and Religious Organizations

Reflection, Uncategorized

It seems that the religious organizations are losing their influence. From what everyone shared in class, people are moving away from the rigidness of organized religion and moving towards a more personalized worship. Majority of people who grew up in a religious family and moved away from the organization still consider themselves a spiritual person. Others have never been involved with organized religion but still feel that there is something bigger then themselves. However, they do not feel that they need to show their devotion by going to a church or mosque.  Religion is becoming individualized, meaning that less people are going to church and more people are finding other ways to connect to their higher being that works for them. I believe this is due to people don’t want another person telling them how they can communicate with their God. I also believe that religion has gotten a bad reputation in the past few years due to how some people use it as ammunition to push their beliefs onto others and into our government. Some people don’t want to call themselves religious because of the stereotypes that come with that so they have started to call themselves spiritual. According to McGuire, religion itself is not fading away, but the need for established religious institutions are. People are finding the community they found in the church elsewhere. People are having deep religious experiences without having to go to a church. Organized religion is losing popularity as people realize that faith is inside of themselves, not within the churches walls.