In this article from CNN, it talks about how President Trump will give preferential treatement to Christian Syrian refugees trying to enter the US, as opposed to Muslim refugees. While this seems absurd to the majority of Americans, Trump believes he is doing the right thing because, in his own words, “Everybody was persecuted, in all fairness — but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them.” I am curious to know if believed Muslim Syrians were the ones in more immediate danger, would he prioritize them over Christians? This controversy also goes hand in hand with Trump’s new “Travel Ban,” which many are calling a “Muslin Ban.” Trump has been accused by many around the world of being prejudice and intolerant towards other religions, and his political actions have reinforced this idea. This idea relates to our class discussion on Monday about religion as a source of cohesion and also conflict. I think in today’s political climate, religion is definitely a source of conflict, especially when our leaders are promoting fear and intolerance, rather than acceptance and peace.
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Political vs. Religious
In class last week we discussed the connection between politics and religion, and how Church and State affects American life. Recently, it has become very apparent in the US that religion heavily influences politics, with news stories about republicans defunding Planned Parenthood and conservatives walking for pro-life in the news. In the reading, Chaves talks about how Americans who are more religious tend to be more politically and religiously conservative. Their religious beliefs permeate politics and affect decisions based on their beliefs about human life, birth control, etc. Since we learned in class a few weeks ago that America is the most religious country in the Western world, it makes sense that religion affects other aspects of our lives, specifically politics. Since we are fortunate enough to have religious freedom in the US, the multiude of religious practiced by Americans today leads to a multidue of beliefs, and in turn, conflicts among religious groups/political groups. Perhaps the divide between political parties would be lessened if religion was taken out as a factor, or if everyone practiced the same religion. I wonder if religion will always affect politics, or if we will ever be able to distance ourselves from our beliefs in order to make the best decision for the majority of Americans.
Official Religion vs. Nonofficial Religion
In class last Monday we focused on what it means to be an “offical” religion vs what it means to be a “nonofficial religion.” We learned that official religions have a set time, place, doctrine, and leader whereas nonofficial religions can meet anywhere, anytime, with anyone. Growing up in a very small, Catholic community, I would have had difficulty understanding what nonofficial religion was, becase the only religion I knew was “official.” Now, as an adult at a liberal arts university, I see people practicing nonofficial religion sometimes more than official religion. In class we talked about different examples of nonofficial religious practices and we came up with many ideas. We talked about setting up mini alters, sometimes at cemetaries or a specific place where a loved one had passed away, like on the side of the road or at a tree. We talked about how the act of meditating or praying in your home (or any other location) is an example nonofficial religion, and many people do this without realizing it. During times of hardship or tragedy, many find themselves praying or meditating to find a sense of peace and comfort. Many people practice nonofficial religion without even realizing it, which I think should be included in future religious polls in the US, to accurately determine the religiosity in America.
Religion in Congress
This article form US News breaks down the 115th congress by race, gender, and religion. Although it has been said that this congress is the most diverse congress the US has ever seen in regards to race and gender, it is still over 90% Christian. After looking at other statistics in class about the most prevalent religions practiced in the US, this number is not that surprising. This article also credits PEW for its data, which is what we used when discussing the religious makeup of the US in class. Having over 90% of congress practice or believe in Christianity will most likely affect the kinds of laws that get passed, and the lack of religious diversity could within congress could potentiall cause problems of religious stereotypes and prejudice. Especially in today’s political climate, when there is a lot of fear and propoganda surrounding certain religions, it is some what unnerving knowing religious beliefs among our lawmakers are mostly Christian, and there’s a very, very small percentage of congressmen and congresswomen who are of a different faith.
Official and Nonofficial Religion
Typically, when I think of religion I think of it in the “traditional” sense, where one goes to church every week and engages in traditional aspects of worship. I think many Americans also view religion in the same way, as traditional, institutional religion seems to be the most accepted way to practice. Last week in class we watched a movie about two separate individuals, Glen and Susie, and how they incorporated religion into their lives. Both individuals engaged in the traditional aspect of religion, by attending church as their main form of worship, among other forms. Both individuals were considered to be very religious, and it makes me wonder if they didn’t attend church, and practicied “nonofficial” religion, they would still be considered religious? During the first week of class we learned about our classmates’ religious affiliations, and many described themselves as “distanced” from their parents’ religion, or not religious at all. I’d be interested to know if they described themselves as nonreligious because they simply don’t go to church, or because they don’t believe in the aspects of their respective religion. If they viewed themsleves as nonreligious simply because they don’t engage in official religious practices, I think that would be something very interesting to talk about in class. Those who don’t engage in official religious practices can still be religious, but it seems that American society today sort of stigmatized that concept and delegitimized religion that is not practiced in a traditional setting.
Morgan Freeman Explores What Unites The World’s Religions In ‘The Story Of God’
In this article from Huffington Post, the author, Antonia Blumberg, talks about a popular TV show on National Geographic, hosted by Morgan Freeman. As the most watched TV show on National Geographic, it has a large audience and is widely popular. Freeman travels around the world, meeting with people of all faiths, and tries to understand the religious concepts unique to various religions. What makes this show so successfull, however, is not because it pits two religions against eachother, or even that it discriminates against certain religions or condemns certain aspects of faith. It is so successful because it brings a multitude of different religions together, and shows the similarities instead of the differences. Each person Freeman interviews talks about how important religion is to the structure of his or her life. He explores how each religion promotes community and good deeds, and how each person feels a sense of belonging thanks to his or her respective religion.
This relates to last class’s topic of “religion as meaning and belonging” because Freeman focuses on the similarities of each person he interviews, and one thing they all have in common is a sense of belonging within their religious community. In the movie we watched last class, the two people being interviewed practiced different religions, but they both talked about the importance of religion in their life and how their religious community gives them a sense of belonging. Although religions may differ from one another, the aspect of providing a community and sense of belonging does not.
Religion and Spirituality
In class this week we talked about our own religious backgrounds and we got to learn more about our classmate’s religious upbringings. The most surprising thing I learned in class is that California is one of the most unreligious states, and based on our class’s religious affiliations, I would agree to a certain extent. A lot of our classmates come from religious upbringings, but have strayed away as they’ve gotten older. This seemed to be true for the majority of the class, but there were a few who still are actively practicing their religion. A common theme seemed to be spirituality, as many described themselves as spiritual rather than religious. This is something I’d like to learn more about, as spirituality and religion seem to be synonymous to me. I’d be interested in discussing spirituality vs. religion in the upcoming week, since it seems to be a common theme among my classmates. In chapter one of Religion the Social Context by Meredith McGuire, she talks about how religion has not diminished in society, but rather, religious institutions. This aligns with the responses from our classmates because most have distanced themselves from their religious institutions, but many are spiritual and/or practice religion on an individual level. We also talked about how many believe that it is the millennial generation that has drifted apart from religion, but based on many of our classmate’s responses, it is actually our parents’ generation that has, as many millennials have grown up in nonreligious or non-practicing households.