The article I read, “Trump Has me Searching for a New Religion”, written by Garrison Keillor at first seems too sarcastic to take into consideration. He despises Trump and his embarrassing behaviors, empty promises, and ideas of destruction. However, reading further into his article it became relevant to our course. He offers the idea that social change regarding religion may change drastically within the next four years because of Trumps presidency.

What caught my attention to the relevancy of this article is when Keillor stated “Too many of my fellow Christians voted for selfishness and for degradation of the beautiful world God created…. I’m looking around for other options”. I have not thought about this perspective until I came across this article. I think this article ties in with our reading for the week because with Trump wanting to have stricter immigration laws or how he imposes suspicion on Muslims, it will create a generally less diverse or culturally enriched religious belief system throughout the country. I think a lot of people have or are loosing hope which could lead to two different ideas. I think people could lose their belief in a God (this was God’s world, why would he let one man destroy it) or more people will want to believe in a God and pray that Trump will not destroy the world. Either way it will cause a social change. Many people are faced with frustration, anxiety, and uncertainty of our future; people will turn to a higher Being for hope and relief.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trump-has-me-searching-for-a-new-religion/2017/01/17/361d575e-dcf0-11e6-ad42-f3375f271c9c_story.html?utm_term=.472191ab53cf

Looking at many of the religions of the world, it is a common theme that women are often at the bottom of the totem pole, especially in religions practiced in the Middle East. In society today, it is a normal debate between religious norms and the new wave movements of feminism and within the LGBT community. Within the last few months, maybe even years, these norms have been changed, especially with the recognition of the legality in same-sex marriages. Within the last week, another landmark change was recognized across seas as feminist protests in Israel proved beneficial when, on January 12th,  the high courts agreed to allow women the right to read from the Torah and the Western Wall, stated that if there wasn’t a good enough case against women within the religious practice, they would be officially recognized, and religious bodies would be legally forced to recognize them, within religious services. Prior to this ruling, women were barred from possessing any religious materials, from a Torah to a prayer shawl, and were often searched to prevent this which across the world was seen as a discrimination against sexes in the practice of something that welcomes everyone; religion. Religious freedom and the ability of anyone to practice religion is a common issue, and the fact that the Jewish high courts didn’t ask women to defend their rights to practice freely but rather questioned the government and asked them to defend why women shouldn’t have these rights is a step in the right direction toward religious freedom, especially for the groups that have been fighting this issue for years; the Women of the Wall and the Original Women of the Wall organizations.

http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/women-win-landmark-case-prayer-western-wall

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.

The article discusses the decision of Pope Francis to give priests the permission to forgive what was once thought of as a “moral evil”. Forgiving abortion is one of several acts of forgiveness that have taken part in forgiveness year which ended in November 2016. Pope Francis is very well known for the radical changes he has made as Pope. As seen in his year of forgiveness he is more open about once taboo topics like divorce and homosexuality. Before priests were allowed to forgive woman for having abortion they were excommunicated from the church. It was only in the power of a bishop to forgive her and welcome her back in the community. In the text of McGuire, the first chapter discusses how the religious views of people are always changing through time. Pope Francis is taking a positive step in this direction as the act of forgiving abortions is allowing many women to come back to a community they may feel is important to them. The fact that he is a Pope who really wants people “to be forgiven and feel forgiven”, really shows what a drastic change. Even religions that one may not believe can change really can.

The article “Bishop ‘distressed’ by row following Qur’an reading at cathedral” by Harriet Sherwood was published by thegurdian in Jan. 15th.

As a part of efforts to build relationships between Christians and Muslims, the local Muslim student read the Qur’an in the cathedral. However, the former priest didn’t like that idea. He said that it’s important for people to learn what other people believe, and for that reason it is okay to read the Qur’an for themselves. However it is not same, and is not appropriate, to read it  in the church as public worship. The cathedral was targeted to be offensive opinions on social media.

This reminds me of what Chaves talks about in American Religion(although this news is in Scotland). People started to be able to “appreciate” other’s religion. But I feel like that doesn’t necessary mean people can accept what other’s believe. For example, in this case, Qur’an and bible has different interpretation for Jesus.  I don’t think neither religion can agree nor reach consensus about that. And not everyone can accept that difference. In this case, I think the former priest thought it is inappropriate to read Qur’an in church because it’s wrong(in Qur’an Jesus is prophet, not son of God).

It also reminds me of Gren (the second guy) in the video “Separate realities” because I feel like he thinks that believing in Jesus is only right thing.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jan/15/st-marys-cathedral-glasgow-quran-reading-david-chillingworth

The news article that intrigued me is titled, “Nebraska Targets Ban on Religious Garb Worn by Teachers.” It struck a cord with me because it is an example of religious controversy. The article talks about a 1919 law that was passed by the KKK. This law is still intact in two states, Nebraska being one of them. I found sympathy for the woman who was unable to get a job due to her religious attire, because religion is a personal experience and she should have the right as an American to express her religion as she wishes. In the book we are reading for class, “American Religion” by Mark Chaves, there is a focus in chapter two about how these days there is a greater tolerance for religious diversity and traditions. In a certain sense, I can understand the root of where this statement comes from, because we live in a world where it is embraced to form your own beliefs. To a certain extent though, human beings will always be judgmental and intolerant because its inherent to society. This article is meant to bring awareness to the fact that a law which is now an irrelevant law, needs to disappear so that religious diversity can be embraced. I enjoyed reading this article because it opened my eyes to an issue I didn’t know was at hand. I am well aware of the intolerance of people but I didn’t realize that such old and trivial laws could still be in place.

Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2017/01/17/us/ap-us-xgr-religious-garb.html?_r=0

An article in The Washington Post by Garrison Keillor explains that Donald Trump’s presidency has encouraged him to find a new religion. The author is extremely against President-Elect Donald Trump, and seems to be having trouble with his current religion (Christianity), as many of his Christian friends voted for Mr. Trump.

Although the article seems rather satirical, it raises a good point, which is something that we have been discussing in class: when things go wrong, many people turn to religion to find a way to make it better. As we saw in the film on Monday, Glenn was very adamant about spreading his religion to those who were “lost” and needed to be “saved”, and Susie was just confused about what she was supposed to do with her connection with God. Many people in society turn to religion as a way to find answers to their questions and to ease their hardships. Keillor is confused about what he needs and seems to be having an identity crisis much like Glenn and Susie had, and many Americans are probably having now as well. Keillor needs a new religion to begin to feel OK with what is about to happen to the country. Many things are uncertain for President-Elect Donald Trump’s time in office, which is unsettling, and it would make sense for citizens to turn to a higher power to give them strength and an answer to the problem. Donald Trump’s soon-to-be presidency will also cause a lot of unrest throughout the world, and it can be expected that many people turn to different ways to deal with it.

The article, Blaming Policy, Not Islam, For Belgium’s Radicalized Youth by Steven Erlanger was  published by the New York Times in April of 2016. Much of news today consists of blaming “radicalized Islam” for the terrorist attacks around the world. However, this article gives a refreshing view, stating that it is the social and urban policies that are affecting a radicalized population of youth, and not Islam. Erlanger attributes the “radicalization” to  lack of diversity in the ghettos where immigrant populations are resettled in, in Belgium. The immigrant Muslim population has replaced the Jewish population in these ghettos, and it is effecting the diversity, education, and exposure to different cultures that Muslim immigrant youth need in order to thrive. Mr. Goldstein, the chief of staff for the minister-president of the Brussels Capital Region ends the article with the quote, “our society gives these youth a bad idea of who and what they are”. Instead of blaming Islamic ideology for “radicalized youth”, poor urban structures and planning need to be changed to create an equal opportunity to the Islamic youth of Belgium.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/08/world/europe/belgium-brussels-islam-radicalization.html?smprod=nytcore-ipad&smid=nytcore-ipad-share&_r=0

In an article posted by Corey Barnett on the website World Religion News, the inspiring actions of a young Iraqi Muslim man are highlighted. While visiting one of the Christian churches in Mosul that was destroyed by ISIS, Marwan was struck by the horrific site left behind by the terrorists. To show solidarity and support of persecuted Christians in Iraq–among other places–Marwan built a makeshift cross out of metal scraps that remained among the debris of the destroyed church. Marwan wanted to be sure to spread his support and the message that ISIS does not represent Islam at all, and their actions are un-Islamic. With so much fear and violence rampant in the world, Marwan wanted to be sure that his love and support of people of all religiosities was spread; he denounced the violence of ISIS and their destruction of “the signs and the icons of his Christian friends, his Christian compatriots, his Christian neighbors.” by displaying the cross he made with the reclaimed debris. To spread this message even further, a video depicting Marwan’s act of solidarity was posted to Instagram by the Preemptive Love Coalition, a charity organization based in Iraq (Barnett, World Religion News, 1/17/17). In times of violence and unrest, acts of solidarity and compassion such as Marwan’s are ways to fight against terrorism perpetuated by ISIS whose actions do not portray true Islamic beliefs.