This last week we discussed the difference between an official religion and unofficial religions and thought about my past with religion. All my life I’ve been a Christian and have been told that my religion is what will get me into Heaven as long as I followed the rules. I’m pretty sure I am apart of an official religion, because we have a specific place to praise, worship, and practice and have an official book to get our scriptures from. I have friends that say they practice religion, but do not go to church. They believe in the religion, but they do not really participate in it. Does that mean that they are apart of an official or unofficial religion if they practice on their own terms? People also have the option to view church from home from the television or on the radio. I for one, have listened to church on the radio and have watched it on television. I didn’t feel as much of a connection when I did this instead going to church, because I was able to go on my cellular device and was able to walk away from it at any time. I think this new generation isn’t as connected to religion as they are able to be, because they have alternate ways to go to/view church. I think this makes it easier for people to be apart of an unofficial religion.
Category Archives: Religion and …
Religion Changing Communities
Reading this article, “How Islam Took Root in One of South America’s Most Violent Cities”, reminded me of all the ways in which religion can bring people together and also empower them in some ways. The people of Buenaventura, Columbia live in a city in which there is much violence, crime, and poverty. In the 1960s Islam was first brought to this community by Esteban Mustafa Melendez, and African-American sailor who taught about the Nation of Islam. To the people of this city, “The Nation of Islam offered an alternative identity and it was a way to fight back against the situation of structural racial discrimination in the port.” 90 percent of the population was Afro-Columbian and to them the message of black power and self-esteem united them in a time that was fraught with racism and violence.
The people who joined the small Muslim community learned to read Arabic, read the Qu’ran, and looked to Saudi Arabia for guidance on Sunni and Shia interpretations. The community that started off small quickly took off in the 1979 following the Islamic Revolution. A community center that doubled as a mosque was built as well as a school that integrates Spanish and Arabic songs praising Allah. portraits of Malcolm X and the Ayatollah Khamenei are hung on the walls and the people greet each other with ““Salaam alekum” and then switching back to Spanish.
This is an amazing example to me of how religion can take root in a community and bring people together as well as provide a means for self-empowerment and a haven from the violence that surrounds their daily lives. This community is also an example of how religious organizations can interact with their social environments and embed itself into the culture of a people. In McGuire Chapter 6, she talks about social cohesion in society and how religion is the expression of social forces and social ideals. The people in this community wanted to change the rhetoric of how they view themselves and strove towards ideals that were accomplished partially through the adoption of Islam.
Trump orders construction of border wall
The religious landscape of the United States has been forever determined by immigration and migration. Among Native Americans sharing and shaping the earliest of belief systems and in more recent history travelers coming through Ellis Island and across other boarder points have all contributed to the religious landscape we know today. Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump though may interfere with the natural development of this religious landscape. Recently, Trump has released order that are foreshadowing the construction of a physical wall along the U.S – Mexico border. These orders included beefing up immigration patrols along the long standing fence in place today, revoking government grant money from cities serving as “sanctuary cities”, and the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. President Trump claims he is targeting undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes while in the United States, but fails to detail a plan that doesn’t clearly target the masses regardless of a criminal history. Trump has also added that undocumented immigrants who have not accumulated a criminal history, after being deport, could potentially return to the United States after an “expedited process”. The entire idea behind Trumps recent executive order is to strengthen boarder security.
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.
Muslim Activist Accused of Terrorism
This past weekend, millions of people marched to protest for women and their right in this country. There were many speakers that were present and gave speeches in hopes to inspire more women and people. One woman in particular, Linda Sarsour, a Muslim woman, gave a speech in Washington D. C. She spoke elegantly and powerfully and although everything went well, she received a lot of backlash for wearing her Hijab and got accused of being related to terrorism. There were many speculations she was connected to Isis and her role in the march was a way in for them. This thought and accusation is exactly what the march was trying to stop and wants for the country to stop doing. The country is sensitive still to Muslim culture, because of the 9/11 incidents. Because of this traumatic event, people still have a hostile and racist mindset of Muslim culture. It is unfair for a woman to speak in front of thousands of people for a great cause and then afterwards be accused of terrorism just because she was raised in a certain religion. Our country is primarily Christian/Catholic based and believes that God is the one and only ultimate power. I think we feel intimidated and afraid when others have a different religion than us, which is okay, but when people use their fear to take action when it isn’t necessary it creates a large problem. I think the United States is having a problem with this now.
https://www.aol.com/article/news/2017/01/24/womens-march-organizer-linda-sarsour-accused-of-terrorist-ties/21661978/
At the women’s march, the religious left resists Trump
This past Saturday the Women’s March took place in DC, as well as the rest of the 50 states, and several other countries. Not only was it a march for women’s rights, but signs depicted other current issues such as abortion rights, immigrants, native american rights, Black Lives Matter, climate change, and of course in protest of the newly inaugurated President Donald Trump. All these issues drew thousands of people to march, but many also felt compelled to participate because of their faith.
Many religious groups felt frustrated that the only political voices for their faiths have been conservative groups courted by Trump. But most of those who study religion say more left-leaning people of faith, who now have a clear foe in the White House, may be motivated to better organize and become leaders for social change.
It’s important to realize the significance of this march in our modern time. We’ve learned in McGuire’s Official and Nonofficial Religion chapter, that historically, religion has been one of the most significant sources of cultural definitions of gender roles. Thus, official religious institutions have historically reinforced the structural and ideological suppression of women. Additionally, religion has generally excluded the poor, various minorities, indigenous peoples in colonized lands, and other powerless groups. Many of these issues that are being brought up stemmed from religious constructs and are now being resisted by a large number of people, including people of faith. If we continue to organize together, people with religious affiliation and non religious people, we can bring about real change in an era where all hope feels lost.
Struggle in Trusting Religion
In watching the movie we watched in class, I realized that religion is something that overcomes many people at all ages. To me, I think it’s a common misconception that people in their teen years or twentys that are usually the ones who struggle with religion and how they practice it. The film opened up my eyes that even adults, older in age, are still confused in their religion and still second guess it. Both sides of my family have always been so sure about God’s words, have never doubted him, and have never questioned why certain things happened. I thought that most adults thought this way as well, since that is what I’ve only known.
Something I thought was interesting in Chapter four of “Religion: The Social Context”, was how gender roles come into play with religion. He speaks how religions make it seem like men and women are supposed to have certain roles and carry out certain jobs or tasks. I think this gives people the wrong idea of how to live their life and that might be a reason why people turn away from their religion. Especially in this generation, when they are so many types of people that want to make their own decisions and live the way they want to. These ideas clash with their religion and make it difficult for them. I think Susie, from the movie, struggled with what was “expected” from her and began to feel overwhelmed with her religion.
Increase of “Nones” Due to Politics
In Chapter 2 of Chaves’ book, “American Religion”, he discusses reasons for the accelerating number of people who would reply “none” when asked the question, “what is your religion?”. I found an article from NPR talking about the prayer leaders that Donald Trump has chosen to pray at his inauguration.
Among them, “an African-American megachurch leader from Detroit, a Florida woman known for her lavish lifestyle and preaching on “abundancy,” a rabbi from Los Angeles, and a Hispanic evangelical — as well as Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham) and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.” This article got me thinking about how one of the reasons stated for the increase of “nones” is how people in the U.S. have seen the rise in political stands that their religion has taken and associated being part of that faith with those political views. They start to think that they don’t want to be like “them” (Gjelten, 2017). They don’t agree with those views and so more and more people decline to identify themselves with that certain religion.
I can understand this way of thinking as it is also one of the reasons for why I have distanced myself from the Catholic church and hesitate to call myself a Catholic. Religion and politics are becoming increasingly intertwined to the point that being part of a certain religion would mean people will stereotype you or have prejudice against you. Prejudice against Muslims, for example, and the attributions the media give to people who follow Islam. Religion is being used as a form of manipulation and political tool and can make people wary to align themselves with their faith.
Religions Unacceptable in Other Countries
Terrorism has slowly become a huge danger and fear that has spread across our world. Countries are beginning to not trust each other and begin to think that when another person is affiliated with another religion, they could possibly be in danger. In early December 2016, Slovakia passed a law that will effectively ban Islam from becoming a religion that people can practice in that country. By banning the Islamic religion, Slovakia hopes to get rid of any Muslims that are currently living in Europe and could potentially become a threat. The Parliament in Slovakia adopted a bill which needs a religion to have at least 50,000 members to qualify for the religion to be noticed and be able to have its own legislature. When the bill was passed there was only 2,000 supporters in Slovakia according to the last census and hardly any mosques. It is a little disrespectful to stereotype people and their actions based off of their religion and what they believe in. But if a religion does believe in things that could possibly be harmful to others, I understand why a country like Slovakia would take these actions.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/738462/Slovakia-law-Islam-ban-registered-religion-Eu-migrant-quota-Muslim-sentiment
Religion and How We’ve Changed
While observing and listening to everyone’s religious lives and how they grew up this past week, I realized that we all had something in common. We all were raised to believe in some sort of religion or no religion and are now beginning to question in what we do or don’t believe in. We all have questions that are sort of unanswered, because religions are not able to give detailed answers or give certain exceptions to people who are in very specific situations. Believing in something that is much bigger than our understanding is hard for a lot of people and that is why people I think struggle with it. In today’s generation, there are a lot of things and ideas that certain religions, like Christianity and Catholicism, do not agree with. Having such strong opinions on whether things are morally correct or not can make people uncomfortable or make them rethink if that religion’s opinion is even correct. But for others, religion gives people more of a purpose to live and a template in the way that they should live and behave. In chapter 2 of the book, it explains that a person’s meaning system is learned from socialization. It states that religion serves as an important form of legitimation, or justification, for both the individual and their social order, which gives themselves understanding of one’s self. It is something that people cling to, because it helps them understand life just a little bit more.