The group who presented Ammerman’s Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes handed out a few of Ammerman’s survey questions. We had briefly discussed after their presentation that these questions were quite suggestive in the way that they assume that the person answering is religious. I definitely feel that way when reading these questions; that they are specifically written for individuals who identify with a religion. I also feel like these questions follow the stereotype that people turn to religion in times of trouble, tragedy, and great change. It seems to be universally understood that individuals are either raised in a religion or they turn to religion in times of crisis. You do not often hear from groups of people who are religious simply because they felt some sort of connection or believed in a higher power because they “just do” or that is what makes sense to them. There are always these intricate and emotional conversion stories which give Nicholas Sparks a run for his money. On the other hand there are people who have stories of going to church with grandma and grandpa and all of their cousins and it is a huge tradition. Religion is part of what makes them a family. Personally, I do not have either of these stories. I go to a baptist church in which conversion stories are spoken of and celebrated often. Sometimes I wonder if I do not have some huge saving grace story or epiphany that perhaps I have not truly found God or connected with my religion. However, I remind myself that one does not necessarily have to have a tragic backstory in order to identify with a religion or subscribe to a certain belief. If it helps me to make sense of my life then that is enough.

I was very interested to hear about the various roles of women in the case studies that were presented this week. It amazed me how different religious experiences can be for women. There was a wide range of experiences, some women had complete freedom while others were completely confined. The women who converted to Orthodox Judaism were under very strict regulations. They were told to repress their sexual urges and were encouraged to have domestic life be their sole purpose. In addition, they were almost completely controlled by patriarchal influences. In contrast, women who joined the cult  were escaping domestic life to find a greater purpose. They were told to experiment sexually and were given full freedom to express themselves. They were still under the influence of a patriarchal figure, however, he urged them to live life under their own conditions. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the Church I studied (Mosaic Church) is also making efforts to include women. They are currently making a special retreat just for girls. It is refreshing to see a Christian church making an effort to overcome traditional gender roles. As a feminist, it is important to me that women get to choose their religious paths. Even though the Jewish women’s experiences were disturbing to me, I had to remind myself that they made a conscious choice to live that way. I think that there are still many boundaries for women to cross in the religious realm. Women need to be free from coercion and abuse, and it would be empowering if they could have more leadership roles. These case studies proved to me that there is social progress being made because women are starting to have more power to choose their religious lifestyles.

The presentation on the Lincoln square synagogue and the bais chana was interesting to learn about because of the perception of this religion seen as a cult by nonmembers. The bais chana consisted of young woman and teens who needed to fin their true identity. The fact that women who start attending the Bais Chana religion encourage Jewish women to continue their education. From the description given in the presentation it gave the sense that this synagogue was more strict on their women due to the fact that they were sent to institutions and are removed from society. The organization of this institution does imply their ideals rapidly but does provide the needs of their members. Since these women were removed from society it is difficult for them to date someone out of their religion unless they are of the same religious belief.

This “cult” ideal religion does have the similarity of only having people of the same religion to date or even marry like in Christianity and Catholics when a couple wants to get married by church.

While the Lincoln square synagogue shared more of a modern value when contact with secular society. Thus being the complete opposite from the Bais Chana. It is not a religion where conversion is rapid and strict but rather consists of a limited commitment from their members. This religion does have less social pressure but more resistance for gradual conversion.

In conclusion this presentation was interesting to learn about more of the brighter internal view of the religion from the members perspective instead of the cult view of that outsiders describe the religion as.

This weekend I attended my normal church service with my parents at Calvary Chapel Pomona Valley yesterday, while normally when I am at school I go to Citizens Church at the in the campus chapel. It was interesting to go from one different church to another within a time span of two weeks. Going back to back like that really had me comparing the church I go to in Redlands and the church I belong to. It’s so interesting to see how even though my home church is Evangelical Christian and Citizens is also Evangelical, how different they are. my home church is very small and probably has about 300 people in attendance maximum. Citizens Church, now that I have been in this class and compared similarities, is definitely a Mega Church. For me, the message that is being told is one of the most important parts of a church, and even seeing the differences in the way scripture is being told is just super odd. At my home church, we go through a chapter at a time in chronological order, and go through scripture by scripture, as we compare the scripture to the message. Meanwhile, at Citizens, the pastor has a message for the congregation and then takes different verses from the scripture and uses that as evidence of what he is preaching. Overall, I think that they are both very similar in the main messages they are trying to give out, yet there is so much different about the style and size of each church.

In the early 2000s, Erwin McManus authored several bestselling books, saturated the Christian conference speaking circuit, and grew a distinct church in Los Angeles, CA called Mosaic. He became known as a leading voice among Christian creatives and religious innovators during that time. In 2008, at the height of his popularity, Erwin McManus retrieved back into the shadows and stopped writing books, attended fewer speaking engagements, and held far less public interaction. Six years later, McManus decided to reemerge with the release of a new book, “The Artisan Soul: Crafting Your Life into a Work of Art.” In this book, his message is simple: people were created to be creative. This became a controversial idea in the church, since those who were not conventionally creative felt like they were “just there,”. Therefore, it is important to recognize how this idea applies to those who aren’t naturally artistic, and why McManus retreated from public life to begin with. In an interview, McManus explained that his brief period of absence from the Xian scene was due to many variables and factors. One of these was that he wanted to affect the world outside of the church and be a voice to an unbelieving world. McManus describe, “we so often focus on Sunday and hope we are changing the world. I felt compelled to tell great art and tell great stories and allow beauty to point to truth,” (2014).

This week I visited the First Missionary Baptist Church for my first congregation visit. This was a really interesting visit for me in comparison to my own Catholic upbringing. My experiences with Christian Mass up until this point were, as a result, largely in a Catholic context. When I was growing up going to Mass consisted on being silent while the pastor spoke. Because of that, I was immediately surprised when many parishioners would speak out in agreement during the service. Furthermore, I was surprised by the familiarity between parishioners and the pastor. Many times the pastor referenced specific members of the church, usually in small jokes or in examples. This was really indicative of the small community present in First Missionary, which was sometime I was unable to experience in my history with larger Catholic parishes.

In this sense, it was difficult for me to get comfortable in the parish at first. Many people introduced themselves to me and it was encouraged to speak out your opinions during the sermon. At the end of the service, different congregation members chose to speak of their own familial struggles so that other members of the congregation would pray for them. Furthermore, I was interested to see that the sermon delivered by the pastor had relatively little use of Biblical texts, rather, the Pastor utilized personal anecdotes to lead the congregation into his point. In addition, the sermon itself was based largely on the concept of correct action and intention, rather than a focus on religious texts. Overall, I was really impressed by the intimacy between the parishioners and the pastor. This congregation demonstrated a strong sense of community that I had not experienced myself in my own religious background.

Last night my roommates’ parents took us out to dinner and the conversation of megachurches came up. Mentioning my congregational visit really sparked the conversation and brought them to tell me about how they visited someone else’s church yesterday in La Verne. They said there was a couple thousand people there, so I considered it to be a megachurch. I brought up how the people go to church because of the figure head that is leading the church rather than the belief of the religion or they are still astray at why they are there. This lead my friends and roommates’ parents to talk about our religious backgrounds and how they are so different. Being from a private Christian school going to the site visit of an evangelical protestant church was very close to home for me. Talking about the book of Romans and how Paul gave his life to devote others to worship God through his word. The pastor talked about how any exposure to the Gospel is exposure to God. Listening to one verse is an encounter with God and can change your life forever.

The church was a very formal place with an informal vibe to it. The people around didn’t dress too nice with some being in khaki shorts while others were in jeans and a sweater. The pastor was in a suit and that really made him stand out as an important figure. It was a good experience and next congregational visit im going to branch out and go to a Mormon church to see how it is.

This Sunday I visited the Center for Spiritual Living. I was very nervous about attending, as I had never been to a religious service before. It was a small gathering but immediately I felt very welcomed. Previous to the main service there had been a meditation group and when I entered people were in the back talking and drinking coffee and tea. For seating, there was an option to sit at one of the several tables or in the pews that were on either side of the room. I decided to sit in one of the pews. Many songs were sung, some the whole congregation sang together and instruments were distributed. The service felt very joyous, there was a lot of dancing and laughter. There were about 20-25 people in attendance. Most were 60+ and there were two little kids. Overall, this was a very different experience for me and I was glad to have visited a religious service. It was also interesting to consider the questions provided on the observation guide while in attendance. The whole time I was there I was concerned about finding answers to these questions in addition to doing my best to be respectful as a visitor. I was definitely taken out of my comfort zone which added another challenge to this assignment.

This week my group and I conducted our presentation over our book, “Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes”. I enjoyed the questions we were asked and the comments that were made as they helped to clear things up in my own mind. I think the main point Ammerman may have been attempting to make is that even though people may be practicing in different ways, and not as many people are worshiping within the four walls of a congregation anymore, religion is still very much alive in the culture we live in today. She found that not many of her participants seemed to actually be “spiritual but not religious”. Although many people made that distinction, there is commonly a connection between spirituality and religion. That is, most people who claim to be “spiritual but not religious” may in fact be both; these phenomena are often interconnected, spirituality stemming from religion. Ammerman’s goal for her research was to figure out the reasoning behind why people are denouncing religion and distinguishing themselves from it. She found that some people mistrust the institutions in which religion is associated- that is, they do not agree with all of the teachings of the church. Some may be afraid to associate with religion because the changes in society are sometimes at odds with the traditional teachings of the church. I’m sure some people are afraid of being considered intolerant or bigoted.

I personally feel that this is very likely a reason behind why I have considered myself to be “spiritual but not religious”. I think this class is making me realize that I am one of many of us who may actually be both. While I don’t agree with everything I was taught at church, I still find religion to be important in my life. This world is not black and white, and we have to make sense of it the best we can. I think religion has acted as a way for us to conceptualize what is right and what is wrong- our “moral compass” if you will. As these ideas of right versus wrong change, should religious institutions also change?

In a U.S. News report, titled “Southern Baptist Churches Hired Accused Ministers,” it was recorded that more than two dozen Southern Baptist church leaders had faced sexual misconduct charges, but churches employed them anyway. The article goes on to explain how the largest coalition of Baptist churches in the U.S. has refused proposed reforms and hired at least 35 Southern Baptist pastors, youth ministers, and volunteers despite their being convicted of sex crimes or accused of sexual misconduct.

Looking at this news through a sociological lense, it is interesting to note how a certain religion has differentiating set of values and beliefs than what many of the rest of society do. To explain, institutes would not accept people with history of convictions for sex crimes or sexual misconduct due to the morality and possible danger they could be putting other people in,  yet a church has decided to ignore the past convicted crimes of certain people and accept them into their church. What does this action show to the rest of society? Are the people of Souther Baptist church simply accepting and forgiving to those who have done what most would call wrong? Or do these people not care about people’s wrongdoings and they don’t necessarily matter in their religion? There are many ways to evaluate and interpret this news and its effects on society.

More questions that I would be interested in knowing are how do the people associated with the religion support their decisions they have made and what is to be said about what their beliefs are as a religion? What subcultures and underlying themes are there associated with this church?

Here is the link to the article to read more.

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2019-02-12/southern-baptist-churches-hired-ministers-accused-of-sex-offenses-report