As one of this weeks presenters it was interesting to see the drastic change from such a strict and traditional religion (Tradition in a Rootless World) to one that was so laid back and contemporary (Reinventing American Protestantism). Although there was such a difference in their view on what traditions are significant to them, they still had similarities that are important to note. The main theme that is important to look at from a sociologists’ viewpoint is what brings people together. These two groups as well as the previous groups all wanted a sense of community and belonging. I know professor Spickard mentioned how finding a group of people your age that have the same interests as you can be difficult to find outside of a close knit campus like Redlands. Although everyone had a slightly different story as to why they joined a certain congregation, they all seemed to be searching for something more. They either were searching for themselves, a partner, or a new socially intellectual setting.

I thought the Riverside Sandals Church was mind blowing. I did not know a church like that existed and as a younger generation I found it really attractive. I think many of us think church is boring and almost feels like its a duty to attend. However, when I saw parts of their sermon and how they express their love for God I don’t think I could get bored even if I wanted to. The amount of people that attend was also astonishing. Sometimes it’s very intimidating to attend a smaller church with a friend or two because you know you’ll get bombarded with questions about your life and sometimes you feel judged. But at this church you can meet people if you want to, like joining smaller church circles or just say hi and bye to the people around you. You control how much you invest yourself in the church and you have fun while preaching your love to God.

This week we saw many interesting case studies, learning about such diverse topics as women in Orthodox Jewish congregations, protestantism in the new millennium, and the fascinating conundrum of a parish shared by two different groups of Catholic worshippers. As we move into the next week and look at the many denominational congregations right here in Redlands, I look forward to seeing if any of the themes and core concepts brought up in this presentations will apply. So much was discussed in these case studies that I am sure real-world application is inevitable, even if the particular circumstances and environments discussed in the studies is not replicated. Even if no real connections to the case studies can be made it will of course be fascinating nonetheless to see how diverse the worship services throughout our city are. I know I for one am looking forward to visiting a congregation tomorrow, as it will be the very first time I’ve attended a regular religious service somewhere other than the RUCC, the church of my childhood, and indeed the very first time I’ll have attended a church service since the last the time I was there roughly ten years ago. All in all this exposure to a new cultural viewpoint and a new view on spirituality and religiosity is going to be a stupendous learning experience, cutting to the core of what interested me in this class in the first place.

This week, we learned about everyday religion among upper-class individuals, ethnically diverse Catholic parishes, and Orthodox Jewish women. The first presentation discussed religious expression in everyday life, at home and work, in public life, and in the physical body. The survey sample made distinctions between conservative white Protestants, black Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and “others,” including New Age religionists. It found that religious expression is by no means monolithic and that respondents’ varying levels of spirituality determine their level of religious expression.
The second presentation discussed the new concept of the Catholic “shared parish,” which hosts both a white and Latino congregation. Each ethnic group, while not openly hostile to sharing a parish, experiences difficulties with the other congregation. Part of these differences lie in linguistic and cultural disparities, while others lie in deeper misunderstandings of the ethnic group as a whole. As a result, these groups largely self-segregate, incorporating their own practices and languages into separate Masses. The cultural encapsulation can be helpful for immigrants who need a safe space within their community, but it also prevents greater mixing and understanding between the two groups.
Finally, the presentation on Orthodox Jewish women discussed two kinds of communities: a sectarian Lubavitch group with its own text and practices and a modern Orthodox synagogue in New York City. Both organizations provide women with an opportunity for matchmaking and a strong Jewish community. However, the Lubavitch group creates a sectarian experience completely walled off from the outer world, while the Lincoln Square synagogue accepts modern society and allows its members to have regular jobs. These three presentations allowed us to glimpse into modern religious expression in several disparate forms.

After listening to the Reinventing American Protestantism presentation, I began thinking about what people really look for within religion. People turn to religion for many reasons. Religions of all kinds provide a sense of structure, community, and security. Growing up in a Catholic church, I always understood that I was to remain quiet and attentive while the Father gave his sermon. I learned from the presentation that some Protestant churches are reforming the way they worship into something that is more energizing and interactive. In these new churches, such as my best friend’s church, Sandals, in Riverside, CA, church services are said to resemble concerts with intricate stage set ups and loud live music. The pastors of the church consider themselves equal rather than higher than the church goers they are preaching to. Because these churches have only recently been appearing, it makes me wonder whether new generations are finding it harder to sit through traditional, less interactive services. With the rise of technology and media, our society is being groomed to need constant stimulation from the world around us. These new churches are doing just that. Instead of listening to an individual speak in a white-walled chapel with  fifty people from around town, church attendees can enter a massive warehouse, surrounded by hundreds, dancing and singing to God as colorful lights flash, and massive screens project a concert. By keeping services casual and interactive, it is harder to lose focus or interest in what is being taught because of everything that is happening around them. While some may need the structure of a traditional church sermon, I think it is interesting to see churches develop to fit new needs of society.

“Organizers in cities across the U.S. are telling immigrants to miss class, miss work and not patronize businesses Thursday”. This protest is supposed to show how crucial immigrant workers are to the American Economy and what it would be like if massive immigration raids are swept through cities.

Although this protest is a comment towards Trump’s administration it gives a good example of the exclusiveness of immigrants. This may also affect religion as a whole in these states. Because immigrants from Mexico are usually Roman Catholic I think shared parishes and Spanish speaking churches will decrease tremendously. The idea that Trump is expressing ties in with American civil religion and believes that living in America is a privilege and is taking action.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/02/15/immigrant-workers-families-to-protest-by-staying-home.html

President Trump has arisen numerous concerns among the people of America, especially those who are immigrants. Reading Brett Hoover’s book “Shared Parish: Latinos, Anglos and the Future of US Catholicism” really displayed how both the Immigrants coming to this country and the Euro American already present in the Catholic Church struggled to share a place of worship that was an important part of their spiritual and mental well being. Looking at the article “Catholic Bishops Challenge Donald Trump on Immigration” it is clear that the Catholic Church is taking a stand in order to help those that are being alienated by the Trump Administration. According to the article the Catholic Church agrees with Trump on Abortion, same sex marriage and some affordable care act policies. However, they are also in great defense of Hispanic members as “Latinos represent the future of the church: Sixty percent of Catholics in the United States younger than 18 are Latino, and 90 percent of them were born here”. I find it heart warming that the Catholic Church wants to help its Hispanic population, but on the other hand shouldn’t it be the Christian thing to do to help all those that are being discriminated upon like Muslims not just the Hispanic Catholics?

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/16/us/catholic-bishops-trump-immigration-hispanics.html?_r=0

On the first Friday following the deadly attack at the Islamic Center in Quebec, hundreds of demonstrators from many faiths formed a “human shield” around a mosque in Toronto. Jews, Christians, and people of no faith gathered to show their solidarity with the Muslims inside, who, in spite of the recent killings, had gathered for prayer nonetheless. Organized by Jewish rabbi, the event first consisted only of congregants from the local synagogue, but as others in Toronto heard and saw the demonstrations, many more joined in.
While many people in the United States are aware of the rise in Islamophobia since 9/11, few know that the same sentiments exist in Canada. Alexandre Bissonnette, a young French-Canadian, became the most violent of the anti-Islamic dissenters when he killed six people and badly injured five more two weeks ago. However, the response of politicians and ordinary citizens with demonstrations such as these have turned the tragedy into an opportunity to speak out against hatred. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Syed Pirzada, the imam of the mosque where the attacks occurred, said that Canada’s response to Bissonnette’s killings showed the country’s overall inclusivity and intolerance of hatred.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rings-of-peace-canada-mosques_us_5894f9d1e4b040613137020f?section=us_religion

While looking at my Facebook newsfeed last Wednesday, I stumbled across something that caught my eye in the ‘trending’ column. I believe it said something along the lines of “12^th Dead Sea Scrolls cave found”. Quite interested in this area of subject, I clicked the link and it took me to this webpage: http://new.huji.ac.il/en/article/33424 where the homepage was titled “The Hebrew University of Jerusalem”. I started to read the article which proceeded to say that a 12^th Dead Sea Scroll cave had been found by Dr. Oren Gutfeld and Ahiad Ovadia from the Hebrew University. Similar to the 8^th Dead Sea Scroll cave, no actual scrolls were found within, instead, there were storage jars and lids dating to the Second Temple period, alluding to the fact that at one point, there were Dead Sea Scrolls within. The article continued to inform us that scholars believed the scrolls had been looted in the century prior and thus weren’t present in the cave.

Finding this discovery quite fascinating, I went to google and typed in “12^th Dead Sea Scroll cave” to see what else was out there. Websites I weren’t familiar with (besides AOL) popped up and I tried avoiding them, not knowing if they’d be credible sources. Eventually, I stopped my 15-minute search and decided to call it quits, not being able to find a known reputable news source. This moment in time had me thinking a lot about all the fake news that’s constantly being spouted through media and more. It’s hard for most people, especially the uneducated and the youth, to be able to weed out what they should and should not trust. There’s also a whole other aspect to this problem, and it’s that everyone is going to have their own opinion on what ‘reliable’ news is. Conservatives could believe everything that comes out of Fox News while liberals do the same with NPR and the New York Times. This is a problem that I have no answer to, though I wish I did.