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

This weekend my friends and I watched Bohemian Rhapsody.  I couldn’t help but notice some of my friends experiencing a change in behavior, almost like the transition in mindset that many experience while meditating.  After I asked them what happened to them while watching the movie. Most asked back “You couldn’t feel it?” and I could but I was curious about what they meant by it and one compared it to going to church, without any prompting. This lead to me questioning them more of what do they feel and how it affects them. The common answer was “It just makes me feel full” or “its just that feeling no one can name.” Something that I think is a key aspect of religion is filling that want to experience the unexplainable and a part of it is using religion to give it a name. I continued to ask about what parts of the movie sparked these undefinable feelings and it broke down to either was when Freddy was going through hardship and overcoming it or when music was playing. These are two key things in story telling and favorite story types. Everyone loves a redemption arch and there has always been magical sense about music that inspires and forces us to experience a wide range of emotions. While working on my congregation visit  I made a key point about the music that was being used and many of the stories from religions follow the redemption arch or the from suffering comes greatness arch. I think the “undefinable” feeling that most people experience is just good story telling followed up by strategically timed music.

This week in class my group presented on our book written by Marion Goldman on the topic of why Women whom are successful in the work field decide to join a Cult. When discussing this book with my group after previously reading it on our own we found similarities of perspectives that were discussed in the book that were a challenge to grasp. We found this vital that those points such as explaining the composite that Goldman discusses would be necessary to emphasize. The way in which Goldman conducted her research was brilliant. She knew that in order to protect everyone in this religion names would be confidential; however, the fact that so many of the women stories were similar that she had the ability to group them together making three different main groups was highly intriguing. What made an even greater impact on the research within the composites was the quotations that she pulled from her discussions with these various women and were implemented throughout the book.

On the other hand, the group that discussed the Mega Church was a complete contrast to my groups presentation; however there is always the similarity that individuals fall in to a certain religious community to belong to something bigger than themselves. I personally find Mega Churches more comforting and I always tend to feel a sense of relief when I don’t go to a small church service. From a sociological perspective I believe its because the more people that are at the church the less pressure it is to perfect your every move. For example when I belonged to a smaller church everyone had a closer relationship and therefore all eyes were on everyone and if you made the wrong move or said the wrong thing there was an immediate shift in atmosphere where as Mega churches are the complete opposite and tend to carry a more relaxed atmosphere.

One of the groups presentations that stood out to me this week was about the book, “A Mosaic of Believers.” The group shared about the Mosaic Church and one thing that surprised me about this church was the idea of havens. They had many different groups that someone could join based on their interests which grouped them with people similar to themselves and gave them a smaller community within the large church. They had five havens which were: theological, multiethnic, artistic, innovator, and age. The havens seemed similar to small worship groups at other churches because it gave people a way to feel connected on a personal level to others. This also gave the opportunity for people to express themselves. For instance, the art haven allowed people to make films and design, while also trying to spread the church’s message. One large draw back from the church is that it mostly resonates with younger people and isolated older ones. Many people that are middle age found it hard to feel encompassed in the church. Although it is mostly millennials that can be found, many similarities can still be seen when comparing Mosaic Church to churches with an older following. Both types of churches still had smaller groups within the church that gave them a sense of place and identity within the church. Just because these groups met however did not take away the importance of everyone coming together for a large service on Sunday. Music is also very important to the places of worship and although it is expressed in different genres, it is still very evident. I think these three ideas can always be found no matter what type of church you are looking at and serve as very important ideas for any type of religion to encompass.

As this course has continued, I have found that the concept of megachurches has appeared several times, both within the Case Studies and within classroom learning. As a person who grew up in a Megachurch, I would like to ponder on the subject a bit more. My personal experience in Megachurches was fairly negative, which explains why I am no longer a part of the practice. Something that always confused me growing up in these churches was the lack of secure Articles of Faith. When asked what members of a megachurch believe in, the answers are sure to be varied. Most of these megachurches claim to be Nondenominational Christian (Evangelical), however the megachurch I grew up in was technically a part of the Southern Baptist Convention. This knowledge was known to very few and was not publicly broadcasted often, if ever. In fact, the only people privy to the information were the pastors and whoever knew/cared enough about religion to go check. However, the church’s reason for being Southern Baptist was simply because the head Pastor had grown up in that faith, not that the Church had a fundamental stance on issues that made them Southern Baptist. How can this be possible? Should not a church officially believe in whatever doctrine they claim? Whose opinion matters more in categorizing beliefs, the Church or theologians?

As someone who hopes to someday be a theologian, I am pushed to say that theologians have a larger say in Church categorizations, but something must be said on self-identification. If someone self identifies as a Wiccan, yet practices what a theologian would call Catholicism, there are some interesting discoveries to be made there. Theologians are not always right, and will never always be right. They are constantly learning and expanding their horizons everyday, just as a good scholar of any field should do.

One of the case study presentations this week in class highlighted the differences between a non believer and an active participant in religion’s daily activities and lives. While the man, an “agnostic atheist” millennial in the tech industry with several roommates lives a life without faith, a stay at home  wife and mother of a young daughter incorporates God and her religion into several aspects of her life. One of the more memorable parts of the video was when she claimed that people who are living without faith are not living life to its highest potential, as their lives do not have “as much meaning” as those who believe in a higher power connected somehow to humanity. Quite obviously, the belief that by living a life for God she was doing something meaningful, stuck with her. Another point made by her that jumped out at me was when she described briefly how her religion strengthens her in times of weakness, as heaven and unconditional love could be a comfort to those who might feel grief or distress.

This led me to considering the reasons people turn to religion, as well as the times that people do so, and it is undeniable that in times of grief or tragedy or shortly after, people do turn to their faith more often.  There are numerous reasons why someone may choose to practice a religion, especially more so after a tragic event to cope with it better, but one of the likely leading factors has to do with the situation being out of someone’s own hands and in a higher power–by placing full control of the situation into someone else’s hands, we relieve some stress. The idea that even death, a finite ending, is not the ultimate end, because you will see your beloved deceased relatives in heaven again and they are in a better and spectacular place, is a wonderful and beautiful idea no matter what your personal belief system is, even if for some non believers it is not a reality. Therefore, people do use their faith in religion to comfort themselves about the futures of their own lives as well as the future of others. My question is, what if theoretically God had no current interaction or control over humanity–for example, if Christianity drastically changed its main beliefs and suddenly,  while God did create the world and humans originally, he now has no control over current or future events, and no afterlife is certain, how many people would feel a loss of religion? If praying to God was unnecessary and pointless, there was no life after death, and no concept of “destiny,” and he was strictly the Creator of the world in the beginning and nothing more, then would people stick with their faith?

My personal guess is that many would turn to a more scientific “evolutionary” point of view of creation, and many would reject Christianity. What does this say about the influencing factors of religion and why people turn to it? Is comfort a necessary aspect of religion?

This past week in class we’ve continually been learning about our peers’ books and what they teach about congregations and religiosity throughout America and the world. I was very interested by presentation about the Ammerman book, “Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes,” and the array of ways people feel spiritual and religious in their daily lives. In class it was mentioned that Amy Moff-Hudec worked on this project, whom I work very closely with in the Community Service Learning Office on campus. I went and talked with Amy and asked about her involvement on the project and learned a lot more about her education and research projects prior to working at Redlands. She told me about her work with Ammerman as a grad student, and the different experiences she had throughout the project, driving all around Massachusetts and other parts of the United States to conduct interviews, as well as the work she did for the book she wrote on her own.

Her favorite experience she had on the Ammerman project was really beautiful to me. She interviewed a Catholic woman who had a higher socioeconomic status than other participants in the study, who lived in a beautiful apartment in a good area. When Amy entered the apartment, she met the woman, lively and beautiful and open to speaking, but was taken aback because the only furniture in the entire apartment was a a single couch in the living room and a table in the kitchen. While talking about her spirituality, this woman explained that she felt called from God to give her possessions away to the sick and needy, and that she did not eat much at all because she preferred to spend her money on giving food to the disadvantaged, even though she was wealthy enough to afford to do both. It was an especially fascinating story because the Catholic church does not mandate such extreme charity, it was part of her own personal call and relationship with God, that came from within and above her, not through any societal or religious pressures.