Reflection About Religion

The first thing that one’s eyes lay on is the amazing trade mark of marble stone from the architect Rafael Guastavino. The façade out of this building shows Spanish Renaissance architecture at its very best. The brick work could not be copied and is no longer done in this day and age. This herringbone pattern is also the trademark that Guastavino uses in all the buildings that he created (Carrasco, Mercè Piqueras). On the top of the church stands the churches Saint; Saint Lawrence. He holds a gridiron; which is the method by which he was martyred (saintlawrencebasilica.org). Saint Lawrence is flanked by Saint Steven, the very first martyr, who holds a stone; which was the method of his martyrdom. On the opposite side, Guastavino’s favorite saint, stands Aloysius Gonzaga. He was a young seminarian at the time of the plague that died assisting other people (Swain, Elisabeth). The inside of this building contains no structure, but yet in the last one hundred years there was never one tile that was lost. Inside the church one can’t help but notice the many banners hanging around the perimeter. The banners on the eastside of the building are the coated coats of arms of all the popes who have reined since

As a child, I remember always saying I want to live in a large house with all my close relatives. In retrospect, that was my greatest but far fetched fantasy, since I did not realize then how divided and chaotic my life truly was. I still don’t, since they say I pushed down all my unpleasant memories, and when I’m ready they’ll come out. I often regain glimpses of the past that hurt me deeply, so I wonder do I genuinely want to remember everything? Let’s rewind. A nickname for the South is the Bible Belt. Church is a part of everyone’s life, no matter what the social class. You pray for every meal, and every day and night you pray. I didn’t pray. There are so many different words that describe beautiful ways to worship, but I can think of none. I memorize the words I hear every day, like the Lord’s prayer, I repeat them, but no belief is held behind the words. I stare at the worshippers with their eyes closed and wonder how the same words have so much meaning for them. As I go home to my mother, her boyfriend and my step sister, I find the reason why I can’t pray. No matter how hard I deny it, they’re still the reason why.

1) There are three different perspectives of understanding the religion that is listed in the text, one of them being materialist perspective. Materialist perspective says that humans invented religion, scientific materialism is a theory that says/explains that religion can be found in many different forms throughout cultures. Although in the nineteenth-century Ludwig Feuerbach reasoned that deities were objects of human qualities - power, wisdom, and love. He stated that we don't realize that theses qualities are within each other, we see ourselves as weak and sinful. There are other scientific materialists who believe religions were created to manipulate people. Another perspective is functional which states that religion is useful. In

Being raised in the church has given me the ability to see religion in a different way. The one thing that I respect the most about religion it is the backbone of what holds people together in the tough times. It has the ability to give hope when someone sees no hope or any way out of a difficult situation. Having a complicated relationship with religion has allowed me to see and view it in a different aspect. Growing up most of us are taught that our religion is the only one true religion. This belief is popular among almost all major religions. Fraser writes “Is there one true faith? If not, then based on the

It was not until my freshmen world geography class where I learned about the variety of religions, that I began to question what I truly believe in and what was the right religion for me. My parents being catholic passed on their religious beliefs and actions naturally to me. I grew up with the same catholic stories and traditions for ages and I never really understood it as a child, therefore I never really believed in them. For the majority of my life I heard these stories, beliefs, and practices but never dedicated myself to them because I had inhabited a general and open prospect in life. After learning about the vast majority of culture and religions that other people practiced I spark of wonder came upon me as if I needed to know more about the other beliefs that there were. At this moment I truly realized that the Catholic religion was basically forced on me and I didn 't have the option to choose freely on what I want to believe in. An important tradition in Catholicism is attending a religious retreat. I had been trying to avoid participation in this retreat because I figured there would only be stuck-up, uptight, catholic people trying to force their beliefs on me and attempt to change me and expose me to a completely strict lifestyle. However, to not upset my parents, I agreed to go but I told myself that I would not participate in any of the activities, that I wouldn 't talk to anyone, and at the end of the day go home without my beliefs changing. On the ride to

When asked the question on my definition of religion, I decided to look at it in a way that goes beyond just my religion. Religion goes much deeper than being something that we just believe in, it is a relationship or a part of a person’s culture. My purpose of religion is something for me to try and understand what my goal in life is, as well as building a relationship with a higher being. Religion gives people that higher being that they can look to for guidance and comfort. I feel that you can also express your culture through religion as well as explain some of the reasons for some of the things that you have done in your life.

God is always with us, and Jesus’s Love is Beautiful & Graceful: Holy Spirit is Transforming Continually.

Education, Gender and familial values are all ideals that have developed who I have become as a person. Growing up in a Dominican household, I was raised in a setting that shaped who I am today. I was taught that education and family are the most important things in life. But I learned on my own that gender, that being born as a boy instead of a girl, also determined how a majority of life would differ from my female family members. My grandmother Luz Wilson, who was born in the Dominican Republic, lead a tough and exhausting life in order to become the grandmother of such a big family. However, her experiences and hardships, that add to her wisdom, guide us to becoming strong and resilient human beings. My older cousin Krystal Wilson, who was born here in the United States, is more of a sister to me and someone who I admire because of her transition to being the self-reliant woman that she is. Our experiences growing up, in comparison to our grandmother, are much different based on education and our environments. However, I also found many similarities in their lives, as well as mine. Based on an analysis of the interviews done on my grandmother, cousin and myself, this paper will demonstrate how each of us value religion as a connection to God, family as a unifying value, and as gender as a determining factor of life.

I remember being a young, naïve boy getting ready to venture off to my first semester of college at the Lord’s school: Brigham Young University. I was ready to live away from home, stay out however late I felt, and eat as much ice cream as I wanted with no repercussions. Life was going to be amazing! My dreams were soon shattered as I was bombarded with homework and essays from all my other classes, but there was a light at the end of the tunnel: Religion. I was especially excited to embark on the journey of religion as it had always played an important role in my life and I couldn’t wait to explore seemingly endless verses of scripture and prophecy.

Ask any kid and they will testify that the single thought of attending a three to two hour religious ceremony sounds mentally painful and boring ,especially on weekends. Therefore, when we were asked to observe and analyze a religious practice, I was vividly reminded of myself as a kid being dragged to a religious practice I did not want to attend. However, in an effort to get a good grade in my class and get a better understand the Jehovah’s witness religion and its practices I conducted an in-depth Fieldwork by attending two religious ceremonies. The first time was to observe and get a feel for what I was getting myself into, and the second time was to take detailed notes on the events happening during the religious ceremony and ask questions. Although my attendance to the religious ceremonies were my choice I couldn’t help be reminded of how as a kid I thought church was a mean trick invented by adults to get us kids to stop watching TV. Little did I know that religion was so much more than just a distraction, to most people religion is a tool continuously used by humans to explain the world, comfort the mind, and serve as general guide to how to live a better life. In addition, most humans depend on religion to give life meaning and purpose, making religion, to most, essential because they depend on the guidance and reassurance it gives them regarding life and the idea things will get better if you have faith. After attending both ceremonies and asking a few experts a

Who is God? Is a question I can easily imagine a kid asking an adult and the latter replying with God is our creator, or God is an old bearded guy up in the sky watching over us, or even God is a supreme immortal creator deity that certain people believe in. All those responses are different because those replies are based upon that person’s beliefs and values. There is no single correct answer to who or what is God . An answer to the question “Who or what is God?” can reveal how a person views God and religion. This past semester my answer to “who or what is God?” and “how can I relate to God?” has grown in depth of understanding and how I relate to God.

You know what I hate? Religion and or arguing if God is real, or how can he be real in the mist of our circumstances. My response usually consists of a question: “Hasn’t God done something for you that was so unexplainable you know it had to be him?” -because it wasn’t your own strength?

Being raised Presbyterian was more like a social gathering than a religious experience. Admittedly there were times when I truly believed in God, but for the most part it didn’t impact my life or how I lived it. I had made up my mind in my early teens of how life was. I looked at people around me and connected closely with those who believed homosexuality was fine and natural, abortion was a woman’s choice and that there was nothing wrong with doing anything you like as long as it does not impede upon another being’s rights. Many of the people who I met with opposing opinions were very wishy washy and were ineffective in defending their beliefs to me. This led me to believe that republicans were wrong, religion was something I didn’t need and God, if he existed, was only someone who created the universe, and not someone worthy of my attention. When I finally met someone who held these opposing beliefs, but was great at defending them, I became interested. How could someone as smart as this man I just met, believe such backwards things. I finally began to take their claims seriously and started questioning others, religious leaders and the internet. After learning these points of views, dissecting them and gaining respect for those who had these beliefs, I eventually came to find that I agreed with them. I think the biggest turning point was realizing that the people who came before me, have been questioning these same issues much longer than I have, so maybe I

Around the age of 8, all of that changed. All of a sudden, my mother, my siblings, and I stopped attending church on sundays with my grandmother. After that, my life seemed to become hectic. My mom and dad split up and argued more and more. I struggled in school and I didn't have a close bond with my family anymore. Throughout my entire childhood, I noticed that when times got rough, that was the only time my mom thought it was appropriate to go to church. We stopped going to my grandmother’s church and began attending an Apostolic Church, where the pastor begged for money and tricked my mom into paying thousands in tithes. The experience I had during this time of my life caused me to become antagonistic towards religion.

During the course of this class, I have learned a lot about different religions. I still have an unprejudiced view of religion. However, I did not suspend my belief to have an understanding of religion. I have been able to learn of other religious beliefs without feeling threatened of my own. I found there are many different practices in other religions, some I agree with and some I do not agree with. I have come to except others, ways of worship without getting upset. I have become humble in my conclusion now that I have a better understanding of others beliefs. The world seems to jump to conclusions and be judgmental about other religions. Postponing ones judgement on a religion is a difficult thing to do. Being raised and taught a certain religion and set of beliefs is distilled in to one’s mind. I, on the other hand, reserved my personal judgement until I have learned more about it.