Reflection About Religion

Religion is one of the most significant aspects in history and during our modern times, giving hope and forgiveness to citizens as they begin their spiritual journey but women’s voices are silenced and kept concealed. In this segment I will research and bring to light the women’s perspective through the hardships and experiences which they’ve encountered and focus on their lifestyle and personal values so we can understand better the role of women and faiths. .

The memoirs and stories that we have read and discussed in class have described The Holocaust as a life changing event that made both the conquered and conquerors question if there was any faith left in humanity and what were their true motives. Arguably the most horrific event of the twentieth century and even in Earth’s history, The Holocaust devastated most of Central and Eastern Europe. It separated loved ones, most of the time forever. These stories display the courage and hope of ordinary people who just wanted to make it to the next day, by any means necessary.

Through the years, people have endured drastic hardships through their societal experiences; however, the holocaust seems to be the huge adversity to overcome. The holocaust has taught the society many things; although the world has not exactly learned from the experiences entirely. The holocaust is a learning experience still today, so that this generation will not repeat the same drastic measures. Many people today seem to think that the holocaust never happened; in spite of this, there are those that disagree. I have had the opportunity to listen to a firsthand account of the tragedy that happened several years ago, Marion Blumenthal Lazan wrote the Four Perfect Pebbles, and I had the opportunity to listen to her my freshmen year of high school. Though, I have had the experience of listening to her story, she is not the only one that is telling the experience that was encountered.

Religion. Whenever I hear people talking about that word, I draw a blank. I start to question what really is religion, why is it so talked about, and why is it such a big deal to our society. Recently I learned that religion was a concept that was created by mankind a long time ago. Yet religion isn’t something that has one specific definition, because people have different religious constructs within their cultures around the world. Before taking this class, I never had a definition that I liked for the term religion until now. This definition is one that I can understand and agree with, “religion is a system of beliefs about the nature of the forces ultimately shaping human destiny, and the practices associated therewith, shared by members of a group” (Gerhard Lenski). My personal stance on religion now is that I don’t believe in any gods or any religion at all. It has been a journey for me to get to this stance about religion.

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.

I was raised in the church. Every Sunday and bible study I was there faithfully. Every church event I was there, I spent a lot of my holidays at the church. When I was a little girl I thought it was only one religion and that was Christianity. I thought that it was one God every one worshiped I didn’t quite understand that it was different religions and people had different views. When I got older I started to realize people beliefs were way different than what I knew. So I questioned my family and then they explained it to me that there were many types of religions. No one around me never really voiced his or her opinion about religion until I got into high school. In English class I had a lot of friends that I knew and hung out with in this class, when we are hanging out in school religion isn’t something my friends and I just sit there and discuss. The topic in English happens to be religion. The teacher went around the room and asked everyone to tell what religion they are and explain. One of my close friends name Jhoni said she’s “atheist” she even went on to say “church is stupid and god didn’t make earth and it was already here” she even said “we evolved from monkeys” now from what I know an “atheist” doesn’t believe in God. I could not believe that she didn’t believe in God. Then all of the stuff she said after that really hurt me and I couldn’t believe I was friends with somebody whose thoughts were that deep about something I believed in and loved so much. As soon

Growing up as a “privileged” African American kid, whose parents beat the odds and set the

Growing up in a mainly agnostic household, I always knew about the existence of a god, but was never taught to worship nor believe any type of religious sect. As I grew up, I learned more about religion in school and never really felt any emotional attachment to any of the religions that I came in contact with. At home, I found out that two of my brothers actually decided to choose a religious path, my eldest brother wanted to become a Roman Catholic Bishop and my third eldest brother a Santeria Babalawo, they tried to get my parents and me to become religious, but we maintained the same beliefs we already had. Stepping out of the comfort zone that I resided in, I decided to visit a Catholic Apostolic church in the heart of Hialeah called Rincón de San Lazaro for my religious site visit.

sins to a priest and attend mass weekly. Jewish societies will gather their whole families

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

In modern day, religion is shown as a choice, and in some places in the world it is. Religion is something that you choose to follow. In comparison to the past, in which most times religion was a must, depending on where you lived you could be punished for not following the religion of the land you lived in. Because religion is seen as a choice today, some people are confused as to why people would confine themselves to an additional set of rules that would dictate the way they would live. In exploring this, science fiction books are made. Several books in the science fiction category that include religion often use their own, made up religion, to represent a religion that is practiced. By doing this they can either bring out the good side or the bad side of the religion, often it is the latter. In result of this, certain religions can be seen in a bad light once these books and ideas become mainstream.

Student Answer:           For me a religion consists of several different elements that are not universal to all religions found today. First, a religion is one that is shared and practiced by a group or ‘communal in nature’. Second, a religion has a unified set of beliefs that not only define the world and our place in it but also provides a set of ethical standards and guide to life. Third, I think a religion should invoke an emotional response from the believer through a supernatural connection with a higher being or God. Finally, I believe a religion should identify certain things that are sacred to the religion (Molloy, 2010).          Community or ‘communal in nature’: Having more than one person or a small group of people become followers of a religion is a testament to its validity in society. To me this is the most important aspect of defining religion. A true religion should be able to use its teachings and belief system to retain and cultivate new followers by connecting with them on a personal level.          Unified set of beliefs and code of ethics: What separates a religion from groups of people with an idea is the unified belief in something. Even if the exact details of those beliefs are not universal the overall beliefs are the same. An example would be all the different Protestant Churches, and the different sects of Islam and Buddhism. A religion’s beliefs should be (mostly) the same across the world. Also, there should be an ethical or moral code of

Since the beginning, I always remembered being dragged to church. My egotistical six year old self thought that I was too young to be going to church. I was that type of child who would make up any excuse as to why I absolutely, positively could not go to church that day. Whether it was because I had come down with Ebola that day or that I needed to stay home or the cat would run away, my mother always forced me to go. This wasn’t because I didn’t believe in Him, but what kid wants to sit through an hour long presentation that had no visual aid or really any idea on what the pastor was saying? I sure didn’t.

All of our reasons for our faith are all different. Some people think it is a feeling, others believe it is for their protection only. Me, I view it as a passion and love for the one who has created me. My faith is more than just a feeling I have. It is what supports me and what I know is right. Lots of the time when people look at religion the look at it as a crutch for people who cannot accept reality. Not only as a Christian, but as a simple human being I know that this is wrong. In these paragraphs I will explain my reasons for my faith and the reality and truth behind it.

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.