Reflection On Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism is a strict adherence to a set of ideas or beliefs that are conservative in nature. It is a pejorative term usually associated with religious fanaticism. Usually, this is what comes to mind when there is mention of a fundamentalist. However, in Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist starring the protagonist Changez, a Pakistani Princetonian who is a top-ranked employee at a prestigious New York valuation firm, turns out not to be an Islamic fundamentalist, but a reluctant fundamentalist of US Capitalism. Hamid challenges readers to reevaluate their preconceived notions and prejudices of people different from themselves in post 9/11 America by employing the use of motifs, aphorism, and suspense, to create a conflation

Thank you for sharing your thoughts regarding why organizations fail and spirituality in the workplace. While many organizations make the claim that God is a stakeholder, these words are of non-effect unless the leader first partakes in whatever is necessary to ensure the followers share the vision and are led by example.

In the course of my years as an undergraduate student in Rutgers University – Newark, I maintained a full-time work schedule as well as a full-time school schedule. Not only did this provide me with a strong work ethic, but I was also able to develop a strong academic foundation as well. In the years that I spent working as a customer service representative for TD Bank, I was able to steadily involve myself with a large group of diverse people. During my career with TD Bank, I witnessed disagreements and arguments amongst employees which presented to become a problem all throughout our branch. All through this difficult time, I actively attempted to alleviate any and all complications. I maintained and promoted a positive and healthy work environment by persuading coworkers to try to understand the miscommunication that had developed amongst them. I also worked closely with my human resources department to understand the root cause of the problems, and assisted in finding a solution by maintaining the trust and confidence of my coworkers.

Visit at least two different companies’ website and read about how each company explicates the working environment and its expectations of employees. In your discussion post, reference the websites you analyzed. Examples of companies include, Kraft Foods, Apple, CVS Caremark, Johnson & Johnson, and Target. Identify what your selected companies do to establish a positive working environment and committed employees. Be specific in identifying behaviors, programs, or initiatives. (Note: If a company website does not provide enough information, select another company.)

Secular humanism is a non-theistic worldview. Humanists do not believe in a God of any kind, rather, they take their answers about life, death, and the universe from science. They choose to rely on facts and proof instead of faith. Although they do not believe in a God they still believe that we should live good lives. They do this because it is the right thing to do, not because they are hoping to get into heaven. Secular Humanists believe that there is no afterlife, once we die, that is it. There is no eternal life and no heaven, hell, or purgatory. Humanists believe this because there is no proof of an afterlife. They see the afterlife as wishful thinking, an idea created to make the inevitability of death slightly less terrifying. They

workforce must learn to work together regardless of religious differences (Flake, 2015). Accordingly, employers and workers must adapt to the changing religious landscape and increase accommodations and tolerance of unique beliefs and practices. From a corporate perspective, Dixon can conduct a confidential diversity study to determine awareness of biases (Gomez-Mejia et al., 2016). With this data, Dixon can then develop and guide diversity awareness training across the entire company to foster an atmosphere of religious inclusion and initiate support groups to counteract feelings of

Holding onto the five fundamentals, as many Christian fundamentalists call them, is according to the doctrinal truths within the movement. They believe in the inerrancy of Scripture, which reveals Christ as the Messiah, His virgin birth, the atonement in His blood, and His bodily resurrection. Additionally, embedded within the movement is the belief that they, “the saved,” are engaged in a cosmic war that is taking place here and now. As Reza Aslan explains a cosmic war or religious war is, “an earthly battle between rival religious groups…a real, physical struggle in this world and an imagined, moral encounter in the world beyond.” This war is a continuous battle that takes place on all earthly fonts, even on the airwaves.

This semester we have peeled away the layers of what evangelicalism and fundamentalism means throughout history, especially in our Western culture. I am intrigued with them both and their very presence in many of our modern-day congregations. After visiting Grace Covenant Church of Austin, Texas, much of the contributions that have been emphasized in books such as The American Evangelical Story by Douglas Sweeney and American Apocalypse by Matthew Sutton, I experienced while at Grace.

Advocates that religious diversity is acquiring a new significance; Also giving to an authoritative reality on modern settings; describes the demolition of accustom methods and circumstances of religious aspects. As a result of several new forces at work in the South, the new plurality of diverse faiths and the challenging of standard forms that have set the pace for all models that presents a new image of religion on the Southern landscape; indeed the heterogeneity in the American South has existed since the early seventeenth century; shows the southern colonies from Maryland to Georgia were inundated with various forms of faith and the current trends are more so than the past. Describes that fundamentalism was not widely accepted because

Cultural differences in the workplace can sometimes become a challenge in the work environment. In order to facilitate these differences, there must be some form of cultural awareness. Cultural awareness can help employees face the challenge of responding to individuals with different religions in the workplace, expose religious practices, and eliminate stereotyping in the workplace. Awareness of religions, and the beliefs associated with different religions, can be accomplished in many ways, such as training courses, workshops or company handouts (Thomas Kochan, 2003, p. 4). Companies must embrace multiculturalism and diversity.

Ask most people what their definition of a workplace is, and the general answer is: “the environment in which I work.” Yet, upon deeper consideration, there is so much more to it. A workplace is a melting pot of every individual factor that compromises the place in which someone works. There is the succession of management down to the various positions, customers, goals, sales, products, etc. Many fail to recognize all of the minute details that are needed to build a business. These work communities foster leadership, organization, teamwork, communication, and innovation. However, this is the ideal form and normally arduous to find. Most labor environments feature corrupt leadership, ulterior motives, and a general lack of sensitivity and care

Hamid’s use of symbolism is significantly effective in The Reluctant Fundamentalistbecause it adds so much more meaning to the main idea of the book. Without understanding the symbolism, the reader might think Erica is simply an American girl who Changez falls in love with, but the symbolism adds much more purpose to her character. Just from understanding the symbolism of Erica, the reader gains the understanding of America’s effect on Changez and how he really is a “reluctant fundamentalist.”

In the book, The Reluctant Fundamentalist starts off with how the narrator is from Pakistan and is living the American Dream by attending one of the most competitive schools in the United States, Princeton. “I was one of only two Pakistanis in my entering class- two from a population of over a hundred million souls, mind you- the Americans faced much less daunting odds in the selection process” (Hamid 3). This quote caught attention based off how the narrator felt being at Princeton and the perspective the novel gives out to the reader. Claiming that the narrator had the opportunity to attend such a high standing university, demonstrated another side of him and where he came from. The narrator started in Pakistan and craved an education so he had made his way to America to attend a very nice school, and noticing how he is one out of two Pakistanis explains how education is a theme right off the first few pages of the text. Also this quote explains how Americans did not face much daunting odds in the selection process. It appears that the narrator said that the administrative who accept students into the university, did not have a hard time handling the two Pakistanis acceptance.

In, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, written by Mohsin Hamid, the main character, Changez seems to be an unreliable source. Throughout the novel, there is a dinner that Changez is having with an American, who seems to be uneasy the entire meal. Changez tells this American about all his many memories of his life, both good and bad. Hamid choose to write this novel from only Changez’s point of view so the audience is never told what the other end of the conversation is and only sees it through Changez’s eyes. This leads the audience that he may not always be telling the truth. Changez is able to get away with not telling the truth because no one can question him. The audience does not know what really happened so we can’t say that we are absolutely sure he is lying. However, Changez does show some signs that he in fact, is not being completely factual. Although no one ever truly discovers Changez lying or telling incorrect information about his life, it is revealed to the audience that Changez is not telling the truth about what happened during his lifetime with his unusual actions.

Today there are over 900 religious employee resource groups, according to the International Coalition of Workplace Ministries (Cañas & Sondak, 2010). These affinity groups can help encourage religious understanding by offering panel discussions that educate employees on their beliefs. By allowing open discussion, answering religious questions and creating an open, welcoming religious environment in the workplace employees can better relate to one another through shared religious principles (Cañas & Sondak, 2010). When looking at the business case for diversity, not asking employees to hide their faith at work allows for greater productivity, and time and energy focused on business results (Cañas