Religious Minority Experience

When I walked in, everyone was very welcoming and nice. Many people stared at me intensely

As the only white individual entering the church on Sunday I felt extremely out of place and very uncomfortable, at first. Upon entering the church, before I could even find a place to sit, the pastor came to welcome me and showed me a place to sit for the service. The pastor was very kind and so welcoming that my nervousness and worry started to vanish. Once I was seated and more people entered the church, I was treated as if I had always been there and was part of the group. Although I was the minority at the service I did feel very comfortable with my surroundings and with the people in attendance. The whole experience was very interesting and broadened my perspective on the African American culture.

For an observation of an AA meeting my classmate and I made arrangements to go to an open meeting at Our Lady Star Of The Sea Church, which was held in a basement during a Tuesday afternoon session at 4:00 p.m. I first looked up the sessions online on a website where it held all the meetings on Staten Island and this one fit my schedule well. Its not unusual for me to be attending or visiting churches but for this assignment it did feel a little out of my comfort zone, because I didn’t know what to expect or what others would think of me. I chose a seat in the back corner that wouldn’t be too obvious yet it seemed like a typical seat for a newbie to sit at. The room was fairly large and I was surprised at how big the crowd got at least 30 plus people attended.

I am the minority of the usual church; typically I am one of four white people who attend the 8am service. I first went with a friend’s family after she had pass away. I was never nervous about going to a predominantly African American church. Everyone welcomed me. The family I went with had me stand up when they called for new people to the church. It then took me 30 extra minutes to get out of the church because everyone gave me a hug. Going into part two of this project I was actually very nervous about going to the Korean church. I think being by myself had a lot to do with it along with not know the language. I was very nervous about not understanding anything that was going on. Additionally I was worried they would not want me there.

I felt intimidated and uneasy while I was introducing myself to the group because I did not get a reaction from them, thus, I was unsure if they were uncomfortable with my presence. Although, I perceived that they seemed to be a quiet group because when I initially entered no one was mingling,

As ridiculous as it may sound as a white male my services are rather well dull and boring so the service I attended was an African American service. Needless to say they are rather vibrant and exuberant. I have a rather long beard but dressed for the occasion with a suit and slicked my hair back to look as professional as possible. Upon walking in I was of course asked why I was there I simply told them that I was wanting to try a different church and I had come across their church. I was informed to sit anywhere I like so I just sat towards the back in the corner as to not draw to much attention to myself and simply take in all the things that they do.

About an hour and a half had passed and we finished up all of the planned games. Also, snack foods were provided and I was having casual conversations with some of the guests. Again, I did not feel uncomfortable in any way. Yes, being the only white female does put up an invisible wall between me and the other guests., but the social interaction was natural. Though at times I did feel disconnected and at times I felt a little like an outsider. The fact is, in todays society we have done so much categorizing and labeling, so when someone is different from another we throw him or her in a category and isolate him or her from the rest. We have also become ethnocentric around our own races and that is why there is an invisible wall between different races and ethnicities. Last, it was time to for the mother to be to open her baby gifts. Majority of the gifts were simple baby necessities like diapers, blankets, binkies and stuffed animals. On the other hand, there were a

my best friends on the trip was Catholic. Up until this point, I had not interacted with anybody

Regardless of my town’s homogeneous population, I grew up accepting diversity and valuing individual differences even amid the same racial group. One of the first experiences of diversity I can vividly recall is the various religious beliefs within the Black community. My parents believed “exposure to the world around you” was one of the primary factors for raising a well-rounded individual. Therefore, we often visited different churches of various faiths.

Towards the end of the story, a rather interesting and unique thing happens as the woman meets Jesus. It seems fitting since she just left the church. I had a hard time trying to figure out if the lady had died, was going crazy, or just dreaming. The writer did a great job of describing the scene that was taking place, and all of us can wonder if this is what going to heaven is like. In addition to the cultural aspects of race that clearly exist. The aspect of religion plays a prominent role in “The Welcome Place” as well. Religion is a big part of many cultural beliefs. I had taken an introduction to religion course and was amazed by the different beliefs, and rituals than many different religions possess. I now have a better understanding of why certain holidays are important to certain groups, and the reasoning that such religions like Islamic pray a certain amount of times during the day. Diversity plays a critical part to working for and especially having a leading role in an organization. Keeping the mindset that everyone, regardless of their background, can make a positive contribution and their input should be valued as such. This is one of the ways that a company can improve its performance

Growing up in suburban Cincinnati, Ohio, I’ve spent most of my life surrounded by sameness. Everyone had the same skin color, the same religion, the same financial situations, the same interests, eventually people even started to look the same. While on the surface I seamlessly blended in with the others, there was something that separated me more than most would think. I was born into a Jewish family, and my mother instilled in my sister and I from a young age to be active in our religion. We went to sunday school for ten years and now are both assistants in the classes, we joined Jewish youth groups, we both had our Bat Mitzvahs and our Confirmation services, and I teach Hebrew to students weekly. Being a Jew has always been a constant in my life.

I have had the opportunity to interact with a diversity of people during my time as a member of the Earle Hall Leadership Council. The residents at Earle come from many different ethnic and religious backgrounds, and I have developed a greater appreciation for other walks of life through my interactions during hall events. For example, I was discussing my desire to learn Spanish with a Hispanic resident and she shared with me that her parents usually avoid visiting the doctor’s office when they are sick because the language and culture barrier makes them feel uncomfortable. I also shared a conversation with a Muslim resident who felt condemned while attending a Christian counseling session. Being involved in my residential community has allowed

At first, I thought I was late, so I asked if I the service had ended. They told me, no and they were heading to the front of the building for the blessing of the fire. They said I could head into the chapel pick a seat, and then meet with them at the front. So I entered the chapel picked up a booklet and headed to the front. The overall environment was peaceful and the church

I attended as a religious service the Shabbat at East Midwood Jewish center on Friday, December 9th, at 7pm. From the outside, the synagogue looked like any other building. I noticed it was very large and wide from the outside. The only sign I got from the outside is the star of David along with Hebrew writing stating the name of the synagogue. There were many names Inside the synagogue, and I felt as if it doesn 't look much different from a church. There were chairs to sit in, and a dais at the front similar to a church. There was a platform, which is learned called a "bimah" at the near the center, from which the Torah is read, or lessons taught. I noticed on the wall is the Ark of the Covenant. In the Ark of the convent, the Torah scrolls are kept, along with the other scrolls such as the books of Esther and Ruth. Above the Ark is the "ner tamid" an eternal light that is always lit. The room was very open, and even felt a bit empty. The synagogue I attended used movable partitions so that the room can be used for many purposes by people, and also so that large groups of worshippers can be accomodated at times such as the High Holy Days. I noticed there was no statuary like the Catholic Church has, meaning no saints. There was rather abstract artwork. Walking in, I received quite a few stares. This was off putting at first, but when you see someone new, you also stare. I didn 't feel as if they meant harm or even mean to be rude. I felt some of them were wondering who I

There exists a vast number of religions in the world that have their own belief systems and populations of followers that, naturally, gives result to a wide variety of religious diversity. Logically, the problem with this religious diversity is that it is hard to see how they could all be true at any rate. In response to this problem, two solutions have been proposed: pluralism and exclusivism. Pluralism makes a claim that all of the religions are true in their own way where exclusivism, on the other hand, makes the claim that only one religion is true in its beliefs. I will be discussing the differences between exclusivism and pluralism in depth as responses to the problem of religious diversity as well as comparing and contrasting Christianity and Hinduism to make a case for why exclusivism is the correct solution.