This weeks readings and class discussions really focused on the typology of religious organizations. We were able to unfold many attributes related to certain religions and compare them to others. We also studied the trends and changes Chaves reported on, for example, the increase in 18-39 year olds who are spiritual but not religious. It was interesting to see how religion as a whole has changed over time. I thought McGuire’s typology table of the thirteen religions was very useful. The table was able to pin-point  where each religion generally stood in terms of each religion’s churchly, sectarian, denominational, or cultic orientation by their “Tension with society”,”Responsibility for society”,”one way”, and “many ways”. McGuire also explained how religion can be responsible for social cohesion as well as conflict. It was interesting to think of Durkeim’s concept that “wherever there is social cohesion, it is expressed religiously”. Meaning that “religion is the very essence of social”. Before reading this I never thought of this perspective and I wonder if it’d be true for the average American today. I thought about the social encounters I face daily and tried counting how many of them are religious–not very many. McGuire makes it clear that in the past immigrants looked to religion because it gave them a mutual aid, friendships, or a sense of belonging; yet in the U.S. it helps people differentiate themselves and locate themselves in a larger society.  Then the next area of topic explains the conflicts and social cleavages of religion. There are many areas that religion may overlap that could create conflict; like social class, race or ethnicity, and political or national allegiance. Understanding this area gets tricky for me and raises many questions and uncertainties.

This ABC post reflected on Obama’s stance on foreign affairs and how he “fundamentally disagrees” with discrimination based on faith or religion. President Trump’s executive order on Friday calling for a suspension on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries  had people protesting in airports and on streets nationwide. In Obama’s last speech as President, he spoke about the important role of citizens and how all “Americans have a responsibility to be the guardians of our democracy — not just during election but every day”

I think this ties into what we are learning altogether because there is a lot of social change and it is all happening so quickly. I think we were at a point where many of us (the people of America) could overcome judgement when it came to others religious affiliations and race. We came a long way since a few decades ago; however, now we are shown that even the President of our country discriminates against people based on race and religion. This will be a great sociological change and it would be interesting to see years from know whether this presidency has made history repeat itself and made our country take 3 steps backwards.

I also wonder what will happen to the Muslims that are in America as of right now. How will their religion be affected by this transition if it is held in place? Will they create religious movements? If so, will they be forced with terror or will they be peaceful? What are we expecting as a nation in return by calling to this action?

This week we talked about what makes a religion official and unofficial as well as the statistics that represent “softening” or religions who have become flexible in their traditions. In McGuire’s text she gives a good explanation on many religion’s churchly stances. We are able to come to conclusion of a religious collectivity’s stance from two sociologically important characteristics–the relationship between the religious group and the larger society, and the extent to which the religious group considers itself to be uniquely legit. McGuire also explains what brings people together and what attracts people to a certain group and holds them together.

Chaves brings up the changes and trends in the American religion as a whole. Chaves documents how organizational ties between congregations and national denominations have loosened. Chaves also notices how there is a dramatic increase in the use of computer technology. He gave an example that every year since 1998, 10,000 congregations created a website. Another trend that is changing religion as a whole is the increased informality in worship. The last three trends are- people in the pew are getting older, a congregations education and income level are shifting, and the religious concentration is intensifying and more people are concentrating in the very largest congregations.

This week’s reading material gave me a solid grasp on the differences of an official religion versus unofficial religion and what social changes are creating a shift in American religion as a whole. Now I understand what questions to be asking in a sociologist’s perspective as we dive deeper into the content of religion.

There is a lawsuit happening where an unnamed parent of a Mercer County kindergarten student who is an atheist, referred to as “Jane Doe”, wishes to raise her child (Jamie doe), without religion. Jane Doe believes that her child risks ostracism from Jamie’s peers or even school staff if she doesn’t participate in the Bible classes. “The program endorses one religion, improperly entangles public schools in religious affairs, and violates the personal consciences of nonreligious and non-Christian parents and student”, states the lawsuit.

Students may be taught about religion, but public schools may not teach religion. This is so interesting because societies image of religion is changing so rapidly. We can teach the literature, history, poetry of the Bible and its impact on the world but the religion itself cannot be taught. This relates to our reading because this could be a beginning or example of a movement organization. It is an example of how religious collectivities change as they interact with their social environments.

I with our social environment is in a time of great change and I think this grey area of public schools teaching the Bible to students should generally be avoided. I don’t believe that it should be up to the schools to interpret the Bible. I think the students should learn and affiliate themselves with religion of any sort on their free time. Whether it be from their parents, Sunday school, or watching Youtube videos. I don’t think its very fair for students to feel excluded if they don’t want to affiliate themselves with religious studies or be treated any differently for their beliefs.

It was interesting to read chapter four of Religion The Social Content and compare it to the movie we watched in class because I could look more in-depth of the differences of Suzy and Glen’s stories and see if gender roles had anything to do with the differences.  When Suzy became bored of being a housewife and mother I think she looked to religion for something entirely different than what Glen’s revelation made him search for. Their actions beyond finding Religion is what made me the most curious. How would they preform their religious roles? Are their actions due to social norms?

Suzy’s story is a good example of how social norms may be changing. She was a very intellectual woman who could do or be anything she wanted. This observation is already a new social norm for women. However, she became pregnant and got stuck at home being a mother while her husband was out working. This was a very common theme in the past. How she went out and re-found herself in religion was interesting. It was a slow process allowing herself to grow and find herself within religion. Her roles and actions in her church were very different from Glen’s. She was part of smaller women’s groups, she was involved with charity events, and even had one on one talks (more like therapy sessions) with the pastor.

Glen got “saved” on one specific day, his conversion process was quick and he jumped right into the idea. He had quite a large role in the church which is very different compared to Suzy’s roles. He led some services, was involved with youth groups, he shared his love of the church to everyone and anyone. He was very outgoing and climbed up the latter within his church very quickly. Does this have anything to do with gender norms? Was it more accepting for a male to gain all of this recognition and power in a church or was it just because he pursued it? I think gender roles within religion are very interesting and is definitely something I would consider looking into more.