Recently in class, we watched a documentary following two different people whose churches are in very close proximity to one another, yet they have contrasting approaches towards religion and possess different relationships with God. Susan belongs to St. Paul’s Episcopal and struggles with the topic of religion. She doesn’t question the belief in a higher power, but doubts her prayers are actually listened to. She doesn’t openly discuss her views on religion either, as she views it as a private matter. Susan asks God to show himself to her through a sign to confirm he is listening to her, and she “wants the guts to stick with” religion, as she doesn’t feel she is capable of being that committed to it. In my opinion, if she has trouble maintaining her religion, perhaps she is not truly in the right one. “Sticking with something” brings to mind taking a difficult course, or perhaps trying a strenuous diet and fitness regime, not practicing religion. Religion requires faith and hope, which will carry you through it. If you come to find you no longer want to associate with your current religion, why bother sticking through when you can find a better fit for yourself? Perhaps her personal struggles are confusing, but It is not something that will become easier through time if she does not try to evaluate herself.

On the contrary, Glenn Stover believes he was saved to tell people about the power of Christ. Formerly an alcoholic, he quit drinking and credits religion to fixing his life. He now wholeheartedly discusses his love for Jesus in a very public matter that might make Susan uncomfortable.  While his life may have improved after he overcame his alcohol addiction, I wonder how much of that should be attributed to Christ, and how much was the lack of alcohol. He mentioned how his wife didn’t like drinking, so perhaps his sobriety helped their marriage. While he may have gotten his strength from Christ, it could be debatable how much was a personal decision removed from religion. Overall, these two people show contrasting strengths of faith in religion, and how it can affect people differently depending on how they feel about their current religion. While some religions give people strength,  some give others self doubt and confusion.

Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, in the heart of the Silicon Valley, religion was often downplayed in daily interactions, at least in my own experience. I attended public school, so of course religion would not likely arise in discussion at least in the classroom, but even outside of school, among people I knew or interacted with, religion was not only overlooked, but mocked. While most of the people at my high school did not grow up atheist, most of them ended up becoming so during high school, and even those who were not atheist or agnostic did not do much outside of the mass commercialized Christian holidays like Easter or Christmas, so it was not as deeply embedded in many people’s lives as it could be. There were churches in our city, however, they were frequented mostly by older people or those families with kids specifically attending private religious schools. Those who did practice their faith deeply at school, by being members of “Christian Club” or posting on social media about their work in the church, were often unfairly mocked and ostracized. San Francisco’s liberal politics bled heavily into high schools, both mine and those within my school district, and religions, specifically Christian ones, came to be associated (again, unwarranted and wrongfully so) and targeted for being conservative, specifically after Donald Trump’s election in November of 2016. Just as the few Republicans at my school were bullied and mocked at my school by the student body and several teachers, so were practicing Christians, which is, in my opinion, slightly ironic, since the student body of my high school celebrates diversity and tolerance. The large LGBT community within my school, an overwhelming majority of liberal students, (roughly 95% a survey one year found) and the powerful GSA club, all combined with the lack of open Christians, somehow stereotyped certain religions into being a hateful concept, while other ones, such as Islam, were respected and discussed responsibly. 

In this Sociology class, we are learning what types of people choose to practice a certain religion, what characteristics are favored by certain people, and the backgrounds of people, who grow up with certain religious communities or experiences, and grow disenchanted with it, by either quitting religion or converting. Highly religious cities, such as Redlands or San Antonio, do not operate the same as the one that I grew up in, and that means something to the people who live there. Personally, I find religion to be beautiful, and I wish I had grown up around people with more of an appreciation for it than a mentality of “attack.” Chapter 2 of McGuire discusses the meaning of religion, and how it can bring meaning and value into our lives. Obviously more people around the world than I have personally been exposed to can agree with this statement, but I wonder how in my hometown it was more difficult for people to see the value or importance in Christianity in some people’s lives, while at the same time respecting other religions, like Islam, Buddhism, Daoism, or Judaism. The predominance (or lack thereof) of religion, coupled with obvious political influence, is something that hopefully will be addressed more in this semester.