This week we discussed Religion’s power to hold society together, as well as its ability to cause conflict. This was a very interesting, and timely, discussion to have, as today’s society is very heavily charged in both the political and the religious sense. This was further emphasized in the discussion of one of the case studies, God Needs No Passport. Talk of the politics of religion, most notably the Muslim ban that the Trump administration is trying inflict, is always an important discussion to have, and it was a very insightful talk. The other case study presentation, Passionate Journeys, was also very fascinating, if somewhat less politically relevant. It was truly fascinating to see such an unconventional perspective on the sociology and psychology of joining a cult such as this, and I was truly fascinated to see these points of view.

This week was spent largely by me preparing for my own case study presentation on Monday. These preparations are, of course, the most prominent thing on my mind today, as is the subject matter of the book, Sacred Stories, Spiritual Tribes. The everyday perspectives given on the intimate relationship many normal people had with religion and spirituality are very interesting, and I look forward to getting a chance to present and discuss them in class tomorrow.

In this news article from Switzerland’s The Local, the possibility of a new religious affairs office being opened is discussed. This office would tackle questions of religious tolerance and freedom, primarily concerning people of the Muslim faith. Examples of religious societal conflict are given, such as a student who took her school to court when it banned her from wearing her hijab, as well as a different school that attempted to fine the parents of a pair of male Muslim students who would refuse to shake their female teacher’s hand due to religious belief. The article mentions the reason for this increasing interest in religious ordinance: the percentage of Muslim population in Switzerland rose from 0.2 percent in 1970 to 5.1 percent in 2015. Issues such as the two mentioned above, as well as a third, where a popular swimming pool banned the “burkini,” (a type of swimwear designed to fit Muslim religious codes) have become much more prominent as the Muslim population of Switzerland has increased. This has led to religious conflict as Muslim traditions and beliefs clash with traditional Swiss beliefs. The proposed religious affairs office would help mediate this conflict much more effectively, and has gained the support of the Swiss Council of Religions.

Source: http://www.thelocal.ch/20170207/bern-calls-for-new-office-to-debate-questions-of-religion

This week’s viewing of the film Born Again was a very fascinating and intimate look into how religion affects people’s personal lives. It was interesting and rather off-putting to see how comfortable the parishioners were with their pastor inserting himself into their lives and affairs. These people surrendered basically every aspect of their lives to the church, and they did so with complete willingness. This was a very bizarre process to watch as someone who is almost entirely divorced from religion, but for the people being recorded, it was just the way of things.

Another fascinating process was the conversion of the man who did not accept his brother’s faith at the beginning of the film. The conversation he had with his brother, which culminated in him breaking down and crying, was very powerful. It was a huge reminder of how much of a person’s identity is based around their own sense of religion and spirituality. Watching this sad, broken man accept a higher power into his life and perceive a noticeable difference in his quality of living was an incredible transition to see.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the man who turned to religion after his wife left him made for a fascinating story. The conversation between the pastor and the ex-wife was unnerving – it cannot be stressed enough that I’m not used to this level of contact between a religious leader and their parishioners, and to see that relationship unfold was an entirely new experience. All in all, it was a very fascinating look into a world I don’t know.

Steve Bannon, former executive of Breitbart, a far-right news organization, was recently appointed as Donald Trump’s chief strategist. In light of this appointment, CNN recovered an audio clip from 2010, when Bannon appeared on a right-wing radio station “Western Word Radio with Avi Davis.” In the clip, Bannon mocks words said by then-president George Bush when he claimed that Islam is a religion of peace. Bannon claimed that “Islam is not a religion of peace. Islam is a religion of submission. Islam means submission.” These remarks shed very telling light on Bannon’s opinion of Islam, which is particularly noteworthy given the key role he played in Trump’s order to ban Muslims from the United States. It also plays into the discussion we had this week about religious viewpoints and stances. It would appear that Bannon, for instance, views his belief system as the one true way to salvation, as he readily and openly derides Muslim belief systems on live radio. Bannon would likely hold a Sectarian view on religiosity. Having someone this zealous and narrow-minded as a major political figure is a disconcerting and worrisome example of how much religiosity can influence life and social structures.

This week’s class was an interesting look at the differences between official and nonofficial religion. Before this class I had no idea that the differences were so diverse; I basically saw it as “things that aren’t cults” vs. “cults.” The distinction, of course, is much more complex than that, and learning more about this distinction made for a very interesting class experience. As I discussed last week it was fascinating to see how beliefs in magic and the occult fit into the spectrum, as well as the history of sexism in organized religion. I had no idea that that aspect ran so very deep in the history of organized religion, and it was interesting to see how that informed some of the differences between official and nonofficial religion.

Going forward I hope to see more of this diversity between religion and how it affects peoples’ lives. Chapter Five of McGuire was great in this aspect because it demonstrated the differences between church stances, as well as individual religious orientations, (sectarian, cultic, denominational, churchly) and seeing these differences brought to light and explained so thoroughly like this was one of the main reasons I took this class. This is the kind of thing that I can’t wait to learn more about as we go on to discuss this chapter in more depth in class next week.

In the article I looked at this week, “The Changing Nature of America’s Irreligious Explained,” Richard Flory of Religion News Service takes a look at the increasing percentage of US citizens who claim to have no religious affiliation. This is, of course, very relevant to what we have discussed in class, as it talks about religious “nones” and reasons for their increasing numbers. It discusses the diversity of individuals identifying as nones, including those who identify as spiritual and not religious (potentially also identifying as a member of what McGuire would term a non-official religion) and those who are open to the existence of God or some similar higher power.

Flory distills his argument down to five major reasons for the increase in religious nones in America. His first reason is that with the more widespread access to knowledge granted by the internet, traditional authority structures have been weakened (he mentions a nameless pastor whose sermons were fact-checked by her parishioners as she gave them). His second reason is that important social institutions, religion included, are no longer viewed as frequently as having a positive impact on society. Thirdly, issues such as widely televised sex scandals have given religion a bad name. Fourthly, increasing competition for the attention of the average citizen has rubbed out organized religion for a lot of people, and finally, many new parents have been stressing personal choice for their children when it comes to religion, and, perhaps for one of the other four reasons listed above, less children are choosing organized religion. This article is obviously connected very deeply to some of the issues we’ve been discussing in class, and I thought it would be interesting to see a contemporary, real-world take on the issues that we have been covering.

It interested me to read about the paranormal, the occult, and magic in this week’s reading. I am a fiction writer who specializes in fantasy, and it’s always fascinating to be reminded of the real-life belief systems that inspire some of my favorite genres of fiction. The concept of such rituals and behaviors is one that has always been foreign to me, even before I departed from my religion, but the fact that they continue to hold such sway in modern society is a very interesting concept to me. From my personal point of view it would appear as though the magical rituals practiced by occult and wiccan societies would have died out in this era of skepticism and cynicism. Of course, a practicing magic-user likely would not follow my point of view in the least, and would instead view their rituals as a tradition as ordinary as I once considered prayer to be. And that’s really what interests me most about this issue. If I wrote a fantasy novel in which the characters attended a religious service every Sunday, prayed, held communion, and did all the practices of a traditional Christian church service, it would be strange. Mainstream Christianity has been so normalized that the traditions don’t seem out of place. But the traditions and spirituality expressed in magical and paranormal rituals should realistically be no different. They’re just another way of expressing faith. The only difference would appear to be how mainstream they are. It’s a very fascinating example of how our society has developed around religious practice and tradition.