With presentations going on and learning about different religion groups, it is very interesting to see how and why people think different religions are appealing and why they feel the need to be apart of it. I started to notice that majority of churches are very eager for new people within the community or the very opposite, they could care less. The Riverside Sandals Church that was featured in one of this week’s presentations showed how much the church goes out of their way to make themselves appealing rather than another church that people have no idea exists. The Riverside Sandals Church uses technology to their advantage and makes it possible to reach out to many different types of people to invite them in. Back home, I go to a Calvary church which does the same thing. They are very inviting to everyone and uses technology to their advantage. Also this week, many people, including myself, went and visited different denominations to see how different groups of people come together to practice their religion, so it will be interesting to see how people describe the way the church brought them in/acknowledged them. Our generation can typically think that religion can be boring, so if a church is willing to go out of their way to appeal to someone personally, I think that is an attractive feature to a church and I would want to join just for that specific reason.
Category Archives: Religion and …
Build Bridges not Walls
In this article from Religion News Service, it talks about Pope Francis’ opposition to Trump’s proposed “wall,” and how it is a very un-Christian thing to do. Pope Francis states that we should be building bridges instead of walls, and to “overcome evil with good.” The Pope also stated that Trump should be guided by ethical values, and take care of the poor and the outcast during his time as President, as these are very unique times in US history and history in general. Inclusiveness, generosity, love, and compassion are all Christian values, yet many Christians seem to lose sight of them. This article relates to the presentation on The Shared Parish because many Christians lose sight of their values, but when it comes down to it everyone wants the same thing and by helping others in need you are only gaining from that, never losing. Although it is an unideal situation to share a parish with a group of people you don’t know, the most Christian thing one could do is open up their doors and welcome those in need. Just like The Shared Parish, Trump should remember his Christian values since he claims to be one, and welcome those in need rather than turn them away based on minor differences.
Musicians Displayed Religion
This past Sunday, the 59th Grammys aired live and many artists came together to celebrate the past year’s best music. Many artists performed as well accept awards. Newer rap artist, Chance the Rapper, won 3 Grammys and was overjoyed. When receiving his first award he exclaimed, “Glory be to God, I claim the victory in the name of the lord, let’s go!”. He then later performed Christian song “How Great” and “All we Got” with a Christian gospel chorus behind him. A Tribe Called Quest, composed of two Muslim men, put religion and politics into their performance of “We the People”. Rapper, Busta Rhymes, also joined on stage and thanked President Trump for his, “unsuccessful attempt at the Muslim ban”. A woman in a hijab then knocked down a wall constructed onstage. The most talked about performance of the night was performed by Beyoncé. She had special effects that made it look like she had many arms, mimicking Kali, a Hindu goddess who has been worshipped as the Divine Mother and Mother of the Universe. She wore a golden crown with roses and a veil that portrayed icons of the Virgin Mary, including depictions of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in Catholicism. These artists were very public with their display of religion and were fearless about it and I think this country needs more of that.
Religion Throughout the Nation
Religion is something that is supposed to hold someone/a group together in times of turmoil. The nation has been in an uproar this past week with some of President Trump’s decisions for America. The nation has been either defending or attacking his decisions based on their religion. The immigration act has offended many people in the nation, because it disallows people to come into the country, because of their background. This enrages people, because the nation should be a nation held under God and God does not discriminate against people. Trump thinks he is doing America justice by keeping people of Muslim background out of America, but he is only separating us more. God believes to love thy neighbor and to not judge. By banning all Muslims, he is assimilating that all of them are no good and mean harm to this country. As a country, we are a symbol that represents freedom and Trump is beginning to take that away. In chapter 8 of American Religions, Chaves says, “… people have been changing their religion to match their political and social views”, and I think this is what is slowly happening with America. People who support Trump would not like it if other countries banned us for the simple fact that we are from America. People saying that they support Trump, because they support Christian is outlandish and is false. By being Christian you would not support the immigration ban and would be open to having another descent in the country.
At the Divide of Church and State
Donald Trump made a commitment during his campaign to repeal the long standing Johnson amendment. This amendment was added as a provision to the tax code in 1954, signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower. In practice the amendment has been used to restrict non-profit organizations including churches from endorsing or opposing a political candidate at the coast of losing their tax-exempt status. Though passed by a republican Congress and president, religious leaders today believe repealing the Johnson amendment would give way to a conservative christian revolution. The basis of repeal is that the amendment violates free speech. This argument has been taken to court several times over and the courts have not agreed with the statement. Therefore, should Trump use presidential power to repeal the amendment he would be, again, overstepping his role as the President of the United States.
In class we have taken not of two key factors playing in this case. The first is, specifically in Chaves, that the correlation between regular church goers and conservative political values has strengthened in the past years. Repealing the Johnson amendment, I believe would cultivate that relationship. Second, in the most recent movie we have seen, the Baptist families are consumed by their religious practices and lives and see the outside world as a threat and sinful. The conservative Christian battle against the outside world is coming to light. If the Johnson amendment were to be repealed conservative Christian groups could not just condemn the workings of the outside world, but actively influence its politics.
(Peters, Jeremy W. “At the Divide of Church and State” The New York Times 3 Feb. 2017 A17. Print. 8 Feb 2017.)
Controversy Surrounding Christian Refugees
In this article from CNN, it talks about how President Trump will give preferential treatement to Christian Syrian refugees trying to enter the US, as opposed to Muslim refugees. While this seems absurd to the majority of Americans, Trump believes he is doing the right thing because, in his own words, “Everybody was persecuted, in all fairness — but they were chopping off the heads of everybody but more so the Christians. And I thought it was very, very unfair. So we are going to help them.” I am curious to know if believed Muslim Syrians were the ones in more immediate danger, would he prioritize them over Christians? This controversy also goes hand in hand with Trump’s new “Travel Ban,” which many are calling a “Muslin Ban.” Trump has been accused by many around the world of being prejudice and intolerant towards other religions, and his political actions have reinforced this idea. This idea relates to our class discussion on Monday about religion as a source of cohesion and also conflict. I think in today’s political climate, religion is definitely a source of conflict, especially when our leaders are promoting fear and intolerance, rather than acceptance and peace.
U.S. Shows Explicit Bias Towards Christian Refugees
In this article published by the Pew Research Center, the author discusses the recent data from the 2016 fiscal year regarding the religious affiliation’s of refugees accepted into the United States. Katayoun Kishi states that the majority of refugees who are being accepted into the United States are Christians who are religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries. However, the author states that Christians are not the only religious minorities in these countries. This makes me wonder as to the fairness of the criteria used to determine which refugees are accepted into the U.S. Applying to enter the U.S. as a refugee is a long and arduous process but many refugees are willing to endure this for chances at a better life, yet for these roadblocks to be placed in their way due to religious discrimination and ignorance is both angering and disheartening.
Trump has stated in an announcement that preference for refugee applications will be given to those who are Christian. This increasing discrimination toward Muslims and Muslim countries is disgraceful and shows a real need for more dialogue and awareness of global issues and the religion of Islam. I hope that the continuous protests and loud voices against things like the Muslim Ban, the DAPL, and de-funding of sanctuary cities will make Trump reconsider his policies.
Observing Life in Different Religions
This past week, we discussed the different types of religions and how people behave when apart of it. We then watched the film, Born Again: Life in a Fundamentalist Baptist Church, that gave an inside look to how different people live their lives when apart of a certain religion. The kids in the movie complained about not being able to experience new things and knowing everyone’s business that surrounded them. Because everything was known around the community, if they participated in something that was considered sinful to the church they would have to keep it a big secret and not tell anyone. Even certain adults were not content and happy being apart of the religion. At one point, a mother was unable to see her kids, because she had committed a sinful act and could only see them if she followed certain guidelines and orders. It is amazing that people will live a certain way, because they believe in a certain religion and believe that it’s ruling is always correct. In our readings this week, it also showed that the involvement in youth in churches is starting to decline. The church is beginning to become a more older age group collectively. Younger people are no longer inspired by religion, because it seems like something that will limit them. Just from watching the film, it is apparent that kids aren’t thrilled about being apart of something that will hinder their fun and experiencing all opportunities of life.
For 100 days and counting, a Thai king is mourned
After 70 years as king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej passed away in October of 2016. Many Thai- U.S citizens recount the late king as a man of the people, for he reset precedents that had separated the monarchs of Thailand from the people. Before Bhumibol Adulyadej kings were distant figures, the average person wasn’t even allowed to make eye contact with the king. After 7 decades as king and 30 prime ministers Bhumibol Adulyadej amassed a legacy based on his willingness to relate to people by kneeling down to speak with them on his adventures through the land.
Since his passing many people of Thai descent here in the United States have expressed great pain and shock spanning generations. Thousands of Thai Americans gathered at Buddhist temples across the United States to observe the 100th day since the kings passing there many people recounted their memories of the late king and his legacy, and dedicating themselves to preserving his memory.
The unity among the Thai Buddhist community in this time of morning is symbolic of the brief history Thai- Buddhist people have in the United States. Whereas Protestantism and Catholicism both have long standing history across this land the Thai- Buddhist community has yet to be diluted by American culture.
No Change in Doctrine
Chapter 5 in “Religion: The Social Context” discusses in-depth the different types of collective religious stances and individual religious orientations. Within this typology is that of the denominational stance which describes groups that “exist in a positive relationship with society and accept the legitimacy class of other religious collectivities with a denominational stance” (Pg. 157). In the article, C of E Bishops Refuse to Change Stance on Gay Marriage, the writer talks about the Church of England’s long withstanding orthodox doctrine on marriage. According to their doctrine, marriage can only be between a man and a woman. A ruling like this seems to put the Church of England in a position of tension with the greater society today for refusing to adopt doctrine to fit in with the 21st century.
Members of the Church of England were divided, some stating that the church accepts divorce now and other biblical orthodoxies are no longer taken literally, while the other side says that biblical principles need to be upheld and doctrine should not “bow” to contemporary culture. Despite their ruling, the C of E wants to advocate freedom for gay people and stand against homophobia. I think these are the kind of rulings that influence the religious orientation of some people. The changes or lack of in doctrine disagree with an individual’s beliefs or clash with society in ways that cause their religious orientation to shift. This could lead them to move away from their religious faith to something that matches their beliefs better such as spiritual or cult collectives.