Final Blog

For my final blog, I thought I would discuss my overall opinion of this class. When I was first presented with the opportunity to be in Intro to Religion, I was not too thrilled at this class choice, but as I have been through this semester, I have began to appreciate this class more and more. This class has taught me so much about religion that I never knew. I particularly enjoyed learning about the non-western religions, this is partly due to the fact that we are not taught all these religions in school so what we hear about them from the media is what we know about them. The top 5 misconceptions of the Islamic religion was one of my favorite topics to learn about; however, Judaism came in a close second. I enjoyed learning about Islam due to all of falsities that the media presented us with, it was neat to learn about what the Muslim people actually do worship. It was also cool to learn about the different views that there are in this world, for example, linear and non-linear worldviews. I found it very easy to relate the Turner Model and the Eliade Model outside of class due to its presence in our everyday lives. This class has taught me more about religion than I have learned through high school and middle school. Intro to Religion is definitely a class I would recommend to other students interested in broadening their views on the world’s religions.

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Goddess Pilgrimage

Learning about goddess pilgrimage was definitely an interesting class. The article was fascinating due to the fact that it was written in a women’s perspective. Whenever we were discussing the Goddess pilgrimage, we discussed why it was pilgrimage and what parts of the article related to why it was a pilgrimage. The author strongly expresses the importance of communitas in a Goddess pilgrimage. This is one of the key features in The Turner Model, and she speaks about how the women band together during this type of pilgrimage. Then the author also speaks about what a pilgrimage is, she interviews other women and one woman explains that a pilgrimage is a “Sacred journey to a sacred space for a sacred purpose” (482). This directly relates to The Eliade Model because this model talks about how there are two types of spaces, sacred and non-sacred space.  By the end of our reading we eventually decided that the Goddess pilgrimage is a true pilgrimage due to the details we found in the reading that relate back to the Turner Model and the Eliade Model.

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Paganism

In class last week we discussed the possibility of Paganism being a religion. I had always thought that Paganism was a religion, but it was interesting to learn why it was a religion. I have heard the term Pagan used several times in relevance towards religion, so during class it was fascinating to figure out why it is a religion. One of the main reasons it is a religion is because it has rituals, and the rituals are seasonally.  Another reason it is a religion is because it is a goddess-based religion. The Goddess and her son are the ultimate reality of this religion and their whole religion is centered around the myths of the Goddess and her son. Paganism is such a different religion, so I can see why people wouldn’t think it is a religion.

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Non Western Religions

Non-western religions are very unique in how they practice their beliefs, especially when they are compared to the western religions that surround us. I was interested in learning about Hinduism and Buddhism due to the nature that they are so different than Christianity and Judaism. The main part of Non-western religions that intrigues me the most is the idea of a cyclical view of time. Growing up, I was raised in a Christian home, where the view that I was taught was a linear view of time. Seeing that the non-western religions view time as nonlinear and they believe in reincarnation gave myself another view on different religions. The idea of Karma and endless rebirths is an fascinating subject. I would love to learn more about the Buddhist and Hindu religions. I also found the idea of being polytheistic, worshipping multiple gods, interesting. Shiva, the God of sex, death, and rebirth is by far the most interesting God to me because this god deals with the nonlinear view of time. I enjoyed looking at the other types of religions all around the world because they give you perspective on what you are practicing in your religion and a different view on what you could be practicing.

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The Guest Speaker

The guest speaker opened my eyes to the connection between what we have been talking about in class and actual real life examples. It helped when the speaker had the students talk about their experience with the pilgrimage. It made it easier to relate to the pilgrimage after they shared their personal pilgrimage and how they have changed. One of the most eye opening pilgrimage experiences that was spoken about was the girl who was addicted to drugs and after spending the two years reading the bible and taking her pilgrimage she wasn’t addicted to drugs and she had completely turned her life around. This can also relate to the Turner Model, as she had gone out on her own experience and she had to leave her old life behind and cross a limin, and eventually she came back as a whole new person. The speaker made many valid points about pilgrimage and by the end of his presentation he helped me better understand pilgrimage.

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Islam

I view the Islam religion completely differently then I viewed it before last class’s discussion. The top 5 misconceptions that were given to us as notes were very helpful in erasing some of the misunderstandings I was lead to believe about the Muslim people. The number one misunderstanding I believed as an outsider was that Muslims worship a different God. I believed this because I had heard that they worshiped Allah, but what I did not know was the meaning of Allah. Upon finding out that Allah means God in Arabic, I now know that they worship the same God, they just have a different word then we use. I also did not know the difference between Islam and Muslim, I thought they were synonymous; therefore, they could be interchanged with each other. That was proven wrong once I found out that one they were not interchangeable and there is a difference between them. Islam should be taught to students at an early age, so they don’t think these fallacies and they are educated properly. Students are taught how a plant cell divides, but they are not taught a religion in which 1 in 4 people practice. This should be a required subject in middle or high school education because it is just as important as the quadratic formula or stoichiometry.

 

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Judaism

I have always viewed Judaism as a religion that is strangely similar to Christianity, but it was not until last class’s lesson that I realized how similar they truly are. Christianity and Judaism are both monotheistic religions. I perceived Judaism as a polytheistic religion due to the false pretenses I was under, but as I recently found out, it is extremely monotheistic. Another astonishing resemblance between Judaism and Christianity is they are both textual based religions. I knew that Judaism had the Torah, but I did not know it was based off of the Torah just like the bible was. One of the most astounding facts I learned about the Torah is that it is part of the modern day bible, but it is often regarded as the Old Testament, which is in the bible’s first section. I was perplexed at the restrictions Judaism places on the food; Christianity does not place these types of restrictions on the daily diet. Another parallel with these religions are the weekly prayers and the rites performed. Like Christianity, Judaism has rites that are performed throughout a believer’s life. Judaism has the circumcision of a baby boy, and Christianity has the baptism of a child. Also Judaism has Bar/Bat Mitzvah and Christianity has Communion. Overall, these 2 religions are quite analogous in the way they are performed; however, they are different in the fact that they that have different perceptions on the Person of Christ.

 

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Unlikely Disciple

As I was preparing to read the Unlikely Disciple, I was preparing for the worst; I was expecting 315 pages of pure misery. But as I started to read the book, the first few pages were not bad, and soon enough I was on page 50 and not bored. I liked how the author Kevin Roose’s stories were so personal to him and easily relatable. As you read his stories, his attention to detail kept me captivated as his audience. I was intrigued to turn the page and figure out what “The Liberty Way” had in store for him. His transition was somewhat what my transition would be like if I transferred to a Christian school like Roose. I would need extra help to understand the bible, I would need to alter my vocabulary, and last of all I would need to change my mindset to focus more. Although I would never consider transferring to that type of school, Kevin Roose transitioned very smoothly to a Christian school. He had many problems going against him, but he came out of the Semester with a lot more maturity then he went in with. Thanks to his interview with Jerry Fallwell, it made his semesters work more beneficial because his book got more recognition due to Fallwell’s superiority in the Christian world. Kevin Roose’s semester at Liberty was a good idea for him to broaden his view on the world and to immerse himself into a new culture.

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Durkheim

As we have gone through The Seven Theories of Religion, I have come to favor one of the theorists over the other three. Although all of the theorists have valid definitions of religion backed up by their professional opinions, some of them don’t speak to me quite as much as others do. I most closely relate to Durkheim’s definition of religion. He says that religions create a system of beliefs and practices upon one human problem, to deal with taboos. There is a center goal, which are practices. He defines the practices into two separate categories, which are rite and ritual. Rites are a one-time deal in religion; they are things such as Confirmation. While rituals are anything that can be repeated daily, such as church, and Ramadan. The reason I most closely associate to Durkheim’s beliefs is because his beliefs are practically the same as mine. Although I don’t go to church every Sunday, I used to go to church every Monday back in Colorado. This was a ritual I practiced that strongly reminded me of the rituals that Durkheim spoke of. Another one of Durkheim’s practices is rites, and a rite that I have participated in is Baptism. His definition of religion seems the most practical to me in my time period. Although the other theorists made substantial points about religion, I would like to align myself with Durkheims beliefs.

 

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