After giving a group presentation in different forms or religion and practice, I’ve spent a little more time thinking about meditation and solitude. As I’ve said in my previous post, I was raised Catholic and quickly lost interest once high school came around. Religion was never really something that made me feel better or put me in touch with myself. Often times it was quite the chore to even get out of bed and attend mass. The thing that’s always been important to me is time for myself. Being able to have an hour or two each day where I can relax, day dream, listen to music, and reflect on my day/week really helps me feel grounded. It also helps control the stress a bit too.
While I work pretty hard to make sure I have this time each day, I feel that our society (specifically Gen Y) is having a lot less alone time as a whole. Technology here is what’s to blame. Everyday I walk around campus and everyone is either on their laptops, PDAs, cell phones, texting, or actually interacting with others. Don’t get me wrong because I definitely participate in all of the above while on campus, but with these technologies it’s becoming harder to actually get away and truly be alone when all someone has to do is send you a text or IM. I really enjoy technology and how much easier it makes life. For example, I’m writing this right now away from my apartment on my laptop while simultaneously texting a friend. Technology allows me to keep my friends and family only a few buttons away no matter where I go. But this constant connectivity makes it hard to really be alone. I found an interesting video on Youtube by Dina Rudick and Scott Helman-
Friday, April 24, 2009
Religious Tolerance
As we are nearing the end of this course, the questions of religion have just began flowing. If religion is supposed to be something that works as a guideline of how people to live good and decent lives, why is there so much hostility and hatred in the world? With all of these different religions, it is almost impossible for people to agree on their beliefs. I grew up in private catholic schools and have frequently felt like religion was being forced upon me. In no way should this ever happen, your beliefs should be brought about by your own experiences and interpretations of events that have happened. Going back to what Kant said, people should not rely on others for their beliefs and virtues.
I feel if people relied less on religion to tell them what to do, there would not be as much religious intolerance from their beliefs telling them others' are wrong. Religious tolerance is something that should be worked upon much harder globally. Why spend so much time looking at the differences when you should be focusing on the similarities?
have a nice summer
I feel if people relied less on religion to tell them what to do, there would not be as much religious intolerance from their beliefs telling them others' are wrong. Religious tolerance is something that should be worked upon much harder globally. Why spend so much time looking at the differences when you should be focusing on the similarities?
have a nice summer
Will Religion Ever Die
For my final blog post I was thinking about how long different forms of religion have lasted and have continuously been followed over time. This made me wonder whether or not religion as we know it will ever come to a complete stop or if everyone will one day believe in the same thing. Faith is such a strong thing and it made me think, even if someone had scientific proof of how we were created and what was really true, would all people except it or continue to follow what they believe to be true in their religion. On page 109 in The Stillborn God Lilla describes the human curiosity and how it can lead to beliefs in science or religion. This leads me to believe that we will never stop questioning our world and that we will always rely on science or religion for comfort.
A Gathering Storm
I found this video on youtube, and I DEFININTELY recommend that you all watch this, it's almost too funny.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Enlightenment...My Final Conclusion
Now that our class is coming to an end for the semester I can’t help but look back on all that I have learned and how it has had its impact on my beliefs. It is obvious to me, as it seems it is with most Americans, that our society has drastically changed over time and is continuing to change. Religion is still a very dominating issue within the United States, but over the years it has taken a new look. There is a greater variety of religions as well as a greater number of people without any religion at all. This class has led me to lean towards the belief of enlightenment and each person having their own understanding of things. Enlightenment seems more and more prevalent in our society, and others, because of the developments in education and societies understanding of the world we live in. Some of our class readings and an article I read online enforced my opinion on this belief and helped me understand where its origins really came from in the United States. I will start by sharing my favorite quote on enlightenment:
“Have the courage to use your own understanding” (Western World 149)
I feel that this quote says a lot about enlightenment and what is needed to allow it. Enlightenment is just the idea of every individual using their own knowledge and intelligence to understand life and everything concerning it. One must have the courage to step out of the pack and general consensus and allow themselves to believe in what they feel is right.
“This enlightenment requires nothing but freedom—and the most innocent of all that may be called “freedom”: freedom to make public use of one’s reason in all matters.” (Western World 150)
Freedom has not always been easy to come by in our world. Now that more freedoms are allowed to individuals in most countries, and especially the U.S, it is acceptable for an individual to believe in whatever they want and share it with others who might share their ideas. It seems that the United States has always been ahead of other countries when it comes to this freedom, and this is with good reason.
“Dr. Wood introduced enlightenment as a primary building block for America as a nation. Early Americans considered themselves pioneers of enlightenment, and they used this self view to establish and define the nation, a first in world history.”(Thomson).
America was founded by free thinking individuals who felt the best way to create a fair and equal nation was to allow freedom of speech, religion, and other beliefs. It seems to me that although we have had our ups and downs with these freedoms our nation was definitely created in a manner which would allow America to be the center of enlightenment and equality.
“Men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were stepping out of the monarchial traditions of their fathers and into a republican ideal in which all men are created equal. The people became citizens – individuals with equal say. Book learning was no longer reserved for the social elite. Eighteenth century Americans believed they have erased the idea of elitism in the first place! Here, according to Dr. Wood, we see the beginnings of the concept of a liberal arts education.”(Thomson).
My conclusion is that enlightenment will only grow as individuals advance in education, acceptance, and understanding of the world we live in, and although there may always be religious institutions, the overall freedom of allowing each person to believe in what they want, and express their beliefs, will become increasingly prevalent. This is now what I believe to be true.
“Eighteenth century America was not the climax of enlightenment. Instead, it served as a unique environment for the construction of a base for continual enlightenment. America's current values are rooted in those established during this time period. The American enlightenment represents the beginning of America's journey toward "true" civilization.”(Thomson).
Works Cited:
The Western World Philosophy. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008.
Thomson, Natalie. "American Enlightenment." Summary of a lecture by Gordon S. Wood. University of Maine at Farmington, September 25, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2009 ..
“Have the courage to use your own understanding” (Western World 149)
I feel that this quote says a lot about enlightenment and what is needed to allow it. Enlightenment is just the idea of every individual using their own knowledge and intelligence to understand life and everything concerning it. One must have the courage to step out of the pack and general consensus and allow themselves to believe in what they feel is right.
“This enlightenment requires nothing but freedom—and the most innocent of all that may be called “freedom”: freedom to make public use of one’s reason in all matters.” (Western World 150)
Freedom has not always been easy to come by in our world. Now that more freedoms are allowed to individuals in most countries, and especially the U.S, it is acceptable for an individual to believe in whatever they want and share it with others who might share their ideas. It seems that the United States has always been ahead of other countries when it comes to this freedom, and this is with good reason.
“Dr. Wood introduced enlightenment as a primary building block for America as a nation. Early Americans considered themselves pioneers of enlightenment, and they used this self view to establish and define the nation, a first in world history.”(Thomson).
America was founded by free thinking individuals who felt the best way to create a fair and equal nation was to allow freedom of speech, religion, and other beliefs. It seems to me that although we have had our ups and downs with these freedoms our nation was definitely created in a manner which would allow America to be the center of enlightenment and equality.
“Men like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were stepping out of the monarchial traditions of their fathers and into a republican ideal in which all men are created equal. The people became citizens – individuals with equal say. Book learning was no longer reserved for the social elite. Eighteenth century Americans believed they have erased the idea of elitism in the first place! Here, according to Dr. Wood, we see the beginnings of the concept of a liberal arts education.”(Thomson).
My conclusion is that enlightenment will only grow as individuals advance in education, acceptance, and understanding of the world we live in, and although there may always be religious institutions, the overall freedom of allowing each person to believe in what they want, and express their beliefs, will become increasingly prevalent. This is now what I believe to be true.
“Eighteenth century America was not the climax of enlightenment. Instead, it served as a unique environment for the construction of a base for continual enlightenment. America's current values are rooted in those established during this time period. The American enlightenment represents the beginning of America's journey toward "true" civilization.”(Thomson).
Works Cited:
The Western World Philosophy. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2008.
Thomson, Natalie. "American Enlightenment." Summary of a lecture by Gordon S. Wood. University of Maine at Farmington, September 25, 2005. Retrieved April 23, 2009 .
Christian Rock
I realize we have already talked about religious music and the impact it can have on people, especially when they go to mass. A mass with great music is a more exciting mass than one with bad music. However, I want to talk about the other form of religious music. The mainstream kind, such as Christian rock. I have listened to a lot of Christian rock in preparation for this post, and if there is one thing I have noticed is how "normal" this music sounds. Seriously, go youtube the bands Red, Pillar, or Skillet and you will see what I am talking about. All there music is incredibly good and sounds just like the music I listen to in my free time (heck it might even be better than my music...really!).
Before I started listening to Christian rock I had a sense of what it was going to sound like. Some guy singing about god and Jesus with a "cool" sounding guitar riff in the background. This is just not true (it may be for the crap Christian rock bands) the lyrics are actually quite good dealing with mortality and love and things like that and not just about god and Jesus.
Alan Wolfe states in The Transformation of American Religion " Rock music-or,as it is frequently called, contemporary Christian music-is now a featured part of Sunday services at evangelical churches throughout the United States" (Wofle 28). Wolfe here calls the music we hear in church the Christian rock. But the thing is that the music you hear in church is nothing like these real Christian rock bands.
After I got recognized to the real Christian rock I started to wonder why I had this misconception about the music. Was it because I just wasn't aware of how the music really was and I was using church as my jumping off point to guess. Or was it because I was thinking all Christian rock bands would be singing really "lame" music because they are religious.
I also learned that a lot of world famous bands first started off as Christian rock bands before they made the jump to real mainstream music. Jessica Simpson first started her career trying to be a Christian rock artist, way before she hit the big time.
Could this then relate to how we perceive other religions? I think that may be a real possibility. We have all these conceptions about things we don't understand. If we don't understand what something is really like we tend to think of it in a real stereotypical manner. This only hurts ourselves because then we don't get to experience and learn things from these things we don't understand.
After learning this I can't help but feel a little stupid. Why would I think something about Christian rock and not even give it a chance before? Were my feelings just too strong to overcome that I just assumed no matter what the band is, if it is Christian rock it has got to suck. Well now I know the truth, and I urge all of you to see it too.
Citation:
Wolfe, Alan. The Transformation of American Religion. New York: Free Press, 2003. Print.
Before I started listening to Christian rock I had a sense of what it was going to sound like. Some guy singing about god and Jesus with a "cool" sounding guitar riff in the background. This is just not true (it may be for the crap Christian rock bands) the lyrics are actually quite good dealing with mortality and love and things like that and not just about god and Jesus.
Alan Wolfe states in The Transformation of American Religion " Rock music-or,as it is frequently called, contemporary Christian music-is now a featured part of Sunday services at evangelical churches throughout the United States" (Wofle 28). Wolfe here calls the music we hear in church the Christian rock. But the thing is that the music you hear in church is nothing like these real Christian rock bands.
After I got recognized to the real Christian rock I started to wonder why I had this misconception about the music. Was it because I just wasn't aware of how the music really was and I was using church as my jumping off point to guess. Or was it because I was thinking all Christian rock bands would be singing really "lame" music because they are religious.
I also learned that a lot of world famous bands first started off as Christian rock bands before they made the jump to real mainstream music. Jessica Simpson first started her career trying to be a Christian rock artist, way before she hit the big time.
Could this then relate to how we perceive other religions? I think that may be a real possibility. We have all these conceptions about things we don't understand. If we don't understand what something is really like we tend to think of it in a real stereotypical manner. This only hurts ourselves because then we don't get to experience and learn things from these things we don't understand.
After learning this I can't help but feel a little stupid. Why would I think something about Christian rock and not even give it a chance before? Were my feelings just too strong to overcome that I just assumed no matter what the band is, if it is Christian rock it has got to suck. Well now I know the truth, and I urge all of you to see it too.
Citation:
Wolfe, Alan. The Transformation of American Religion. New York: Free Press, 2003. Print.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Religion and Sports
Religion plays an enormous role in professional sports throughout the world today; most notably football players in the NFL are the most public and open about their faith. In a recent MSNBC segment they discuss up how football players publicly display their faith on the field by praying on the field after a game or by end zone blessings and if it is a problem. The video starts with a clip of Terrell Owens telling the media that he is going to play in the super bowl despite an injured leg and against doctors advice, Owens replied “I got the best doctor of all, and that’s god” when asked who cleared him to play. They then interviewed Kurt Warner who is a popular NFL quarterback and one of the most religious athletes in America today. Kurt explained that being religious on the field is no different than when he is religious at home with his wife and kids, it is just a part of who he is and doesn’t feel like there should be any regulation over religious celebrations.
After watching this video clip I also wondered if athletes like Terrell Owens and Kurt Warner would be as religious as they are now if they were not as gifted at sports as they are. I do not know much about how they were raised by their parents or the area in which they grew up. I do know many people who were raised to be extremely religious and lived in a religious community who grew up to be ordinary people who do not live very religious lives. It’s almost like the opposite of Michael Brooks’ article Born Believers; in the article he says how people create god when they are in fear. In this situation these athletes are creating god for being so successful.
Video
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?mkt=en-us&vid=3af8575b-c30f-4b8e-a1cd-adc0f76f50ee
Works Cited
Brooks, Michael. "Born believers: How Your Brain creates God."New Scientist. February 4, 2009.
Reagan, Ron, and Monica Crowley. Religion and Sports. MSNBC. 4 Feb. 2005
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