Religious Studies @studiesbyalexisb-blog - Tumblr Blog

Democrats are comfortable talking about their religious beliefs, but shouldn't use them for political gain.

Religion is often only lightly referred to in political events, but the majority of presidential candidates are noticeably Christian. Why must that be true?

Nancy LeTourneau explains in an April 2019 article titled “Religious Faith Shouldn’t Be Exploited as a Political Asset” that a common trend in todays politics is that political figures are restricted from discussing religion affiliation. This is largely due to religion being considered a personal matter. LeTourneau explains how presidential candidate Pete Buttigeig has recently received an excessive amount of praise for opening speaking about his Christian faith. Buttigeig has gained a lot of attention for speaking about his beliefs because it is so uncommon in politics. However, Letourneau believes that religion has never actually left political grounds. Barack Obama would frequently discuss his Christian beliefs in public events and would quote the Bible in his speeches, and Hilary Clinton was no different. LeTourneau predicts that in American politics, discussing religion is not supported, but claiming oneself as a Christian is often used as an asset to gain political clout because it is the most popular religion in the country. In conclusion, the author does not necessarily believe that the use of faith as an asset is a bad thing and should not be disapproved from politics.

As we learned in lecture, the religious views of political elites are important because it can shape the views and beliefs of their followers. I decided to speak about this article because it clearly shows the significance of religion in politics. Many political candidates openly talk about their religious beliefs, especially if they are Christian, because it is favored by a large majority of the American population. I feel that the people are more likely to support an individual for the presidency if they follow the dame religion and therefore can advise policies that favor their beliefs. these will in turn, effect the lives of all Americans.

#religious #studies #eighthpost

A former college student shares how her college professor convinced her to turn away from Christianity and become an atheist.

Sources have shown that the younger generations have become more spiritual and believe in atheism more than ever before. Therefore, it is not a surprise to find that much of the college community is dissociated from religion. But where do these beliefs begin? Kayla Koslosky discusses in a March 2019 article titled “College Professors Are Predatory: Former Student Shares How Her Professor Convinced Her to Become an Atheist” about Samantha Sullivan’s, a former college student, experiences with a professor that persisted to persuade his students to go atheist.

According to Sullivan, she was a freshman at a summer program at the University of Texas at El Paso who was true to her Christian religion. Sullivan explains how when she began college, she felt that the student environment was very secular and belligerent about religion. Because of social pressure and the persistent teachings that disapproves the belief in a supreme being, Sullivan decided to go spiritual. Looking back to her early college years, she felt she lost herself and was ashamed for letting go of her connection to her religion. She hopes that her experiences help guide others in similar experiences and motivate them to be confident in their beliefs.

Through previous discussions in class, it is known that professors are considered to be one of the major “influencers” of religion and politics in society. This is because college professors are looked up to by their students, giving them the power to shape their beliefs and outlook on the world. I found this particular article interesting because it provides an example of why the religious views of a cultural elite matters in society and how it can affect those under them. Knowing that Sullivan was a young upcoming freshman, it was not hard to understand how the professor’s views dramatically affected her life and convinced her to believe otherwise. However, based on my experiences being a junior in college, I feel her experience with the professor is considerably rare. I feel that the majority of professors have the intentions of educating their students about different perspectives on religion rather than swaying them into a single belief. Through my experiences, I feel that college students and professors are more open to discussion about religion and different belief than any other setting.

#texas #religous #studies #seventhpost

LifeWay Christian Store, the chain known for its Christian books, gifts and Bibles, will close some of its locations due to "an accelerated rate of erosion," the company's president has announced.

According to Leah Klett in a January 2019 article titled “LifeWay Christian Stores to close some locations amid declining sales” the nonprofit organization, LifeWay, will unfortunately be closing a few of their locations due to lack of sales being made in the past few years. LifeWay manages more than 170 stores across the United States and is known for being one of the largest providers of Christian resources by selling church music, church supplies and Bibles. It is claimed that recent sale conflicts have been due to the growth in online retail sites like Amazon and Walmart that offer fast shipping and competitive prices. To meet these customer demands, LifeWay is looking to transition their sales to online servers to create a more digital shopping experience. Sadly, LifeWay is not the only Christian company to reach this fate. The Family Christian Stores and the Send The Light Distribution have reported that they will be going out of business in 2017 through 2018.

As I learned in lecture, bookstores are one of the major outlets for the Christian religion. They are known for marketing bestselling book series and contemporary movies like Left Behind and Veggie Tales. Although I am personally not interested in religious products, it is unfortunate to learn that Christian companies are forced to close due to growth in the online retail industry. However, it is comforting to know that LifeWay is taking this fallback as an opportunity to make their products more accessible to customers by going digital. It is also known that the radio and TV are the most important mediums for religious communication today. Therefore, the loss of multiple Christian companies in recent years should not be a major setback for the Christian community.

I decided to discuss this specific article because it adds into the discussion I had with the “Church Media 101 Sessions…” article. This shows another way that religions like Christianity are adapting to current times and slowly becoming more electronically friendly. It seems that within time, online sources will become the main source of communication for religion.

#religious #studies #sixthpost

Polling data and experts interviewed by The Washington Post do not show a Jewish exodus from the Republican Party in the Trump years.

When overlooking previous polls, the Jewish-American community has shown their true support by contributing an overwhelming number of votes to the Democratic party for decades. Due to recent conflicts over Representative Ilhan Omar and accusations of anti-Semitism in the Democratic party, Republicans have jumped at the chance to win converters.

According to Eli Rosenberg, in a March 2019 Washington Post article titled “Trump and the GOP are trying to make ‘Jexodus’ happen, but most Jews still vote Democratic” a former Trump campaign staff member, named Elizabeth Pipko spoke with Fox News reporters about the “Jexodus” program. The title of the organization is a play on the words “Jewish” and “exodus” and was created for pro-Trump Jewish people. According to Pipko, Jewish Americans are beginning to leave the Democratic party for their alleged support for anti-Semitism and anti-Islamic policies and the group was created to support these people. However, there is no evidence to support these claims. Jewish Americans have showed their loyalty to the Democratic party for decades, dating back to 1992 with only 11 percent of Jewish voters supporting the George H.W. Bush’s campaign. More recently, only 24 percent of Jewish Americans voters showed support for Trump during his 2016 election. Despite these odds, the Republican party is hopeful to see improvement in these numbers in the upcoming 2020 election because of the recent conflict in the Democratic party and the creation of the new “Jexodus” program.

As discussed in previous lectures and within the textbook, the Jewish American community is considered one of a few religious groups that the majority of their population favors a single political party. This is also witnessed with the African American Protestants and Hispanic Catholics with the Democratic party and white evangelicals with the Republican party. The Jewish support could largely be due to their religious affiliation or traditions that are supported by the liberal view the Democratic party contends. In my opinion, I think the Jewish community will not be hesitant to show their support for the Democratic party in the upcoming election, despite the issues they are facing because of Omar and the recent anti-Semitism allegations. I believe this because their religious views shape their voting choice and they will favor the party that reflects what they stand for. Therefore, unless Republics change their outlook on policies, Jews will stand with the Democrats.

#religous #studies #fifthpost

Industry experts shared about storytelling, websites, social media, and mobile during four Church Media 101 sessions March 28 at Proclaim 19, the NRB International Christian Media Convention in Anaheim, Calif.

Gaining new members and keeping current churchgoers motivated to attend services has been an ongoing struggle that all churches face. However, with technology and the growing digital age, the struggle to keep institutionalize religion relevant has become even more of a conflict.

According to Michael Smith in the April 2019 article titled “Church Media 101 Sessions Explore Storytelling, Websites, Social Media, Mobile,” chief marketing officer Josh Weiss recently did a speech in Anaheim, CA to local ministry leaders about the art of storytelling and the importance of making the story of the Bible interesting to its listeners. Weiss claims that by doing this, the connection the listeners have with the Bible will improve and will in turn, will make them want to learn more about the scriptures. He also emphasized that because social media is such a large industry nowadays, churches need to work on advertising their website and promoting their events on mobile platforms. This will make people want to visit the church website and interact with their content. Eventually this will allow more exposure to their religious services and make a large impact in the number of followers of the church In summary, taking advantage of the opportunities that mobile and digital communication offers in key to the success of the church in modern day society.

As we learned in recent lectures, some of the most important mediums of religious communication in today’s society are the radio and television, like the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). However, many religions, including Christianity, have also begun to represent themselves on different media platforms like Facebook and religious apps. This makes it easier for the religious community to connect with one another and keep members devoted to the church, especially in the modern digital age. I found this article interesting because it is intriguing to learn how ministry leaders and the religious community are learning new ways to stay connected and adapt to the younger generations, like myself. I think adapting to the world of technology will definitely help religious services thrive, and will give them more exposure to a larger amounts of people than ever before.

#religiousstudies #religious #studies #fourthpost

A liberal expected to win a Supreme Court seat was upset by a conservative. What went wrong?

Until Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court had a close race between the liberal Judge Lisa Neubauer and her conservative opponent Judge Brian Hagedorn. Before recent conclusions, the Democratic party was confident that their candidate, Lisa Neubauer, would undoubtably win the race. However, the results claimed otherwise. Judge Brian Hagedorn won his position as the Supreme Court Justice despite the previous hate he received for his religious beliefs.

According to Charles J. Sykes, in an April 2019 article titled “Warning from Wisconsin” the newly Supreme Court Justice received major backlash for his founding of the K-8 Augustine Academy in Waukesha Country. It is claimed that LGBT students and staff were forbidden from the school because they practice “immoral sexual activity” and violated their code that bans any “sexual arousal apart from the context of marriage between one man and one woman.” The ruling of the school and other notable claims in support of traditional marriage costed Hagedorn endorsements from major state realtors. This led Republicans to lose hope in Hagedorn’s spot in the race, but he wasn’t finished just yet. Hagedorn argued that he was being cruelly attacked for his religious views and had rallies of religious conservatives to support him and help him win the race.

As we learned in previous lectures, the religious views of political elites’ matter in society because it shapes the people’s attitudes toward religion and politics. I feel that many people were very concerned over Hagedorn success in receiving the role of Supreme Court Justice because his religious beliefs can potentially influence his judicial decision-making. Although it may not matter in every instance, I feel religious background can create issues in modern policy debates over topics like abortion and same-sex marriage. Therefore, the conclusion to the Supreme Court race is especially important to me because Hagedorn becoming a Supreme Justice means that the conservatives will have control over the majority of the court this year and can influence the general public’s view on religion and politics. I personally do not agree with Hagedorn’s views and favor the more liberal approach. For that reason, I feel concerned over the new policies that will be up for debate within the next year and feel it will be slightly more difficult to take a step forward towards a more accepting America.

#ideas #religious #studies #religousstudies #thirdpost

Nuns and Nones made its debut in New York City Feb. 10 at St. Joseph H.S., Downtown Brooklyn.

A growing number of Americans today consider themselves unaffiliated with any organized religion and classify themselves as “Nones.” It’s observed that these individuals are typically young, college graduates and find themselves to be spiritual, but not religious. This is commonly due to the lack of connection or trust in institutionalized religion.

According to Antonina Zielinaka in a February 2019 article titled “Nuns to Nones: Religious Sisters and Millennials Talk,” local nuns gathered at St. Joseph’s High School in New York City to converse with religiously unaffiliated young adults about their spirituality, life and sense of community. Many of the participants at the event grew up in a religious household but drifted from the practice as they grew older. The religious sisters encouraged everyone to speak from their hearts and found that these individuals were seeking a sense of community and strong relationships.

This article not only displays the growing number of “Nones” within the younger community in America, but also the topic of evangelism that was discussed in class. This describes how major faiths must reach out to new members or “fallen away” former members to survive in the American religious marketplace. The Nunes and Nones events provide a way for Christians to appeal their religion to nonbelievers by providing them with a sense of community and connection that they desire.

As someone that identifies as a None but is curious to learn more about the teachings and beliefs of multiple religions, I find it interesting to learn about how religiously devoted individuals like nuns have found ways to spread their teachings and appeal to the younger generations, like my own. I think by allowing these people to have honest and nonjudgmental conversations in their common habitat, like their high school, will make nonbelievers find purpose in following their religion and its teachings. Which, in turn, will keep their faith relevant to modern society and inspire the youth.

#religious #studies #religiousstudies #secondpost

The new, 116th Congress includes the first two Muslim women ever to serve in the House of Representatives, and is, overall, slightly more religiously diverse than the prior Congress.

One of the major themes in American history is the pluralism dimension that emphasizes religious tolerance and consideration to other people’s beliefs and points of view. This is an important aspect of western culture that influenced the creation of the 1st Amendment that gave people the freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly. But although a variety of religions have coexisted since the founding of the Americas, they are not all equally represented.

Religious diversity has slowly, but steadily improved in the U.S. Congress with a larger range of religions being politically represented more than in the past. According to the Pew Research Center in a January 2019 article titled “Faith on the Hill,” the new 116th Congress welcomes “four more Jewish members, one additional Muslim and one more Unitarian Universalist… as well as eight more members who decline to state their religious affiliation.” However, despite the increase in diversity, Catholic and Protestant Christians are still -in Congress, compared to their proportions in the general population.

It is important to see more religious groups being represented in the U.S. political system, despite the continuous over-representation of Christians, because it still symbolizes a step forward into a more accepting and ideal government. Because the U.S. has a representative democracy, I find it extremely important that the individuals that are making decisions for our state to understand the needs of the general public. By taking into consideration the religious groups within our state and those that do not conform to a specific organization, multiple perspectives can be put to the table and a compromise that will satisfy all American people can be found.

#religious studies #firstpost

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