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Religious Diversity

For me, religious diversity is something that I have always been very passionate to pursue. Especially at a college like Hope, it is very easy (and oftentimes almost encouraged from the institution itself) to hunker down with those who believe and partake in the same religion as you, thus possibly reducing your ability to be religiously inquisitive. Coming from a religiously diverse household, I now consider my ability to question my own beliefs and hold them with humility to be relatively strong, but it was a long journey that is still yet to be complete.

I grew up going to Catholic school within a community that did not support doubt and questions. Being inquisitive was shunned and looked down upon, and students would even receive worse grades if their views on a religious topic differed from what our Catholic parish tended to believe. I specifically remember a time in high school where I asked my professor a question about religious doubt. He laughed, called me a ‘dummy’ facetiously, and moved on with our class. Rather than cementing my views with these reactions, they rather led me to question and pursue intellectual support even further. Doing so made me realize the importance of viewing other’s beliefs with not only humility, but validity. Religious diversity isn’t just something to go experience for a day and admire the prettiness of a building, but rather understanding that the religious beliefs of another are just as valid as your own.

This being said, participating in mass and touring a mosque were quite enjoyable experiences for me, specifically to continue to pursue a greater understanding for the different ways in which people celebrate their own religious beliefs. While the Catholic mass was a lot more common to me as I grew up going every week, it was nice to return to a Catholic service for the first time in a while, especially at a place that stimulates the senses in a much more powerful way than I am used to. As for the mosque, this was my first time touring the inside of a mosque and learning directly about the practice of Muslim people outside the setting of a classroom. While I did appreciate the beauty of the mosaics and architecture of the building, my takeaway from the tour comes in the form of more curiosity. Reflecting upon the fact that this is my first time touring or even entering a mosque, I realize that even with the inquisitive nature by which I try to hold my religious beliefs, I have not nearly made a great enough attempt to understand many religions that I proclaim are just as valid as the ones I am most comfortable with. I hope to make a greater attempt in the future, prioritizing a quest for understanding and empathy over comfort.

As for the city of Paris being a very religiously diverse city, I don’t think this factor has had quite as great of an impact on my viewpoints. Given that I do not actively participate in the religious communities that exist in the areas I live, the religious diversity (or lack there of) in a place like Holland, Michigan or Wheaton, Illinois have not occupied as much head space as they may for other students. If I actively participated in a religious community in my area each week, the religious diversity of Paris may have jarred me a bit more, but this factor was not something that sparked as great of a reaction in me.