Religion is can be very influential depending on your
background, surroundings and lifestyle. I did not grow up going to church or
practice a specific religion, but occasionally I do go to a service for
my friends. I respect people who are religious and believe in a God, but I
would consider myself an agnostic, or a person who believes that nothing is
known or can be known of the existence or nature of God or of anything beyond
material phenomena; a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in God
(Google).
Religion never played a significant role in my upbringing,
but as I’ve gotten older I see the effect it can have depending on where you
live. I was born and raised in Southern California where religion was quite
diverse. I would say half of my peers growing up were religious and the others
were not. California’s breakdown of religion goes as followed: “45.00% of the
people in California, California are religious, meaning they affiliate with a
religion. 27.89% are Catholic; 2.07% are LDS; 5.28% are another Christian
faith; 0.58% in California, California are Jewish; 1.18% are an eastern faith;
0.73% affiliates with Islam” (BestPlace). With such an assorted group of
religions around, there was no pressure to be affiliated with any of them.
I spent my first two years of college in New York. This is
the melting pot of the world, so of course I witnessed a variety of religious
representation almost every time I was in NYC. New York’s religion breakdown
goes as followed: “51.21% of the people in New York, New York are religious,
meaning they affiliate with a religion. 33.17% are Catholic; 0.41% are LDS;
3.10% are another Christian faith; 4.05% in New York, New York are Jewish;
0.62% are an eastern faith; 2.03% affiliates with Islam” (BestPlace). I’ve been
fortunate to live in arguably the most diverse states in the nation where the
acceptance of varied religions is reasonable.
I must admit that transferring to Dixie has been an
adjustment due to the religious dominance of LDS. Utah’s religion breakdown
goes as followed: “79.11% of the people in Utah, Utah are religious, meaning
they affiliate with a religion. 6.01% are Catholic; 69.14% are LDS; 0.83% are
another Christian faith; 0.06% in Utah, Utah are Jewish; 0.39% are an eastern
faith; 0.18% affiliates with Islam” (BestPlace). I grew up with some Mormon
friends so I wasn’t completely oblivious to the practice, but the fact that one
religion is dominate is new to me based on my previous and current living
experience.
Today, I see many of my friends posting on social media to
express themselves religiously. In a World Religion News article “5 Ways Social
Media Connects Religion to Young Generations” it talks about how learning or
practicing a religion has become more accessible through apps and how apps like
Instagram or Twitter are platforms for more expression. There probably isn’t a
day I could recall where I didn’t see at least one post about a specific bible
scripture, a religion or even God and that’s perfectly okay with me.
I have complete respect and appreciation for anyone who
devotes their time, effort and energy to practicing a religion. My one rule is to
not influence me to join or judge me because I have no religious affiliation. I
will respect your way of life as long as you respect mine.
Shelby,
ReplyDeleteYour post was very informative, but you only briefly touched on how living in each place was different. I would appreciate more depth though. Maybe go into culture? Having traveled a lot in my life and seeing how different religions change the culture or family unit has been fascinating. Your view would be much different then mine because I do associate with a religion and you would be an unbiased source. I'm also curious if you have attended all of the different faiths in which you have been surrounded or if the friends you have gone with are diverse in there worship practices. I would love another post of experiences it would really interest me. Thank you for your time!