Islam
Misconceptions about Islam in America
Learning about Islam the last week I finally realized all the misconceptions Americans have. Before I never realized the misconceptions because I did not know they were necessarily wrong. Even in the classroom people were not afraid to say their opinion, knowing they would be in the majority. There are a few reasons why Americans come to these assumptions. One might be past experiences with 9-11. I think the other main reason is because we are uneducated about their religion and we just make assumptions from everything we do know which is the opinions of media.
September 11th 2011 is a day no American will ever forget. There was a terrorist attack our twin towers. I think this is why most Americans think it is okay to be cruel to Muslims. Our defense goes up and we think that we are just defended our country. Aren’t all Muslims from the middle east? No, That is where most people are wrong. About 2,500,000 Muslims live in America. This was a hard day for all Americans because it was so tragic and we went into a war after. However
I think we need to consider this effected Muslim-Americans also, and remember they are Americans too. Here are some views of Americans: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRS1sB5d7vw
I think Americans are a bit uneducated about what Islam and their beliefs. One of the basic most important things is Allah or God. It is the same thing. Islam has the same God as Judaism and Christianity, the same God as most American. Allah is just the Arabic word, just like any other language has their own word. The second is Muhammad, the last prophet of God. Muslims do not worship him, they just believe in this message. Maybe the typical Christian or Jew wouldn’t understand because they don’t like he was gods last prophet. Besides their beliefs i also think Muslims practices are misconcepted because they are not typical in our culture. The hijab that many women wear is not a requirement for the Islamic faith,. women chose to wear it. I think a lot of Americans judge this because it is seen as very mysterious and that women have to be submissive. Maybe it would be more respected if Americans knew it was a free choice, and it is worn so people do not just look at outside appearance but inner beauty. Or What about their daily prayer or salat ? In this video some college kids interview fellow peers to see what they knew: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT2mIlpeZZ4&feature=related. Along side the video I found a website to clear up common misconceptions: http://bimcrot.tripod.com/sv/misc.html
Christianity
Christianity in America
Even though it might not be apparent to the average person, Christianity has an influence in America. Three things I would like to talk about are, Christianity to the public, what role it plays in America and the different Christian believes within America.
Living in America we have the right to believe what ever we want. However somtimes religious freedom isn’t always that easy. In America, the majority of people are Christians. Being able to preach what we believe a lot of our culture comes from Christianity and sometimes Christians might not realize how strong their influence is and that non Christians aren’t always respected. Being Christian myself I had no idea how often the church comes up around me until listening to an Atheist. Everything from crosses on the side of the road and the saying “one nation under God” in our pledge of allergenic. There is not a clear cut line between the government and faith.
When talking about the government Christianity definitely has a role. When we think about our founding father, writing the constitution it is easy to pick out part that are inherited from christian teachers rather they were intended to be or not. “All men are created equal” where did this come from? Its clear that not every man is created equal, skill wise and characteristically, but in Gods eyes all men are equal not depending on race, gender, skill level. Maybe the writers of the constitution did not instead to write the Constitution according to faith but have the Christian morals around them this was built into their morals.This article i found talks more in depths about ideas like this: http://www.hillsdale.edu/news/imprimis/archive/issue.asp?year=2008&month=11 Even in current days they is debates about what should be though in school and its because of religion. What should be taught in schools? Creationism or Darwinism? This answer would be easy is we lived in a country where Christianity didn’t play a role. We could teach Darwinism with our a question because it is more science based. However living in a Christian society many people are not about with teaching it and its an ongoing problem. Does growing up in a Christian nation effect what and how we learn? Even in public schools?
Even though we can agree Christianity is the dominant religion in America many Christians in America can not agree among themselves on believes. I can understand this because faith is so important and personal to people, and also there is a lot to be interpreted. In most towns in America you can drive for ten minutes and see 5 or 6 different Christian churches. Even though they are the same religion the different denominations of Christianity can cause arguments as it could among two different religions. At one time the was the christian church witch split into two parts, Orthodox and Catholicism and from there, there is a countless number of Christian denominations in America and all over the world. While I was in Chicago this summer I saw a religious pretest going on, and I bet you could a take a wild guess on what religion was involved. I was Christianity. Below I have a picture and video (on post before this one) on what i saw. 
I don’t know what denomination this group was but you can tell they are Christians by the sign the little girl is holding. This is a prefect example of the disagreement between Christian groups in America. Like this little girl I call myself a Christian, however I don’t agree with what her group is preaching, but whats cool about America is we all have the right to be here and disagree. I think that would be a main reason why so many different believes within one religion is possible. Because we have the right to believe whatever we want, which all leads back to the constitution. So is America a Christian nation?
Judaism
Judaism and the family
As our textbook and speaker have talked about, much of Judaism has to do with family. Many of their rituals and practices involve the family or a community group.
We can see this in examples of holidays, prayers and rituals. A similar blog asks a similar question and has a Jews response: http://www.mikeadkins.com/article/how-is-jewish-family-life-like-and-what-are-connections-of-judaism-with-other-faiths/
Jewish Prayer: The idea of family and community is reinforced by some rituals like prayer. Our speaker talked about how their are certain prayer she can not say without a certain number of people. An example is when when someone dies there is a certain prayer that needs to be chanted with a group otherwise the prayer can not be said. Miyan is the group of adults needed to say congressional prayers. Even thought they may not be directly related Jews often refer to other church members as their family. If you scroll to the bottom half of this link you are able to see one view of the “family”: http://www.jewfaq.org/judaism.htm. I think it is important to Jew to be with other religious members so the can see other views and learn form one another.
Jewish holidays: 
As we can see in the picture above of a Bat Mitzvah there are many people, most likely close family and friends supporting this girl on the important day of becoming a religious adult. This celebration can happen at age twelve for girls and at age thirteen for boys. However the celebrations are not necessary. Similar to many other religions, it is important to have the family close during the celebration of holidays. Celebrating with your loved ones reminds us what is important in life. To our speaker having dinner on Friday nights, on the most important Jewish hoilday was very important. Friday night dinner was always worked into their schedule because this was such an important time for the family. And now even with her kids out of the house she continues this with her friends. Remembering every week on the Shabbat how important family is and sharing the Jewish faith with them. Sally, our speaker mentioned how important it was for her kids to marry someone of the Jewish faith. She said that she would be disappointed if her kids were to marry a gentile ( any non-Jewish person). She was not trying to be rude in saying this. For her it is important to share the faith with her family and loved ones and because the family is so important she wants to be able to share those believes. This is probably not out of the norm for a typical Jewish mother.
There are many more examples we could look at in Judaism to show the importance of family and these are just a few examples.
Buddhism
Buddhism in American Culture
A Buddhist in America can almost seem to contrast each other. The typical western culture does not always seem like it would fit into a typical Buddhist lifestyle. However I would like to talk about how it does and can fit in American culture. What challenges Buddhist in America might have to face and what Americans can learn from Buddhist.
Just like another minority group in America, groups can find a way to compromise and work around struggles with compromising too much. In America Buddhist might not be able to keep all of the daily routines such as meditation.With a typical American schedule people might not find the time to meditate every day. But I do think there are ways to fit your high priorities into your life. If meditation is high on your list, sometime in this crazy world it be done, like the people in the picture below.
The teachings of Buddha are so drastically different from what typical Americans are use to that being a Buddhist in America and fallowing the teachings could present many struggles. An example of Buddhism fitting into America is right her in Minnesota with Lama, Jalue Dorjee. Like you can read in this article about Jalue in the Star Tribune: http://www.startribune.com/local/north/135804688.html, the family does not always seem like the typical American and you can read about the struggles they face. However they do seem to work out the issue and still manage to fit in here with out fitting the norm.
Little Lama in Minnesota, Jalue Dorjee.
Even thought the two cultures are so different I do think Americans have a lot they could learn from Buddhism. The extreme business and on the go life style is not always the best. I think Americans could take time and learn how slow down and settles down sometimes instead of our worlds always being to hectic. When our speaker came in i thought she had some really cool views that maybe more people should hear, like how she thanked us for being her teachers. Other interesting ideas are The Four Noble Truths, or Three Jewels. I don’t mean that we should take them super religiously but maybe daily reminders about how to be a good person.
Hinduism
Hinduism has changed in response to modernity
I think Hinduism has changes just as many other cultures around the world have modernized. I think this question could apply to almost any religion or culture anywhere in the world. Just as many other culture have India has kept up with modern ideas.
As the word is changing I think it is hard for a lot of us to stay traditional. I think the technology and connection have a lot to do with that. With the internet ideas travel quickly. I think it would be hard for India to have the same caste system they had 100 years ago because it is not a widely accept around the world anymore. Sometimes traditional ways can start conflicts. Or modern ideas work out better, so people decide to change.
We should not have to conform to other peoples ways however I feel like many of us do. It is important to keep a good balance and make sure not to lose your traditions. Modern Hindus keep some of the old tradition but not all. In our chapter they mention Sati which is ritual widow burning. Most likely many Hindus don’t still practice this today, but have kept other traditions such as the thread ceremony. Two reasons this tradition is still around other than Sati is because
- The thread ceremony is more important to the religion
- This tradition fits into modern standards where as some may see Sati as inhuman.
Something I don’t think Hindus have negotiated is their beliefs, and I think this is a big reason why Hinduism had stayed important in India. Even if practices have changes I don’t think their believes have and are still being taught today and Indians still take pride in what they believe. The basic things have not changed such as path of knowlege and Atman. Even with modern ideas they still believe in Atman and all the same big ideas.
Just like many other culture Hindus have found a balance of modern and tradition. Making sure to be their own people but not giving up who they are and what they believe.
Photo reblogged from Washunlerunflai. with 52 notes
The little “Catrina” by Luis Montemayor on Flickr.
Source: dislexico
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