What is the Role of Religion in My Life?

 Now that this class is coming to a close, I have been considering how religion affects my life. Religion is a weird concept. The way I see religion is that it is a way of thinking or a belief that helps people deal with the fear of death. Religion simply gives people hope that there is an afterlife. I like the positive aspects of religion. I like that it gives people hope and an understanding of afterlife. However, my problem with religion is that it causes many fights and disputes. After learning about history and now learning about different religions, I see how it affects the world and how people act towards others. I have a strong feeling that humans are meant to be free and open beings that have free thought. Religion and how it is presented to people often causes dogmatic thinking since most religions tell people how they should act and what they should do. For me, it doesn’t make sense the way people use their religion to belittle others. We always say that religion and politics should not mix, but they do. They mix all the time and, yet, it continues. It does not change, which is partly why America is so separated currently. Religion, especially Catholicism and Christianity, makes Americans have certain morals and understandings, which typically cause them to judge others when they have different beliefs and a different lifestyle.

Because of the strict manner of religion, I have become more spiritual than religious. I deal with my understanding of afterlife off of feelings. I deal with my sense of God from feelings. I do not deal with it based on a bible or holy text or what others tell me to do. I do believe in afterlife. I do believe in God, but I do not believe in God in the way I have been taught as a Christian Protestant. Although I practice Christianity (occasionally), partake in Christian holidays, and call myself a Christian, it is not something that is in my every day life. My spirituality is something that I deal with in my every day life. I feel that if there is a God, then he/she is a caring and open God that will not judge anyone for anything. I do not believe in Hell and don’t necessarily believe in heaven…just afterlife. However, I still am questioning what I believe. The only thing I know for sure is that I believe God is an accepting God and that every religions God is the same God.

Where Do I Want to put a Stake in the Ground and Invest in my Life?

 This is a more difficult question, especially since I am graduating in about a month. Graduating from college is probably one of the scariest things I will have to do in my life. The unknown is horrifying. And I am completely unsure of what I want to do after college since I currently have no job set up and have a desire to travel and move away from home.

After taking a graduate course this semester that focuses on education and globalization, I know I want to further my life in the study of education. Eventually I want to go to grad school for education policy, but, for now, I want to explore America and other cultures of the world. I question every day where I want to invest in my life. Sometimes I think about how I want to move into a large city. Other times, I consider moving close to a Native American reservation and seeing how they live. I have a huge passion for education, the environment, and other political and social movements, but I am wondering what direction I should go in and if I can even go in all of those directions.

I know for sure I want to become invested in learning who I am and what I live for. I want to become more spiritual because of my extreme fear of death. I want to become more physically active because I have been missing that since I am playing soccer less and less. I want to really invest in my education, whether that means traveling the world or going back to school. All I know for sure is that I want to invest in making myself a better person every day and actively question my social, political, and environmental standing.