Religion
http://www.in.com/videos/watchvideo-crazy-religious-lady-on-fox-newsagain-7971821.html
http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?title=royal-religiousrumble&videoId=72780
It is a sense of belonging to a
religious group.
We will be presenting from the point-of-view of
the majority religion: Christianity.
What is a
religious identity
anyway?
Religions of the World (2007)
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/xx.html
Religions of the United States (2007)
http://religions.pewforum.org/reports
Devan, what is
acceptance
within a majority
religion?
Acceptance Within a Majority Religion
• The learning, identifying, and receiving of
religious inequities in society
• With religious identity there is no conscience
identification and Christians are unaware of
other religions
Example of Acceptance
•Christians and society as a whole are used to
automatically having holidays off of work,
school, stores closed, etc…
• Such as Christmas and Easter.
• However, for the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur,
people must ask for the day off of work since
this is required of the holiday.
•Unless people have a Jewish co-worker, they
are most likely unaware of the holiday.
No-Communication
• Within this stage of acceptance, the majority
group, Christians, will end up being
patronizing or avoid communication
altogether.
I wonder if Shae can
explain resistance
within a majority.
Resistance Within a Majority Religion
• Resistance: a major shift from blaming the minority to
blaming the social system as the source of the problem.
• During this stage individuals may feel ashamed of their
own religion, avoiding or minimizing interactions with
people of the same belief and seeking out interactions
with people of minority religions.
Example of Resistance
• Sarah moved to college a year ago.
• She made many Muslim friends.
• She has seen her friends treated poorly
because they are associated with terrorists.
• Sarah blames the Christian influence on the
media.
• Now, she stays away from her Christian friends
and spends most of her time with her Muslim
friends.
Another Example
• Colleen R LaRose a.k.a. JihadJane
• She did not like the mistreatment of Muslims
by fellow Christian Americans.
• She began aiding a radical online Muslim
group, which was training people to fight
Christian Americans.
Tyler, what is
there to know
about religious
histories?
Religions affect on culture
– Cultural group Histories are the history of each cultural
group within a nation that includes the history of where
the group originated, why the people migrated, and how
they came to develop and maintain their cultural traits.
– Religious beliefs are central to culture.
– People in all cultures have a set of beliefs that go beyond
both the self and the natural world.
• Explains human existence, guide personal relationships,
and behavior.
Cultures affect on Communication
• Creates many problems between religions.
• Suicide bombers and altruistic suicide
• Historical events are important to religion and
culture.
• Crusades
• Holocaust
• Mormon Trek
Luke can you tell
me about family
histories and
religious
identities?
Family Histories
• Definition
– Occur at the same time as other histories
– On a more personal level
– Passed down orally
• Family tradition
– Identifies whether or not the family actually
participated in religious histories
Family Histories
• How do Family Histories affect religion?
– Family is the first source of religion
– Parent’s religion is child’s religion
• Once the child grows up and becomes more educated
in his or her religion, then he or she may decide to
continue with that religion or find another
– Difficulty in going against parent’s religion
• Parental disappointment
Family Histories
• Example
– Mennonite Amish
• Joseph Fisher
• Born Amish, raised Amish, no
electricity
• Period of Rumspringa
– Went to public high school
– Wore average clothes
• Decided he didn’t want to be
Amish
– Shunned
Jess, I wonder
how religious
identities affect
communication
Manchester
College.
Identity and Communication
• Communication: a symbolic process in
which the symbolic meaning is shared. It is
also receiver oriented and unintentional.
Influence of Identity on
Communication
• Classroom Activities
– Observing non-Christian/non-Western holidays
– Grouping
• Conformity
– Downplaying minority status or what ‘goes against the grain’
• Assumptions based on physical features
– Textbook bias
• One perspective
Religions on Campus
Christian
Buddhist
Muslim
Other
No religious affiliation
Unknown
http://www.manchester.edu/catalog/appendix.htm
We talked about…
• The description of a majority religious identity
– Acceptance Stage
– Resistance Stage
• The support behind religious identity
– Religious Histories
• The influence of religious identity on
communication