Blog 1 (1-24-12)

How does religion shape the way people understand and respond to the world around them?


Not regarding anyone specifically, but I think that in general religion shapes a person greatly. Even though someone may not be necessarily religious or conservative, at the end of the day everyone belongs to a religion. Because every person was born into some religion, I feel that people think of religion as almost a safe haven because it is a community/group that they are assured to always be a part of. A religious group is somewhere you can go where you know the people around you have same beliefs, and are similar to you in at least one way. Therefore I think that people are affected by religion and maneuver through the world differently with religion because it is a piece of everybody, and it somewhat builds an identity. I think that when one views government, they respond to it differently because of religion. I think this because one might not chose to elect for someone just because of their religion. Also, one's leadership style, ways of governing can be affected by religion, and same with people's views on those leaders. Religion can also completely shape the life of an extremist. In other words, a fanatic or an extremist is someone who takes the core beliefs of their religion and basically exaggerates everything and plays everything up to be a bigger deal than it is, and then roots/blames their actions on religion. One could protest, or wear a lot of religious things such as jewelry and apparel, or even go so far as to kill someone just because of religious beliefs. Sometimes you can tell just by looking at a person, what religion they come from or believe in. Just like citizens often blame the government for lots of their issues, people understand things and blame religion for certain situations in their lives. Even though there are stereotypes about all religions, and people may be separated because of religion, I feel that people view the world differently because of religion. Religion is something we will have for as long as we can see, and different stories about different characters/significant figures in a religion, beliefs on the creation and existence of the world, and views on a g-d or a leader can certainly shape one's life whether intended or not. For me specifically, religion has shaped the way I understand the world in a positive way. After going to an all Jewish school for 11 years and traveling to Israel, one of the most religious places in the world, I understand the world better. I further understand how the world was first created, and I seem to slowly begin to understand myself more. Religion has been a great part of my life whether it is holidays or just spending time with my family, my Jewish identity and religion has shaped me and how I comprehend things, and I think will definitely continue to do so.