KB

In what ways have you become more aware of your religious landscape? This class has taught me about different religions all over the United States. I feel like I have a good basic understanding of the amazing religions that make up this country. I also didn’t realize that Salt Lake City itself had such a diverse culture of people from all over the world. Learning and understanding the cultures that were right in front of me has created a new appreciation for them. Now that I am aware of the religious landscape around me, I want to learn even more about it. I have a specific interest in the Muslim community because one of my best friends that I met last semester is a Muslim from Syria. I didn’t realize that we actually have a decent size Muslim community and I would really like to explore that more. Something I learned about the Muslim community was the difference between the Sunni and the Shia Muslims. Appreciating the Muslim community has also made me appreciate all other religions as well and I’m so glad I am more aware of my religious landscape.

Do you believe America is a Christian nation? Explain. At the beginning of this semester, I did believe that America was a predominantly Christian nation due to the people running it and how people generally perceive America. However, I have learned that there are so many religions that make up this country. Even if the number of Christians in America outweigh the number of other religions, there is still a huge presence of all religions all over America. We may be a Christian country by the percentage but I believe we are a melting pot of diversity, culture, and religion because of the presence even though some people don’t always see it. I had no idea there was so much diversity in Salt Lake City alone and I think some people don’t see diversity and different religions even if it is right in front of them. It’s not something people do on purpose, some people are just unaware of their surroundings and their religious landscape.

As we face increasing diversity, how are our beliefs and identities (as American) changing to accommodate this diversity?I believe that we are taking two steps back when it comes to accommodating diversity. Due to our current political leaders, we seem to be less accepting of minorities and outsiders. Many Americans identify as being apart of a superior nation and believe that Christianity should be the most predominant religion. This is the root of our problem in accepting diversity. We are so consumed with ourselves and what we believe in and stand for that we don’t want anyone who may have a slightly different opinion to be apart of our country. However, there are still many Americans that have become more accepting of diversity in this country but we still have a long way to go. 

How are we as Americans managing religious diversity/pluralism? Could we do more? I think there is much more that we could do in accepting religious diversity in this country.  Lately, we seem to be more separate than equal. At the end of the day, we are all people who just want to feel loved and accepted by one’s community. I've learned through this course that there truly is so much religious diversity right in front of us and it’s sad that we all can’t accept that and welcome it. As for pluralism, there are places in this country were communities of religion have/are coexisting but there should be more than some. Why can’t we all just “love thy neighbor”? Diversity opens up peoples mind to new an exciting experiences and people.

How is this course connected to other courses you have taken and/or to your everyday life? I grew up in Park City, Utah and there was little diversity there. I started Salt Lake Community College a year and a half ago and my whole outlook on diversity changed. I have met people from all around the world that are apart of different cultures, religions, and ethnicities. This class has helped me understand those amazing people even better. Meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures has made me interested in learning about people all over the world.  This class really helped me understand the people I have in my life and created an even more powerful want to learn about the diversity of people in this country.