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           This article features new statistics gathered by Gallup poll that the number of U.S. adults who belong to religious institutions has significantly dropped from 70% to 50%. One out of four adults who profess themselves to be part of a religion do not feel the need to attend church services or be an official member of an institution.

           A concept we learned in class, the religious nones, are brought up as a contributing factor to the decline in church attendance. Nones are individuals by subconsciousness not part of any organized religion. I myself am agnostic and fall under the none category. We learned that nones perform the best on the U.S. Religious Knowledge quiz by Pew Research Center and I believe it is because we seek to learn about all religions because you cannot truly denounce or reject a belief if you do not know what it is in the first place.

I myself grew up in a Roman Catholic household, went to church every Sunday and after moving out, attended a non-denominational mega church. I then attended a Baptist church before finally becoming agnostic when I left religion altogether after learning more about other faiths. My path is similar to a lot of millennials today: growing up in a religious household then losing faith after moving out. The article mentions that the rise of nones has increased from 8% in 2000 to 19% in 2018, a statistic also found in our textbook (citing nones as 15-20%).

We also learned in class that nones weaken well-established religious institutions, and so the dwindling number of churchgoers and rise of nones is a clear sign of this. The article warns that declining membership of churches effect efforts for the homeless and other charitable endeavors, but the church is not the be-all, end-all to helping those in need. Nowadays, there are charities like children international that aim to aid those in need, with no religious affiliation attached.

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There are many Democrats in the race to be the party’s presidential candidate for the 2020 election, but one in particular is causing quite a commotion being an openly gay Episcopalian. Pete Buttigieg recently challenged Donald Trump’s faith, and said it was hard for him to look at the president’s actions and believe that they’re the actions of somebody who believes in God.

I chose this article because in class we learned about Mainline Protestantism, that is made up of liberal Christians who are also liberal in politics and theology, and the Episcopalian faith is a part of that. Trump himself is a professed Presbyterian, a faith also falls under Mainline Protestantism. I find it interesting that Buttigieg calls out president Trump for his adultery, while being gay, as same-sex relations are usually condemned in the Christian faith as a whole.

I have constantly said in my posts that I am an agnostic, so I am just someone from the outside making observations, but in my opinion the call-out is like the pot calling the kettle black. I feel from the tenants of Christianity that we’ve learned from class, they’re both morally wrong. I am not religious because I find way too many contradictions or justifications in they way people act in their lives day-to-day and their professions of faith.

I want to be corrected if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the bible clearly state that same-sex relations are wrong (1:26-28)? And that being rich is wrong (Matthew 19:23-26)? And that adultery is wrong (Hebrews 13:4)? And yet here we have these men professing they are Christians. I myself am not condemning any of the above, I am just pointing out what the Bible says.

At this point of my life I cannot commit to any religion because I just feel like my day-to-day life doesn’t align with any doctrine. I wonder how these men truly justify their lives with their religious doctrines, and moreso, how can their supporters accept them as being whatever religious faith follower they claim to be and be living contradictions?

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I want to get out of the way that I am obsessed with the Mormon faith, also known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From everything I’ve learned in class: the perfect looking founder Joseph Smith receiving golden plates to make the Book of Mormon, the belief of not one, or two, but THREE ultimate Kingdoms of Glory to go to after judgment by the Lord, the shady old practice of polygamy STILL practiced by fundamentalist Mormons, and of course, the beautiful places of worship. The one featured in the article is the newest addition to the LDS faith built in Rome, Italy, its presence almost like a challenge to the Vatican to daresay, “I am not only here, but adorned in Swarovski crystal, Murano glass, 24-carat gold, and marble.”

As an agnostic on the outside looking in, the Mormon faith is incredible, especially being a purely American-made faith. In fact, just because of that fact, I wonder why more White Nationalists are not members of the church. I digress, but honestly, all Mormon worship structures are sights to behold. The church will not reveal how much they spent to create it, but it looks to be quite a lot of money.

Although it looks quite lavish, the building will be used for good in humanitarian work, refugee work, and freedom of religion in the public square, according to Elder Ronald Rasband. In the class lecture, we learned that Mormons do not keep to themselves and partake in many environmental and humanitarian efforts around the globe. They also help poorer countries, provide wheelchairs for the disabled, and give clean water and food to the needy.

Like my previous post states, I do hope the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints opens their structures up to non-Mormons, as this new church, like all others, is closed to the public except for the outside and visitor’s center.

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On April 4, 2019, the Mormon Church allowed the children of LGBT couples to be baptized. In 2015, a policy was set into place that LGBT couples were apostates of faith so their children could not be eligible for baptism. The decision was made to reduce contention and hate for a better understanding of the faith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still condemns same-sex marriage and same-sex acts as sins, but does not condemn same-sex attraction.

This change signifies a change in the positive direction for the Mormon faith to be more accessible in my opinion. The unacceptance of the LGBT lifestyle drives those that are in it and their loved ones who support them away from most religions, so this change could prove to be significant for people to join the faith.

My personal take on this story is that I find it incredibly odd that a religion that used to promote polygamy could ever condemn LGBT. We learned in the class lecture that fundamentalist Mormons are the only ones that practice it now and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints officially does not support polygamy.

In my personal and humble opinion, having multiple partners in a marriage (not as a single person) is a moral wrong. Having a singular same-sex committed partner in marriage is anything but wrong. I picked this article because although I find their doctrine hypocritical, I believe this choice to allow LGBT children to be baptized a great change and hopefully, they will review their own history and acknowledge a much needed change to admit that polygamy is a moral wrong and having a same-sex partner is not. I would also personally love if they could open up their churches for people who are not Mormon to have wedding and christening ceremonies, because they always have the most beautiful places of worship.

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On April 15, 2019, more than 20,000 people in Pakistan made a large human formation to create an image of the Al Noor Mosque with the message, “Islam is Peace” to pay tribute to the victims of the Christchurch massacre in New Zealand exactly one month ago.

The event was held in the city of Shorkot, with a clear message that Muslims want peace and cooperation in the world. The religion of Islam has gotten such terrible representation in extremist terrorist attacks occurring in the Western world as well as the Middle East with the rise of ISIS but seeing a tribute like this is heart-warming and great representation for what the religion actually stands for.

We learned in class lecture that Muslims make up only 1% of voting public and are ideologically complex: they are conservative in issues regarding same sex marriage and abortion, but they are quite liberal in supporting universal health care, government assistance to the poor. These values, in a split conservative and liberal sense, are also shared with mainline protestants who take the Bible figuratively. Information by Pew Forum showing about an even split with 44% republican and 40% democrat leanings. I compare this with the religious following because often times, the general public view Islam as extreme when really, there are only a few out of many who choose to practice their faith by violence, but their ideologies are no different than other religions practiced.

I chose this article because it was a piece of good news among so much negativity in today’s world. It is amazing that Muslims in Pakistan, a country so far away from New Zealand, share a common bond by paying tribute to those who died in the massacre. Today Dr. Whitaker stated that religion allows people to always have a home somewhere or a place to belong, and I believe that is exhibited by people from one country taking in those victims into their thoughts and hearts by public tribute.

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In 2017, Jehovah’s Witness organization was banned and considered an extremist group by the Russian Supreme Court. If any citizen practiced this faith, the consequences would be criminal charges and prison sentences. Following this ban, Russian police have been going after individuals, even forcing confessions with violence, according to some men living in the Khanty-Mansiysk region of Serbia. They allege that teams of armed men in masks searched their homes, threatened them and their families, and beat them to elicit confessions of practicing faith as a Jehovah’s Witness.

According to our class lectures, there are about 9 million Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide. We also learned that this religion encourages spreading their message, with many followers knocking door to door to share their faith, which inspired the film “Knocking” to be made to explain their religion via following 2 families who practice to those that do not know much about it.

In Russia, there are about 170,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have no idea why their faith would be deemed as extreme, unless going door to door is such a terrible thing to do. The end of the article explains that the Russian police have gotten so big that they now target anyone, even pacifist followers of the Jehovah’s Witness faith.

I chose this article because it really shows how practicing faith is different in other countries. This may be an extreme example of government overreach in people’s personal lives, especially practicing such a peaceful religion, but nonetheless it’s something I cannot imagine being reported here in America. In my humble opinion, our country as so many faults concerning the discrepancy of wealth, partisan politics, racism and sexism, but religious practice is usually protected and hindering others from practicing their personal faith is usually out of the question. Although my heart goes out to these men who endured such torture, this story makes me appreciate America’s constitution and freedom to practice whatever religion we want.

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Shortly after the news coverage of the Notre Dame Cathedral burning, there were reports of a man in New York who attempted to burn down the Saint Patrick Cathedral. Nothing came out of the attempt, as the man was arrested before anything could occur, but the media sensationalized the situation as a jump off from the larger story on Notre Dame.

The man accused of the arson attempt was a college professor, past tense because Lehman College and Seton Hall University are taking steps to terminate him. In class lecture we learned that college professors are part of the elites in American society. Elites, according to our textbook, are a select group that is superior in terms of ability or qualities to the rest of the group or society. I believe that this non-story became widely circulated due to the fact that the media focused on his elite status; it was an out of the ordinary occurrence for someone superior in the public to do something like this.

I chose this story because I was fascinated that it was circulating so much among my friends on social media, talked about in school, and on all news media sites from the far right to the far left. I chose to post the article written by Fox News because the comments are full of people blaming the man of being a crazy liberal, which could be a possibility as to why he did what he did.

“I’m not a religious person at all but it’s funny just how much religion triggers liberals. They spend so much time denying god and condemning parishioners meanwhile their hearts flutter as they worship the real things in life: such as “ladies” like Kaitlin Jenner and how socialism really does work” – obamahatestheus

“College professor, Islamic terrorist. Same thing. Same mindset. And they want to disarm us. Hell no.” – imrich68

“Liberalism is a mental disorder.” – and2therepublic

Many news sites have removed the comments sections from their articles, but Fox News remains as one that allows readers to reflect, and the majority have spoken as condemning the man as part of the left, and judging those who hold leftist ideals as attackers of religion.

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On April 15, 2019, the Notre Dame Cathedral caught on fire and the top spire was completely destroyed. This broke the hearts of many throughout the entire world, but most of all those that follow the Catholicism; the Cathedral served as a beacon of light to them in France. I chose this article because although presently I am agnostic and do not practice any religion, my upbringing was Roman Catholic, so the loss resonates with me to some degree. However, I look forward to seeing if France will consider rebuilding the structure as non-denomination, because the article explores that point, with the French general public in a heated debate about the reconstruction. There is also debate on the source of donation funds by families that have large shares in Gucci and Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. Both families pledged 100 million and 200 million to the cathedral, respectively. These incredible amounts of money have been criticized as an obvious show of wealth disparity in France.

I have plenty of friends who still practice Catholicism and my social media feeds were littered with images of the cathedral burning by them. Anyone who has studied art history or traveled to France also seemed to care very deeply for the structure. Luckily, all of the art and valuables inside were moved out due to plans of reconstruction anyway, so nothing inside was lost.

This article relates to our class because of the structure being a symbol for Catholics not just in France but around the world. We learned in lecture that Catholics make up 21% of America, with the number actually larger in France because Catholicism has a larger follower there: 83% of the 63% of Christians in their total population, according to World Atlus statistics. Based on the statistics, although the article explores the possibility that the cathedral can be rebuilt as non-religious, it will probably be restored in the same way, with the same practices occurring in it.

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TUMBLR FOR REL S 390B

Gonna post some stuff soon :)