The importance of religion is always a critical factor in everyone’s American identity as well as education. Both religion and education play as defining characteristics to an individual’s identity. Questions are always posed inquiring on what someone believes, participates in, or follows. Other questions like where you went to school, how much school, and your experience are often presented as well.
Today, we live in a very fast paced society where different generations have different standpoints and beliefs as to how things such as these should be viewed. This new generation proves to be one that is excelling towards acceptance and encouragement; to be who you are and not to take that away from anyone. Through this research project, we have found that individuals here at Western feel as though their beliefs have been altered by college and peers. This identifying factor is important today as well as the future.
This is the real world and not everyone will always agree with certain beliefs or even support them but it is crucial that there are systems put in place in order to give support for individuals to live their lives as desired. Dr. Michael Brown talks about how pastors move towards being accepting and not judging individuals based on their lifestyles throughout his YouTube video “Why Don’t More Pastors Speak Out?” This idea of accepting people for who they are rather than trying to fix them is someone that is so important in this day and age. Everyone is different and deserves the right to follow whatever it is they feel is right for them without repercussions of others putting them down. That statement stands in all aspects of life, college, work, etc.
Every individual person should be allowed to follow whatever they want. There are many college students who feel as though the religion Christianity is the one that is the least supported on a college campus, from numerous sources as well as my research, and that colleges and peers are more supportive of ethnically different religions than others. An interviewer went to a college campus in Wisconsin and asked students about this exact problem and found that they also felt the same way, some groups were not as supported as others. There are some political factors to this, Universities often want to be painted as multicultural and diverse so by putting an emphasis on the support for those ethnic groups seems to promote that part of them. This is not a bad thing, but we should all care that there is an even amount of support for all religious and ethnic groups rather than one over the other.
By bringing awareness through more studies and media we can advocate for change. To strip someone of their beliefs or make them feel as though they are inferior is not OK. Our world is constantly changing and regardless of different beliefs or traditions we should stand united for humankind not one group over the other.
Sources:
ASKDrBrown. “Why Don’t More Pastors Speak Out?” YouTube, YouTube, 7 Nov. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOPB2hbrqsM
Trumplitico. “Religious Freedom for All Except Christians Say University of Wisconsin-Madison Students.” YouTube, YouTube, 19 Mar. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2DeCkO5vGI