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“The children of today are tomorrows leaders”, we often hear this inspirational quote as a reminder that that the fate of the world lies in the hands of the youth. This can pertain to anything from simple values, to political orientation, but the underlying theme behind all of this all falls back into one of the world’s biggest controversy; religion. It’s no secret that the decline of organized religion keeps on progressing due to “anti-religious” morals being more accepted into the social norm (gay marriage, abortion, more women taking control, etc. ) but the real question is what is causing this and is it going to cause any harm to the future generations to come? Since 1991 the division of religious “nones” has grown 226 percent since 1991, when this group of people started to arise. Another shocking statistic includes mainline Protestants declining from 28 to 11 percent. Although these statistics seem surprising, overall, those who have a set religion still seem to overthrow those who have no religion. A big reason for the decline of organized religion could be do to the fact that those affiliated with white supremacy are distinctively religious and the association between the loss of cultural primacy and religion has caused followers to stray away. Millennial's are responsible for a huge portion of those who don’t believe in a religion, due to the media influencing their views and it being the common “trend” to be an atheist. This topic specifically pertains to me because I have grown up my entire life being devoutly religious and the more I grow up (especially during these college years), I have fond my faith being influenced by my peers and their belief’s, which in turn affects my family life and the way of being I have been adapted to my whole life. “The decline in organized religion has wide-ranging consequences, from social isolation to attitudes about science and technology and, of course, to politics”, says the Washington Post. So I guess we must patiently wait and see where the children of today are taking us tomorrow.

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If you grew up religious you know that since you were kid constant nagging from parents was enforced that sex before marriage or being gay was awful and you were going to hell. Well at least that’s how I grew up. Although I did not grow up in the black church, I know that similar religious values are shared and this is one of them. Even more so it was highly enforced in the most evangelical churches since the 1900s due to the fact that blacks had to follow certain rules to survive in the white male dominated country, so naturally the tradition has been carried on into today, but it comes down to the question if it still is really enforced and what is okay and what is not okay.

Thanks to the help of Reverend Lacette Cross, more people are understanding how to adapt to social standards in the black church and still keep their strong faith in God. She has a business called “Will You Be Whole” that focuses on sex and faith with the black women and members of the LGBTQ community to bring together ones sexual ethic and how that can be incorporated into a maintaining a strong faith. “If your mama told you, 'don't say this, don't do this, don't wear that,' it wasn't just because she wanted to make sure that you stayed chaste and pure until you were married. It was also a matter of life or death.” This is a common quote of hers that she uses when going around America speaking to black churches because sexual orientation has always been a problem among  this community but now it is becoming more acceptable to be open. Male pastors try to keep these messages silent and don’t promote the growth of this business, but each day it is growing to empower and unite everyone together one step at a time.

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From t-shirts to screensavers, a lot of our interest comes from what we see on the media. Who exactly catches our attention though? Actors, actresses, musicians, artists, and basically anyone we would consider to be “famous”. If we see Kim Kardashian wearing a camouflage sweat suit, then we run straight to the nearest store to get a pair of our own, because if she’s considered to be cool in the eyes of a million plus people, then we want to be cool too. It’s not just outward appearance, the same goes with what celebrities believe in or their views on certain topics.

A large portion of Hollywood is scared to express their religious view because it isn’t exactly the most exciting or fun topic, but now more celebrities are coming out and letting their faith free. Stars such as Selina Gomez and Justin Bieber have always been openly religious, but now the trend is coming into action and more celebrities are hoping on the faith train. Last week Chris Pratt revealed on his Instagram story that he is participating in a 21 day diet centered on the Bible. At the MTV movie awards he gave a speech and quoted, “God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you. Believe that. I do” in pair with other religious remarks. The crowd went crazy and loudly applauded Pratt after his speech in appreciation for expressing his faith. Another example of faith in the media is Snoop Dogs gospel album he released last year that was ranked number one on Billboards Top Gospel Album Chart. Rumor has it that Kanye West might release a gospel album as well. Clearly, the fear of expressing faith throughout the media is being erased and more than ever before content that is based on faith is being produced.

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Imagine not being able to gather with people of the same cultural ethnicity because you’re “different” or there is not enough of you to actually matter in society? Social segregation, ongoing myths, varieties of stereotypes, and one of the most racially attacked groups have dealt with this issue for so long. The group I’m talking about are Muslim Americans. So many people belonging to this categorization have gathered in hiding due to the stereotype of “all Muslims being terrorist”. Thankfully a non-profit organization was established in 1993 that goes by the name of Muslim American Society (MAS). After watching a video on what this group is all about, I got a way better understanding of all the good this group does for not just members, but the society outside of it. Basically this organization is focused on inviting those identifying as Muslim Americans to gather together in a safe space to promote community service, encourage academic success, unite religion, be politically involved, and overall spread peace among others. 

There is over fifty MAS organizations across America and just this past week of March 13th, plans for a new center in Kansas just got approved. It will include a worship mosque, a K-8 school, a day care center and a banquet hall, and a school. It did not happen in an instant and wasn’t all rainbow and sunshine’s, there were definitely some bumps in the road. With 57% of Kansas being protestant and majority of the other percentage affiliating with some sort of form of Christianity, naturally problems would arise if the minority wanted to stick a completely opposite organization in their homeland. “Neighbors are arguing that the size and scope of the Islamic center make it a bad fit for the area. Many expressed concerns about noise, traffic and the impact on wildlife and the area’s green space.” As quoted in the article, many people raised a great concern as to how this was going to affect their society.

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Remember the awful days before the age of 16 when traveling was the biggest struggle of your life? Well for the people belonging to the Amish community, a drivers license isn’t in the picture no matter what age you are. Don’t you worry though, they travel by means of “buggy” which is a horse drawn carriage you would see in one those old western films. As you can imagine, horses aren’t as fast as cars so what happens when the Amish are in a rush to get places outside the community? This where Uber comes to save the day…well kind of.

Its not exactly Uber but it’s the Amish's own form of this that they like to call an Amish taxi. There are people that make money to drive Amish people around places that are too far for their buggy. The backstory behind this “business” started off as a neighbor, Carl Cinsey, doing a favor for his Amish friend and from there that’s how it all got started. With four decades of business, it continues to grow as Amish childbirth rates continue to increase. Although this seems like an easy way to make some quick money, there are critical terms to this. If a driver is doing an Amish a favor then no permit is required, but if an individual wishes to charge the Amish a fee for transport, then there is a process that must be done through the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission. 167 people are officially licensed to drive the Amish and roughly $1.30 is charged per mile. If you doubt the authority of patrols in the area, then let me tell you that there is a up to a $1,000 fine for those transporting an Amish person. “I’ve made a lot of good friends. I’ve hauled people who were kids when my parents hauled them”, says Lee Cinsey who has taken over her family business.

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Would you do anything to save your life? Well, apparently Jehovah witnesses will not. One of the most profound beliefs of a Jehovah Witness is that they must not partake in blood transfusions, as it is considered to go against Gods teachings and biblical rule, even if your life is on the line. One of my hometown best friends is a Jehovah Witness and even then I was surprised to figure this out the other day in class when Dr. Whitaker brought up a discussion on it. Naturally I decided to browse our friendly helper, Google, and look up what this is all about. This act came into rule in 1945 and since then, children of this faith have had no say due to their parents over ruling their decision, those who have partook in transfusions have been shunned by the community, and thousands of witnesses have died. There are even physical cards that are carried around by people who practice this to let doctors know they will not partake in blood transfusions. Recently there have been a group of active protesters cutting up these cards as a sign of saving people’s lives. It has spread all across social media and the hashtag #NoMoreMartyrs is being used to gather people together. Attached to this link is a video explaining what this is really all about. The man in the video, John Cedar, explains how this policy lacks evidence in the bible, is not morally right, and has killed so many people in the past. This inspiring video also shows a compilation of people cutting up their blood cards in protest to not be a martyr and save lives. Since this outbreak and the launch of this video, many followers of Jehovah witness have turned their heads against this act to forbid blood transfusions.

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I surely can’t be the only one that thought The Book of Mormon was just the name to some action filled movie, or maybe I am just uncultured. Either way, this book serves a huge deal of significance to Mormons and it is a collection of of scriptures written by the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith. It is “A record of God’s dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel”. In the article “5 Reasons It's Important to Recognize the Book of Mormon as History, Not Just a Story” the author states some rather passionate arguments as to why this book should be considered a valid piece of history, along with every other validated American document. Although modern non-believers think that it contains purely fiction and should not be considered historical documentation, the believers of this religion stand firmly behind its teachings and these five reasons might just change your mind as well. 1.) “The Book of Mormon itself purports to be a historical record”, in other words, this book has the credentials to be considered an antique and treated with respect. 2. “Book of Mormon authors say they will meet readers at the last judgement”, two of the co-authors quoted in the book that on judgment day they will stand beside God and greet all who have read the book. 3.” The gold plates had to come from somewhere”, The historical fact that Joseph Smith carried plates made of gold had to have come from some sort of eyewitness account or ancient prophet. 4. “Joseph Smith maintained a consistent narrative about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon throughout his life”, Joseph Smith personally described in accredited documentation how the actual book of Mormon came forth. 5. “The Book of Mormon’s testimony of Christ is predicated on the idea that he actually visited the Americas” a scripture in this book claims several prediction of present day and includes that Jesus Christ encountered prophets in America. Now it is all left up to you whether you see this book as important as the Deceleration of Independence.

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After the previous lecture (2/5/19), where the class took a quiz a together that showed atheist/agnostics had the most knowledge on religion as a collective unit, I was intrigued to check out this website and figure out where all religions/beliefs stand among the entire population of America. The picture I shared above are my results of The Religious Typology Quiz provided by the Pew Research Center. This quiz determines the category of religious denomination that you belong to by basing your answers on behavior, beliefs, and religious practices. Although, the real interesting factor about this examination is that your race, age, or gender are not needed to provide the result of what group you belong to. There are 7 classifications within 3 broader descriptions that include; Highly Religious Groups, Somewhat Religious Groups, and Non-religious Groups.

The reason I shared my personal quiz result is to expand on what Dr. Whitaker discussed in class concerning what a “Post Christian” is and how many Americans can relate to it. In class he shared his own description of what this means (as his meaning differs from the book) and after I thoroughly read my results, his definition made much more sense as I could relate it to my own personal experiences . “Americans hold at least some New Age beliefs (views rejected by most of the Relaxed Religious) and believe in God or some higher power, though many do not believe in the biblical God and relatively few attend religious services on a weekly basis.” This is the definition of what it means to be “Spiritually Awake” and it is also a classification under the “Somewhat Religious Group”. It falls perfectly in line to what Dr. Whitaker said in class about Post Christians holding religious beliefs and enjoying some aspects about a religion, but moving along with a more modern belief system. Sixty-two percent of people belonging to this category claim to be Christian which puts an emphasis on an earlier class discussion on how America is a Christian dominated country. Another piece of information I gained to back this argument up is that the category with most members, Sunday Stalwarts, have a population of ninety-two percent Christians. I think that my results, along with a big portion of young adults my age, can show that their is a transition into the categorization of being a “none”, which makes sense as majority of people belonging to this group are young college students. Put aside the quiz, The Pew Research Center is devoted to expanding knowledge across people about religion in America and across the country, current trends in the world of faith, voices from atheist, and politics in relation to all of this.