When I first heard what we were going to be doing our first blog post many different ideas and thoughts came into my head. When you think of worldview, religion, and intercultural communication you think of many different ideas and arguments. In today's world religion is one of the most talked about subjects. I have grown up around a christian family my entire life but since being away at college I have kind of lost some of it. The book said it best when Nakayama said "Religion can be a divisive and explosive topic, as people often hold very strong feelings about it" (page 21). This got me to thinking about back in high school when you were not aloud to talk about any sort of religion in class, unless it was being talked about in the text book. I always had wondered why that was and why students were not allowed to talk about what they believed in. Being a Christian, I have never really took the time to learn much about other religions, I was born and raised a Christian so I just figured that's how its suppose to be and I shouldn't do anything about it. After reading this text I learned a lot more about all the different religions and how they see God in different ways. One person may see a religion or worldview in a totally different way than another person does and because of that our culture is what it is today.
One line that really stood out to me in the reading was when Nakayama brought up the point that when someone says someone else is very religious people immediately stop and think that person is very Christian. In my mind that is pretty much exactly right. In today's culture you hear many people say that about someone else or you see it in a movie and it usually tends to be the case. But that shouldn't always be the case, just because someone is "religious", doesn't mean they are a Christian. Its kinda like a stereotype for people, when they think someone is religious they just assume they are a Christian. Another good point brought up in the reading was when it talked about how religion is something that people think of as not being socially correct to bring up. With religion being one of the most highly talked about subjects its going to be brought up and people are going to be asked what religion they are or who they worship. Christianity is spreading throughout the world every day and its going to continue to grow and grow, but as it grows so will every other religion. With the growth or religion and everybody's views and thoughts on it, it will continue to be the most talked about subject for years and years to come.
I remember back in middle school, I had a friend who was Jewish and he invited me to his bar mitzvah. At the time I really didn't know much about what that was or what the meaning of it was. I went to it and it was a very interesting experience, I experienced things I would have never experienced if I wasn't friends with this kid. But the whole time I remember thinking why is this so much different from me going to church? At the time I was much younger and had never really learned much about the Jewish religion so I didn't understand the true meaning of it. But if I had the chance to go back and sit in on it again I probably would just because I am know much older and I have a much better understanding of it.
Questions:
1. What has made religion into the most talked about subject in our world and will that ever change?
2. Why has Christianity been shaped into the most highly regarded religion and how does that make the people of other religions feel?
3. Aside from Christianity what religion really sticks out in your mind as a religion that is closely followed and highly regarded in today's world?
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