Summer Class Reflection

We are required to take an (online) summer class over the summer. When I first looked into what class I want to take, I was not really thrilled with what the course catalog offered me. Finally, I came across a class that piqued my interest. A class on the psychology of religion. We investigate questions such as “Is superstition the same as religion?,” “Why do people convert from one religion or no religion to another religion?” and “How does religion affect people over their lifespan?” The syllabus explicitly asks students to try to get out of their comfort zone with their religious beliefs because this “is not something they usually do.” I was a bit baffled by the last statement but I could see that there is some truth in it.

Truly, it seems to me like in the United States just about everything is tied to religion. You can't escape it. In Germany this is not at all the case (at least not in my experience); probably because a lot of people are, if anything, “culturally religious.” In the United States a lot of people take their religion very seriously, however. Not only this, a lot of them are very open about it. During the spring semester in Athens I was involved in a volunteer activity aimed at tackling homelessness that brought together students and other members of the Athens community. They are often referred to as “townies.” At the end of the volunteering everybody who wanted to do so could say a few words. Several of the people who stood up, described in very vivid imagery and with huge enthusiasm how their religion had “guided them in their experience.” I was quite surprised by such very open religious statements that in some cases went completely off on a tangent and almost ended in a sermon.

The predominant religion in the United States is Christianity, and often when references to religion are made, they have undertones that are clearly indicative of a Christian worldview an religious concepts. During Veteran's Day, a state holiday in the U.S., I attended a ceremony on a graveyard after the customary holiday parade n the streets, and the speakers at the event referred several times to Christian religious ideas and concepts when referring to the fallen soldiers of the country. I was surprised to hear this at a public event which should in theory be “unbiased.”