Influences

Subject: Influences Thu Aug 07, 2008 6:12 pm

Influences
How much are we affected by the influence of Politics and Religion?
Politics:
If one is a registered Republican, can that person look at a Democratic
candidate for President on his/her merits alone or does the party affiliation
influence the decision? How can one shed the stigma of a party affiliation when evaluating a person’s capabilities and their stated plans for the presidency?
Religion:
If one is a Christian, can that person look at a non-Christian without prejudice? Even within the Christian family of doctrines there is friction.
Whether one is Catholic, Mormon, Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian,
Baptist, a born-again fundamentalist or other sect, there if often animosity. But when it comes to the three Revealed religions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity, the stigma is magnified as it has been for thousands of years.

Is there much different today? Do we identify a people by their country of
origin or by their religion? Although there are countries where one form of religion dominates, to my knowledge there are no countries that are exclusive with one religion. America is proclaimed to be a “Christian” nation, but are Americans referred to as Christians? Why do we call people from Israel, Jews? Why do we refer to people of other Middle East countries as Muslims? Must religion continue to influence our attitudes? Is it any wonder why many people despise religion and refuse to be affiliated with any religious sect?

We are in the midst of another election. Can anyone say that religion
doesn’t play a role? We are close to getting over the barriers of sex and race, how long will it take to get over the barriers of religion?
_________________
"To Beirut and Back"
http://www.freewebs.com/abemarch

One Star Member Joined : 06 Aug 2008 Posts : 27

Abe,

I believe it (politics and religion) will always play some part in most people's lives during an election year or anytime else. It is the human condition. I wonder how close we are on race and sex. A black man and a woman running for president and getting as far as they have doesn't do alot for me. Equality, I'm sure you'll agree, demands much more than that.

Religion is a tough one because for so many it has eternal connotations. I should say people see beyond (not all, but many) mortality, or the human existence. As a Mormon, I see beyond this stage of existence to something much better. People who believe this way often push their beliefs because they think what is good for them is good for everyone. Some proselyte their beliefs because they believe they've been commanded to do so.

Charlie

Subject: Re: Influences Thu Aug 07, 2008 10:38 pm

I know we all come with a frame of reference influenced by how we grew up, where we grew up, parenting, emotional make up, cultural influences, etc etc etc.

However, there ARE people, certainly not everyone ... maybe not even the majority, yet there are people who CAN see another person's point of view and not agree with it ... and yet they ARE ABLE to see where that other person is coming from.

They do not agree with their fellow man's point of view, still they understand how that person sees the point and why. They maintain their own point, believe in their own way of thinking and yet can be objective and validate the point of view the other person has ... without necessarily agreeing with it.

Some people can do this with religion, politics, and any other topic that is subject of debate (spanking, pre-marital sex, gay marriages, etc).

Yes, Abe, these people can do those things you ask ... they can see more than labels ... they can see people. That kind of person does exist.

But not everyone can ... no.
_________________
~ JoElle ~
http://www.joellemartin.com

Subject: Re: Influences Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:02 pm

Trouble is that even though we want to and encourage barrier reduction, it doesn't seem to take much at times for those barriers to be put back up. In an election it seems that folks actualy look for reasons to put barriers up as a way to separate or differentiate between the sides. You'd think they'd want to rely on brains and wit, but sadly that's not the case.
_________________
Pam Robertson

http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com

Subject: Re: Influences Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:19 am

"Yes, Abe, these people can do those things you ask ... they can see more than labels ... they can see people. That kind of person does exist."

I agree JoElle, however I think they are a small minority.

As Charlie expressed, people will continue to be influenced by their religion and justify it.

What about tolerance? If religion will continue to play a key role, can one be tolerant of the views of another's religion?
_________________
"To Beirut and Back"
http://www.freewebs.com/abemarch

Subject: Re: Influences Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:17 pm

Indeed, it seems that many people don't see individuals when looking at others. Instead, they see things like political affiliations, group memberships, and religious affiliations. It seems most people have a tendancy to want to lump others into groups and create divisions between those groups. Political and Religous tolerance would be a good thing, but it's very hard to have tolerance when so many religious groups believe they are in sole posession of absolute truth and thus anyone who believes differntly is wrong. Not only are they wrong, but in the eyes of some religious groups, they should be forced to change their belief system or even be tortured or killed. This idea many religous groups have about being in sole posession of absolute truth has a lot to do with the amount of religious intolerance in the world.

Subject: Re: Influences Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:23 pm

I agree with JoElle, and I'm glad to see Charlie here, who always has some good points on these subjects.

I grew up in a home where the Episcopal church was the primary religious and social influence. However, I was always a sort of rebel, always wanting to know about other religions, but really realizing the church people were good caring people.

Then I went to college and fell in love with a Catholic. It was a major, major problem. My mother was sure her future grandchildren would tell her she was not going to heaven, and there were the issues of my husband-to-be having to follow rules of getting married in his church or facing the excommunication.

None of that had much to do with soul, or spirit, or caring, which to me are the most important.

We no longer attend the Catholic Church in our town. The bishop has said the people are immoral and criticized loving people who refused to vote according to his demands. My daughter is a music minister at a wonderful Catholic Church in Norfolk, filled with love.

Having traveled the world, I have also liked being influenced by religions of other countries, walking within their places of worship, seeing their spiritual customs and traditions.

I always figure there is a God, a divine being that has this all figured out.

Carol

Subject: Re: Influences Fri Aug 08, 2008 1:49 pm

Unfortunately, it seems that a lot of religion has a lot more to do with power for elite and controle of the masses than it has to do with spirituality. In my mind, religion and spirituality are differnt things. Religion is about ritual and ceremony whereas spirituality is about respect for life and nature and caring about your fellow man. I consider myself to be spiritual but not religious. Or I could say that I follow a personal religion rather than an organized one.

Subject: Re: Influences Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:00 pm

Abe I think that tolerance can be taught, if people are open minded, which is why it is usually easier to teach younger folks than a bunch of inflexible adults.
I actually had a blog post about intolerance right here if you're interested... http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com/2008/03/in-this-day-and-age.html
_________________
Pam Robertson

http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com

Subject: Re: Influences Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:41 pm

The problem is when people become convinced that they are in sole posession of absolute truth, they become very closed minded. Closed mindedness is one of the biggest features of religious fundamentalism. I think if we are to teach tolerance, we need to teach it to children while they are still young and havn't yet been corrupted by closed minded religious fundamentalism.

Subject: Re: Influences Sat Aug 09, 2008 5:32 am

Pam,
your blog makes an excellent point for instruction. As Gordon pointed out, adults can be the most inflexible.
Children often learn many of their prejudices in the home. Instruction with children in school is a good way to teach tolerance in a setting without the political or religious influences of family and/or environment.
_________________
"To Beirut and Back"
http://www.freewebs.com/abemarch

Subject: Re: Influences Sat Aug 09, 2008 8:32 am

Pam,

Interesting blog and website. I am very impressed.

In the 1990s, before I retired, I was a clinical social worker and also did training in schools. My favorite was a peer facilitation program. We trained teens in our school in listening and referral skills. It was a good program.

I began training teens in other schools in Wisconsin, which is how I decided I needed a cabin in the Northwoods as I would come to these parts to do the peer facilitator training as well as training for teachers.

The students would be selected by the school officials, and would be accompanied for the two day training by a counselor or psychologist from the school. Ideally we would have a warm comfortable training location.

The most impressive selection of students was in a school in Wausau, Wisconsin where the principal had hand-picked the student participants, from all the different groups of students. They included the quarterback on the football team, cheerleaders, blacks, Asia immigrants, exceptionally intelligent students, and a young man who became everyone's friend, a little guy in baggy pants wearing a beret. And they got to know each other, and liked each other, and the principal showed up and participated.

Sometimes these groups would become quite intense, as it did one night in a cabin before a fire, where twenty teens spoke from their hearts, and I left feeling like a dishrag, only to find the next day they had spent the night at a school dance and had become friends forever.

It can be done, but I am not sure those groups are even legal anymore. School officials felt we were putting too much responsibility on kids. I disagreed. I felt they were capable of much more than they were often given credit for.

It looks like you do good work, Pam.

Carol

Subject: Re: Influences Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:15 pm

Yes, Pam. I enjoyed your blog. Much intense truth there. Sometimes it seems that kids left to their own devices early on over come predjudices, but the parents and some peers ruin it.

My little community is multi-racial, but everyone gets along. Perhaps it is because it is so small. If you are friend to one, you are probably a friend to all.
_________________
Zada Connaway
Mother's Journals: parts 1, 2 and 3 ISBN # 1-4241-6969-0

http://www.zadaconnaway.com/

Subject: Re: Influences Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:41 pm

Young children are naturally non-judgemental and willing to accept others as they are. Predjudce is a learned behavior, not somthing people are born with. Teaching children tolerance when they are still very young would do a lot to make the world a better place, especially if tolerance was tought to all children worldwide. Of course, that would be hard to do, because there are a lot of closed minded extremely judgmental adults in the world. It seems that we as the people of the world need to ratically change our thought patterns so tolerance and peace can have a chance.

Subject: Re: Influences Sat Aug 09, 2008 4:20 pm

One of the most interesting sagas in the regard to race, involves Thomas Jefferson. Sally, the slave whom he fathered children with, was his wife's half sister. His wife had died before he had the affair with Sally. DNA evidence has proved that Sally's children were also Thomas'. But the white children of Thomas and his wife will not accept this. They have reunions and Sally's children's descendants attend but are not always accepted. The young children get along quiet well, and through the years and intermarriage Sally's children are all shades of black and white.

Carol