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It is a sense of belonging to a religious group. We will be presenting from the point-of-view of the majority religion: Christianity.

What is a religious identity anyway?

Religions of the World (2007) factbook/geos/xx.html

Religions of the United States (2007)

Devan, what is acceptance within a majority religion?

Acceptance Within a Majority Religion The learning, identifying, and receiving of religious inequities in society With religious identity there is no conscience identification and Christians are unaware of other religions

Example of Acceptance Christians and society as a whole are used to automatically having holidays off of work, school, stores closed, etc… Such as Christmas and Easter. However, for the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, people must ask for the day off of work since this is required of the holiday. Unless people have a Jewish co-worker, they are most likely unaware of the holiday.

No-Communication Within this stage of acceptance, the majority group, Christians, will end up being patronizing or avoid communication altogether.

I wonder if Shae can explain resistance within a majority.

Resistance Within a Majority Religion Resistance: a major shift from blaming the minority to blaming the social system as the source of the problem. During this stage individuals may feel ashamed of their own religion, avoiding or minimizing interactions with people of the same belief and seeking out interactions with people of minority religions.

Example of Resistance Sarah moved to college a year ago. She made many Muslim friends. She has seen her friends treated poorly because they are associated with terrorists. Sarah blames the Christian influence on the media. Now, she stays away from her Christian friends and spends most of her time with her Muslim friends.

Another Example Colleen R LaRose a.k.a. JihadJane She did not like the mistreatment of Muslims by fellow Christian Americans. She began aiding a radical online Muslim group, which was training people to fight Christian Americans.

Tyler, what is there to know about religious histories?

Religions affect on culture – Cultural group Histories are the history of each cultural group within a nation that includes the history of where the group originated, why the people migrated, and how they came to develop and maintain their cultural traits. – Religious beliefs are central to culture. – People in all cultures have a set of beliefs that go beyond both the self and the natural world. Explains human existence, guide personal relationships, and behavior.

Cultures affect on Communication Creates many problems between religions. Suicide bombers and altruistic suicide Historical events are important to religion and culture. Crusades Holocaust Mormon Trek

Luke can you tell me about family histories and religious identities?

Family Histories Definition – Occur at the same time as other histories – On a more personal level – Passed down orally Family tradition – Identifies whether or not the family actually participated in religious histories

Family Histories How do Family Histories affect religion? – Family is the first source of religion – Parent’s religion is child’s religion Once the child grows up and becomes more educated in his or her religion, then he or she may decide to continue with that religion or find another – Difficulty in going against parent’s religion Parental disappointment

Family Histories Example – Mennonite Amish Joseph Fisher Born Amish, raised Amish, no electricity Period of Rumspringa – Went to public high school – Wore average clothes Decided he didn’t want to be Amish – Shunned

Jess, I wonder how religious identities affect communication Manchester College.

Identity and Communication Communication: a symbolic process in which the symbolic meaning is shared. It is also receiver oriented and unintentional.

Influence of Identity on Communication Classroom Activities – Observing non-Christian/non-Western holidays – Grouping Conformity – Downplaying minority status or what ‘goes against the grain’ Assumptions based on physical features – Textbook bias One perspective

Religions on Campus

We talked about… The description of a majority religious identity – Acceptance Stage – Resistance Stage The support behind religious identity – Religious Histories The influence of religious identity on communication