Weekly reflection

This weeks in class discussions raised a lot of thoughts for me personally. The whole time I was reading about Libertarians, I was fascinated and left wondering the same thing about their philosophy. If they do not believe in lobbying for any form of political power, how do they ever expect to see their goals turn into government policy? I was fascinated with how great someone may consider their philosophy in theory, but how inherently flawed their theory is when it comes to ever actually seeing their goals achieved. I always knew that libertarians were supportive of many freedoms, but I did not know about their anti-aggression theory behind why they are so in support of freedoms.

                I also never knew the full reasoning behind political liberal thinking. I was very interested in the veil of ignorance theory, and it really made me reconsider my own political thoughts. Although I would not change my own political thoughts, it really opened up my eyes as to why liberals can be so supportive of the many programs in place to help others. I was also surprised as to the origins of political liberalism. I did not realize that they originated from the holy wars following the reformation. It is very interesting to me that toleration on a mass scale was really only invented in the 17^th century, which wasn’t really that long ago if you think about it.

                Liberation theology was a really freaky concept to me. I guess you could say it is because I have benefitted from the system in place my whole life, but to think that there are still such revolutionary schools of thought in the world really freaked me out.  I do not feel that I see enough oppression in the world to merit these kinds of crazy revolutionary thoughts, but who am I to speak when I have not experienced oppression like that personally? I guess if I was in a situation of oppression I would change my philosophy, but revolutionary quick change like this still freaks me out personally. 

Class Social Location

Our class is very diverse in its current social location. There are several people who grew up in very religious households and have maintained their strong faith and religious beliefs throughout their lives. On the other hand, there are also many people who may have grown up in religious households learning certain religious practices and beliefs from there family, but they seem to be struggling with their faith and what they were taught as children as they grow older and further away from their former beliefs. I found it very interesting that many people from this situation were firm in their beliefs until teenage years and high school, and as they grew into their own individuals, they began to question what they had been raised to believe their whole lives. I, myself, would say that I fall into this particular group.  There are also several people who grew up with little to no religious background and this class may be their first serious exposure and thought that they have put into to the bible.

                I was not surprised by the many same racial and class identifications, with a few differing “minorities,” as you could see this with your own eyes in the first few classes. What I was surprised by though is how people felt that this part of their social location affected their perception of the bible. Some felt that their racial and class identification greatly affected their interpretation of the bible and may even inspire them to go out and help others; while others felt that it had little to no effect on how they perceive the bible at all.

                I think that the diversity of our social locations will have a very beneficial effect on the class as a whole. The differing backgrounds among us will help bring many different opinions to the table during our in class discussions. I think we have a good balance of firm religious believers, those questioning their faith, and those with little to no religious background. This diversity among previous religious beliefs will be very beneficial to the class as a whole. People with little to no religious background may pose questions that those who have already in place religious beliefs may not have considered before. Those of us who are struggling with our religious beliefs may bring questions to the table that they have been considering for a while and could lead to good discussion. While those who have firm religious beliefs may be able to pose answers to the questions of the others that they have not thought about before, and there is a diversity among the strong believers that could lead to more debate about why they believe the things that they do. Overall, our class has a strong diversity among its social location that will be able to bring many different schools of thought to the table for our in class discussion.

Racism Response

In class this week, we spent most of the time watching a video over racism and discussing our responses to the video. This video really made me reconsider my thoughts on racism in America today. Before the movie, racism was not an issue I really considered prevalent in America today. At one of the earlier points in the video, they talked about how America had acted like the issue of racism was dead until the LA Riots. This really resonated with me because it reminded me of everything America has faced in the last few months with the Ferguson riots and the situation surrounding that, and how I had perceived racism as an issue of the past until the racial tension exploded over this issue.

                As I continued to reevaluate my stance on racism in the 21^st century, there were more things that made me realize how much of an issue it really is. One part of the video that really stood out to me was when they discussed the topic of America being an equal opportunity country and how the African Americans felt that they were still disadvantaged even in the 21^st century. When the white man disagreed with their stance, they said something along the lines of “How do you know my reality better than I know my own reality?” This quote really resonated with me because I have believed my whole life that anything is possible as long as you are willing to put in the hard work to achieve it, just as the white man who had disagreed with their stance. The response in the video to this really made me reconsider it. There is no way for me to know what it is like coming from a different perspective, such as an African American’s, and I should not assume that there are not barriers that are nearly impossible for them to overcome in their search for success. Another part of the video that made me really think about my “white privilege” that I have grown up accustom to was when the one woman had to explain what “white privilege” was to her daughter. Her example was so true, and it really made me sad that even in the 21^st century, someone would be very suspicious of a black man coming into a predominantly white neighborhood and taking care of a home. The fact that this would raise suspicion even if the black man was simply entering the house and not breaking in or forcing an entry is truly saddening.

                Although I agreed with many of the points made in the video, there was one segment that I simply could not agree with. One man said that to overcome racism, you need to abandon your whiteness and somewhat distance yourself from the white community. I do not agree with this stance at all.  I believe that to overcome racism we should not abandon who we are, but we should be self-aware of who we are and of who others are, and we should learn to accept everyone for who they are.

Social Location

                I was raised in a Roman Catholic household. I grew up in a very religious community as I attended Catholic school at the same parish I attended church at. As I have grown older though, I have found myself growing away from my religious side. I would still consider myself Roman Catholic, but I am not a very good Roman Catholic, and I no longer attend church regularly as I did in my childhood. The Bible was always viewed in my household growing up as something that has many great lessons to teach you, but that should not always be taken literally. Being a catholic, I have always felt that the sacraments are far more important to myself and my religion than the bible. As I have grown up, I have maintained both of these views towards the bible. I have always felt a spiritual relationship with God, and in that relationship, the bible has played little to no role. In the religious community I grew up in, the bible was always something of importance, but it was never as important as the sacraments. In Roman Catholicism, the Pope sets the standards on how the bible is interpreted. The Pope is considered infallible on matters of spirituality, and his interpretation of the bible on major issues is considered “the norm” for all Catholics. I have been exposed to the bible in my life mainly at mass and in religious classes at Catholic school. This exposure to the bible definitely gives me a very catholic and conservative perception of it. I, personally, believe that the bible is something that is full of many good lessons, but that it is not something that you should take too literally.

                I am Caucasian. The only way my ethnicity affects my perception of the bible is that it has caused me to always picture Jesus as being Caucasian, which is obviously very unlikely his actual ethnicity. I am a male, and I believe my culture perceives males as patriarchs or leaders of households. I feel as if I do not often consider my gender while reading the bible. I am from a middle class family. Being from a middle class family, reading the bible always reminds me that there are others in far worse situations and that I should feel the need to help these people. I aspire to be a structural engineer, and Science and religion are to very different subjects and thought processes, so I do not often find my career aspirations affecting the way I interpret the bible. I find it hard to identify “my community” in a sense that would be large enough to be a real community, and I still be able to identify the priorities of this community.

                I identify myself as a moderate republican. I believe pretty strongly in the separation of church and state, so I do not often think about the bible in my political views, or my political views while reading the bible.  I have had many influences on the way that I read the bible, but most importantly would have to be the many religion teachers I had growing up.

                While reading  the bible, being catholic is the most important factor in my interpretation. I feel as if the other demographics I fall under play a far less important role. Through this exercise, I was surprised by how little else I feel plays a role in my understanding of the bible. I was also surprised by how much trouble I had identifying a community I am in and its priorities.

Introductory Blog

Hello, my name is Mitch Schapker, and I am a sophomore Civil Engineering major at the University of Evansville. I was born and raised in Evansville, and unlike a lot people who have spent all their lives in Evansville to this point, I am not dying to get out of Evansville as soon as possible. I actually kind of like Evansville a lot, but I wouldn’t be opposed to leaving it after college. I enjoy watching sports, playing golf, fishing, playing video games, and hanging out with friends. Since coming to college, I’ve done many things I may have never thought I would do before arriving on campus. I’ve gotten involved with engineering organizations such as the American Society of Civil Engineers and the Concrete Canoe competition team. I also joined Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity upon arriving at UE, and I spent the fall 2014 semester abroad at Harlaxton College.

I am not going to lie to you, I signed up for Religion 305 just to fulfill general education requirements without even really knowing what topics of Religion would be covered in the course. After the first class though, I am very intrigued about the things that we will be discussing in this course. The topic of religion and social justice seems to me almost like some kind of politics class that you look through with a religious lens. I am very interested to examine how religion has played a part in many of the major social issues of the past and the present. One of the main things I am really interested is how someone can interpret the bible to support their side of an issue, while someone on the opposing side of an issue can interpret the bible to support theirs as well.

I am interested in seeing how liberal and conservative views can interpret the bible to support their beliefs. I was raised in a Catholic household, and as you may know, Catholics can tend to be very conservative with their religious beliefs and how they interpret them when it comes to social justice issues. I’ve spent so much time just seeing this side of the issues with a religious aspect that I almost can’t even imagine how someone could use the bible to support the opposing side on some of these issues. Although I may not always agree with the conservative catholic perspective on all of these issues, I still find it hard imagining someone using the bible to support some of the opposing side of the social justice issues they oppose, but I am very eager to open my mind and see what kind of other perspectives can be taken from the readings in the bible to support these kind of issues from the other side.