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.