As Americans, we tend to forget what freedoms we have. One of the biggest ones that I have noticed is that of religion. Just this past Sunday I talked to two individuals who shared with me their personal experiences with Church.
The first person I had the pleasure of talking to was Tina (whose full name is too hard to write and/or say). Tina is from a Russian-speaking country known as Bellerose where there is basically one type of church: Orthodox. She herself could not tell me the complexities or the basic doctrine of it because she never really attended it except for Easter services, as was a cultural tradition in her country. She told me that when she came to America, she was in awe of the vast number of different churches and was enthralled by my explanation of the cultural aspects involved with our Bible-Belt region. For me, this was a harsh realization that we do not know how good we have it in America by having the freedom to choose a church (not just Christian by the way).
The second person I spoke with was Eugene. Eugene comes from a family of missionaries who ministered to China and Korea. He told me that in China, the only ones who are allowed to profess Christianity are foreigners, and there is no such thing as a “denomination” there. Because of the strict governmental control, no one worries over the small aspects of religion that lead to quarrels amongst believers, but rather unite as one and focus on their faith in God and Jesus Christ. In such a free country we often forget that we have the right to believe what we want and gather with those that believe likewise.
So what? Why should we care about other nations’ policies about religion when we really don’t care about religion ourselves? I do not write this to force my beliefs on anyone, although I will say that I am proud to claim Christianity, but rather as a reminder that Americans forget that they can believe and gather as they please or choose not to without risk of consequence. This is something special when one takes a look at the world as a whole.
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ReplyDeleteDid you happen to ask Tina if she thought she had been deprived of a choice? In regards to Eugene's observation, apart from the fact that choice has been removed from the equation, what is the socio-cultural significance of having a single religious group of which to prescribe?
ReplyDeleteIsaac -- interesting that you respect freedom so very much. Do you think this means that with this freedom comes a greater appreciation of cultural diversity? For example did Tina from Belarus (note spelling) appreciate that diversity.
ReplyDeleteAlso, is it possible that religion itself doesn't mean the same thing to people everywhere. Is it possible that Americans value religion more while other cultures respect art, poetry, music or family relationships to a greater extent?