Culture and Religion Essay

Nina Shuck

Sociology

 April 7, 2017

Culture and Religion Essay

While researching topics for this paper I learned quite a lot about race and religion. What I read changed my perspective on both religious and racial/ethnic groups. I never really gave much thought to either or. While growing up my parents didn’t go to church and I never gave much thought religion. The subject race/ethnicity I didn’t really think about either, I did grow up in an African American neighborhood and went to school with many different types of people but I never have been outside the United states. I Love our County and how it is made up of a variety of different races and ethnicities and what makes our country great, our previous president Barack Obama was an endorser in this idea and I miss him greatly. In my research, I learned that race/ethnic groups as well as religious groups are both victims of prejudice and have shaped American culture. The religious group that I would like to focus on is Judaism and the race/ ethnic group I would like focus on as well is the African American culture. I will also discuss the impacts both groups have had on the united states and there impacts on American culture.

        I chose the religious group Judaism as the religious group I would like to discuss because I find it the most fascinating. I my self am Christian but never belonged to any specific denomination, while researching Judaism I read that Jesus was Rabbi and preached to the Jewish people. I do not know much of the prophecy’s or specifics of both religions but was drawn to learn more, I also didn’t quite understand that the old testament was different than the new testament in the bible. I learned that the roots of Christianity were Judaism, I also learned that Judaism is the roots of Islam. All three Faiths told stories of Moses have many similarity’s and themes, all three religions have shaped America and all three have been victims of prejudice and mostly against each other.

        There has been much discrimination and prejudice against the Jewish people for thousands of years and most recently. A common term “antisemitism” is a word associated with the prejudice of the Jewish people. In the news over the last past couple of months there has been many Jewish grave sites across the nation that have been destroyed or desecrated. Another famous example of racism and discrimination against Judaism is the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a genocide in which six million European Jews were killed by Nazi Germany during World War II. Jewish people in modern times are also a victim of terrorist attacks from radical Islamic terrorist such as Alqueda and Isis.

        The middle east there is much prejudice and racial discrimination towards the Jewish people from radical Islamic groups such as Al Qaeda and Isis. I am not an expert in this area but from what I researched the source of this prejudice comes from ancient times, back in the in the time of Abraham who is a Key Figure in the Bible and The Islamic holy book the Koran. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael was his 1st born conceived with his hand maiden Hagar. Abraham Later Had another son named Jacob with his wife Sarah, its mentioned in the Bible that “Sarah despised Hagar and she left with Ishmael”. It is also mentioned that “The Lord came to Abram in a vision and repeated the promise of the land and descendants as numerous as the stars”. The Descendants of Jacob were known as Israelites or modern Hebrews and the decedents of Ishmael were called Ishmaelite’s know as modern day Islam. I believe the root or source of this prejudice is that there has been an ancient argument of which descendants of Abraham are to receive the land promised by their god.

        I believe the source of the Holocaust was from the influence of Adolf Hitler, a Fascist dictator with racists campaign against a religious group that gained support from the German public. Hitler mentioned in his book Mein Kampf “Hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the almighty creator: 'by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord”. This Book helped him gain political power and influence the minds of the German population to agree with his prejudice toward the Jewish race. Hitler killed millions of Jewish men, women, and children and enslaved thousands in concentration camps just based on his hatred toward this religious group.

        Judaism has shaped American culture in many ways, one way I thought was interesting was the wedding vail. The first recorded record of a wedding vail comes from the Bible in Genesis 24:65,” when Rebecca first sees Isaac, and veils herself.  Also, the unveiling of the wedding veil during a wedding has I discovered had roots in Judaism as well. The story of Jacobs wedding to his true love Rebecca, also mentioned in the genesis. Unfortunately for Jacob after consummating the marriage discovered he married her Sister Leah, during their marriage Leah was veiled the entire time and thought he was marrying her sister. There was a lot more to that story but I just found it fascinating because of all the wedding I have went to and been in I never knew the religious roots.

        While researching this topic, I learned a Lot about Judaism and what I learned helped me understand This religious groups. I learned that Judaism is one of the first religious groups in human civilization as well as one of the most influenceable in modern day society and Religion.  I learned that Judaism is the precursor to Christianity and Islam, I do feel that is this a topic I didn’t not understand so well but after learning about all of this it did help me understand the interconnectedness of most modern Religion. Researching this Religious was very eye opening and to me gave me a whole new perspective to my faith and I feel helped me understand mine as well as Jesus Christ and what was the core of his faith.

        Next I would like to discuss the ethnic/ racial group that I have chosen to discuss the African American People. African Americans are an ethnic group in America with ancestry from Africa. Black and African Americans population is the third largest racial and ethnic group in the United States A large amount of African Americans are descended from enslaved Africans. In the 1700’s people from Africa were forcibly taken as slaves to Spanish America, eventually African slaves were taken to English colonies . After the founding of the United States, African Americans were still enslaved, Which resulted in the civil war and the ending of slavery in the united states.

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