Religion In America

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Pages: 6

Religion: “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods”(Religion | Definition of Religion in English by Oxford Dictionaries).

By definition, this may be true however, religion is an integral part of our society. As a person of faith growing up in North America, the way that society and religion has influenced both myself and my interactions with society is a very important topic to explore. Myself and many other followers of various religions are under constant judgment, criticism, and have always been critiqued while trying to keep our religious values.

As time passes and religion grows, western influence is spreading and becoming increasingly pervasive. In an interview I had with my father, when he was asked how the generations before him practiced the religion any differently, he stated: “Overtime people are more focused on monetary growth these days [compared to] generations before us [which] were more focused on ethical, social, and religious values”(Kamal 2018). This quote shows that although religion is growing, there are lots of societal influences that have made many people more focused on physical material over spiritual beliefs. While many people are still very faithful in their religion, it has become a social norm for people to work towards money and physical items.
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The world around me had made me feel like it was “different” to be heavily involved in religious practices. As I got older, I realized that everyone will have their own beliefs and opinions and that my religion would not appeal to everyone else. However, that should not stop me from practicing whatever I believe. I am now proud to be a Muslim and do not feel different from others. Societal viewpoints have had their influence on religious practices and have created misinterpretations of the core beliefs of many