Narrative Essay On Religious Identity

Religion is an extremely fluid term that has as many definitions as there are human beings on this planet. My definition and religious identity has been shaped throughout my entire life, like the rest of humanity. But what makes my religious identity so unique? My experiences, education, and intuition are all unique, individually and collectively, to myself. There is no human being that will yield the exact same definition and religious identity that I do, and that is what makes religious stories so intriguing. During my youth I experienced the typical South Central Pennsylvania, well really Maryland, childhood. I attended a Christian church, of the United Church of Christ denomination, every Sunday. During the summers I went to vacation bible school, the mornings daycare, and the in the evenings I attended activities such as choir and youth group. And trust me, all of my friends were from church, because where else was I supposed to meet children my age? I was baptized, confirmed, and accepted into my church family. What more …show more content…
Over the summer, I was required to go to a religious congregation, that was not Christian, for my Encountering Religions class. I will admit, at first I was really dreading this project. Why did I have to visit a Synagogue and what was this really going to teach me? Surprisingly, to me at least, I was fascinated by the complexity, but also the simplicity of another religion. It highlighted how Christianity has conformed to modern beliefs and customs. My eyes were opened to the numerous other opportunities I had, and established in my mind that America is not a Christian nation. We are a nation of people from all different walks of life and Christianity is not what defines us as a whole. If we as Americans want to pride our county for being diverse and accepting, we need to express these