Hayden Pehrson

Professor Kim Anderson

Humanities
8 December 2015
Civic Engagement Project
A. I attended the Sri Ganesha Hindu temple of Utah, on December 8th at the time of 5:00-6:00.
This Hindu temple is located in South Jordan at about 10400 South and 1110 West. I was
interested to attend this Hindu temple because I wanted to experience the different culture and
their beliefs. I got to experience how they practice their religion, and how they have certain rules
to follow while practicing it. When I was in the room where they practice the hindu religion, I
was told to take off my shoes before entering in. It was crazy to compare the Hindu religion with
Christian religions. The Mormon religion has a different way of practicing their religion, but
both religions have their certain rules when practicing it. I had no idea that there was a Hindu
temple in South Jordan. The feel like the temples location was kind of hidden. They only way it
made it a little easier to find is because the street to get there said Hindu Temple Drive. Im not
sure if the Hindus wanted this location, or if the state wanted the temple to be there. I think that
its great that people who practice the Hindu religion have the opportunity to practice it here in
Utah. I think that the community should open up to individuals that have different beliefs and
practice other religions. The community should recognize these diverse groups, and inform
others to accept these individuals and their religion. Even though the Mormon religion is the
most practiced religion in Utah, people should still accept others for their beliefs. The people in
our community should include others of different religion in events that are taken place in our
community. When it comes down to it were all humans, and all races and religions should have
the opportunity to experience freedom in their communities.
B. These Hindus left their home country to come to country/state/community where they can
experience freedom and still be able to practice their religion. If youre in the
United States as a citizen, you should be able to practice whatever religion you want in any state.
These Hindus knew that they were leaving their home country to come to the United States
where they could practice their religion as well as have freedom. In America, unless youre
committing crime, then youre able to live the life that you please. There is no sort dictatorship
over what religion should be practiced, and if you dont follow it then you will be punished. Even
to the people that attend these events have the freedom to do it without having consequences. In
America, all races have the same amount of rights. There is no such thing as an individual that
has more power over another. The government is required to make sure that all individuals are
equal. If the United States didnt allow for all equal rights, then there wouldnt be all these
different cultures and races leaving their home country to come live their lives over here. Hindus
have the opportunity to come to a friendly community where they can introduce their culture and
religion to the people, and live in a country where they have freedom. They also get the chance

to meet new people as well as find other people who practice the same beliefs. There is nothing
more welcoming than living in a country where there is diversity, and knowing that youre
getting support from your community. There is no better feeling than being accepted from you
community to be able to dress, preach, and act the way that they do. The constitution allows all
citizens to live their life the way they please.
C. I feel that my participation made me a more responsible citizen because I took my time out of
my day to experience other cultures and religions. I was promoting both theirs and my freedom
by attending a Hinduism temple, and recognizing their beliefs. I want the community to
recognize the diverse cultures that we have. Its nice to learn about different cultures and
religions that you didnt know before. It opens a idea of understanding of why they practice what
they do, and how they practice it. I would recommend other people in the community who arent
aware of the Hindu culture, and that these citizens need to be apart of the community. Most
people dont get the opportunity to learn about different cultures, and I got to experience this
opportunity in my community. Its important to lean about other cultures, and recognize their
views on life and what they do differently. By participating in this event Im contributing to the
community, and working on connecting different cultures to the entire community. Most people
outside of the United States want to come here to live the American lifestyle, but to also practice
their different religion/beliefs. If we connect our community with the different diverse cultures,
we can have a strong, supportive environment for our citizens to live in. This way all citizens
would be able to live their own free life, but also make sure that theyre living in an environment
where they feel safe to practice their beliefs. Everyone in America should live happy, free, and
non-discrimination lives. It should be our jobs as citizens in the community to accept any other
culture who lives their lives a different way. As citizens we need to work on welcoming other
cultures in our communities and supporting them.
D. I really enjoyed this experience, I though it was a great opportunity to learn about the culture
that the Hindus preach. I would experience this again to learn more about the culture, and to
inform others about the different cultures being practiced in our communities. I would like to
learn about more of the history of Hinduism, and how it started. There is also a cultural center at
the Hindu temple, but it wasnt open tonight, so I didnt get to learn about the history of
Hinduism. I think that more people need to go visit this temple and experience what the Hindu
religion is like. I think there needs to be more Hindu temples in the valley for Indian people who
want to live here and want to practice their religion. It would be good for the city to have more
diversity, and experience different cultures in our communities. It would create more recognition
and acceptance to the people here, and would have more understanding and respect for peoples
cultures outside of the country. It would solve a lot of peoples hate/discrimination towards other
races and cultures that we arent really aware of. This would end a lot of judgement between
religion, race, and beliefs because we would have a better understanding of their culture. I would
like to bring family, and friends with me another time, and get to experience their culture with
them. I would like to know what their thoughts were while attending at the Hindu temple, and if
their thoughts on this culture changed from entering the temple to leaving. Im sure that they
would of had compared their religion to the Hindu religion, and would have spotted the

differences between them. I enjoyed my experience at the Hindu temple, and Im planning on
attending their again to learn more about their culture and religious practices.