Clint

McElheny
5/12/14
Faith Religion Society
Prof. Gabrielli
Final Exam
Essay #1
At the start of the semester we were asked to write our opinions on certain
topics before we learned about them. These topics included faith, religion and
society and how they relate to each other. After discussing these topics in class, I
realized that some of my initial interpretations were incorrect. Now that I have an
opportunity to reassess my previous definitions, I believe that I can add important
and crucial parts to them.
The word faith is a word that is, as Terrence Tilley states, easily
misunderstood in the English language (3). Before this class I believed faith to be a
strong belief or trust in a particular idea or value. This trust is not necessarily
religious but it could be faith in a person or thing. Now I realize that there is more
to the word faith than just the belief in something. Tilley defined faith as, a
relationship between one and the irreducible energizing source of meaning and
center in ones life (26). Tilleys definition of faith did not render my initial
interpretation of faith completely wrong. Tilleys definition of faith made mine
stronger. He states that trust and belief are parts of faith but having those are only a
single component of faith (26). One does not simply believe in something to have

faith, they have a relationship with something that is the source of meaning in their
life.
After learning what the true definition of faith is according to Tilley, our class
went deeper into religion. At the beginning of the year, I defined religion as the
belief in a higher power. This higher power, or powers, are the entities that a
person worships or looks up to. After reading about religion, I now realize that
there is more to religion than just worship. Portier refused to define religion
because it is too broad of a topic. He used the definitions from two philosophers,
William James and Alfred Whitehead, from the late 1800s to try and give a better
explanation of religion. Both of these philosophers stated that religion is a way of
life; it is your experiences and actions combined with worship (52). A professor at
DePaul University, William Cavanaugh, made the philosophers definitions relate to
more to modern times. Cavanaugh stated that there are two different ways to
approach religion: the functionalist way or the substantivist way. A functionalist
has their beliefs shape their life and everything that they do is based on what they
believe in. A substantivist strictly believes in a higher power (3). At the time of my
initial definition, I only looked at religion as a substantivist. After reading
Cavanaughs piece, I know have a better all-around understanding of religion. My
definition of religion has now changed to worship and actions based on a religious
belief. The combination of the pieces by Portier and Cavanaugh has expanded my
earlier definition of religion.
My original definition of what makes someone religious was very similar to
my original definition of religion. To be religious one would have a set a values

revolving around a higher power. I believed that someone was religious if the
values that they believed in shaped how they lived their lives. Portier describes
religious experiences as manifestations to the sacred and worshipful responses to
them (66). He explains that religious experiences can happen to anyone, not just
those of heroic figures who lived long ago. These religious experiences are seen in
the stories of Moses and Arjuna. Portier states that such dramatic examples are
simply exaggerated instances of a phenomenon that appears most often in more
ordinary people in less one-sided and intense forms (67). This quote says that
religious experiences happen to everyday people even if they do not realize it. The
stories in the sacred books are not likely to happen, but instead are smaller
instances of religious experiences. After reading about Moses and Arjuna in
Portiers piece, I now have a better and more expanded view of religion. I know that
my original definition of a religious person was not wrong, but that these religious
experiences can happen at anytime and to anyone.
In the initial assignment, the one question that I knew the least involved the
relationship between labor unions and the Catholic Church. My response was that
the Catholic Church believes in labor unions because they want to give back to the
community. I knew very little about both subjects making the question very hard to
answer. After reading more about the topic, I have now realized that my initial
response was correct, even though it was a complete guess. We read about Marx
and Carnegie, who had beliefs of the opposite end of the spectrum. Marx believed
that the workers owned the things they made and Carnegie believed that the owner
owned the workers. After reading about Dorothy Day, I finally found the answer

that the Catholic Church supported labor unions. She states that the Catholic Church
is in support of workers who did physical, spiritual or mental work (204).
Throughout the book she talked about how supporting groups was a part of her
faith. The Church wanted to help the poor because they unfortunately accepted the
life that they had and didnt see a way out (210). I realized that the hardest question
of the initial assignment was one that I answered correctly without even knowing
too much about it.
The final question of the initial assignment was, for me, the most interesting
question. The question asked, How do I see faith, religion and society coming
together? My response was that you have to have faith in your religion and if you
have faith in something then that dictates what you do in everyday life. Society
plays a role in this because what people do everyday is how society is made. After
taking this class I do not see much change in how I see faith, religion, and society
relating to each other. However I do see a change in how I define these topics as I
stated earlier in this paper. I now have a better understanding of the faith and
religion but still have them relating the same way. I believe that religion and faith
are very closely related just as how Tilley stated that faith and religion are very
often combined together. This is because the definition of faith is as a relationship
between one and the irreducible energizing source of meaning and center in ones
life (26). This is an important quote because Tilleys irreducible energizing
source is more commonly religion. I still understand that people have faith in other
things than religion, but I believe that faith and religion go hand in hand.

As for the society part of the question, it is obvious to me, especially after
reading pieces about the Muslim tradition, that religion takes place in society. The
New York Times article on the Muslims in France and the novel Does My Head Look
Big in This, really show how religion, Islam in particular, effects society. According
to the New York Times, wearing the niqab, a headscarf in Muslim tradition, affects
French culture because it disrupts the ability to make eye contact (1). Eye contact is
an important component of French culture for many years. Just by wearing a certain
article of clothing pertinent to their religion it involves society. In Does My Head
Look Big in This, Amal was almost not allowed to wear the hijab because it was not
apart of the school uniform (39). Eventually she was allowed to wear it, but only
after some controversial discussions with the principal. Society knows what
religion you are just by what you are wearing. This does not have to solely relate to
Islam, although the best examples from class have to deal with Islam. Other
examples are that Christians wear crosses and Jews wear Yamakas. These symbols
of religion are in society everyday. I now believe that faith and religion are more
closely related than I had before, but I still believe they relate to society because of
the everyday functions that religious people do.
At the beginning of the year we had to define certain words relating to the
class from our previous knowledge. After doing so, we then proceeded to learn
about some of these topics. After taking these topics into consideration, I began to
realize that my initial thoughts on these topics were not to the standard that they
needed to be to fully understand the word. After evaluation of my previous

definitions, I believe I have now I added essential components that needed to be

addressed.

Essay #2

Throughout our readings this semester I believe that most of the characters
we have read about would say that they are religious. The most prevalent case of
this came in the novel, Does my Head Look Big in This. Amal Abdel-Hakim, the main
character of the story, showed her faith to the Islamic religion throughout the
majority of the book. If you asked her if she was religious, although it would be hard
because she is a fictional character, I believe that she would answer with a very
confident yes.

Before we could consider if Amal was religious, we would first have to

distinguish between religious and spiritual. For some people, the distinction
between a religious person and a spiritual person can be hard, myself included. I
have never thought about or knew the distinction between those two words before
this class. Now with the knowledge I have obtained, I think I have a better
understanding. I believe that if someone is spiritual, they believe in a religion. They
might not fully practice the religion, but they do believe in a god or gods, hence the
word spiritual. The Wikipedia page states, Spiritual but not religious is commonly
used to describe the demographic also known as the unchurched (1). I consider
people who say they are religious but do not go to church, or the equivalent in other
religions, as spiritual. Although they consider themselves religious they do not fully

practice that religion. I would consider someone religious if they fully practice their
respective religion. People who do the actions and have the experiences that their
religion states, in my mind, are the only people allowed to be considered religious.
The words, religious and spiritual, are often confused but I believe I now understand
the difference. With this, I can fully assess Amals religious beliefs in the book, Does
my Head Look Big in This.

A key reason that I believe that Amal is religious, is the fact that she decided

to wear the hijab, a traditional Muslim headscarf, on her own. She has her own
beliefs and no one is telling her what she can and cannot do. When asked about her
choice by Mrs. Walsh she states, Nobody has made me wear it, Mrs. Walsh, its my
decision (39) . This statement alone indicates that she is religious. The headscarf is
a traditional religious symbol that is worn by Muslim women. John Esposito
explains, It allows women to focus on their spiritual, intellectual, and professional
development (2). The fact that she made a decision that has such an impact on her
religion is a key contributor to that fact that she considers herself religious.

The main reason that I consider Amal to be religious is that she fully

practices the traditions of Islam. She prays fives times a day. An important part of
the Muslim faith is prayer. Even while Amal is at school she finds time to pray. She
takes her religion seriously. She asks one of her teachers if he could find her a place
to pray. The teacher obliges and offers her a classroom to pray in. Amal would
rather have a more private area so she uses a closet next to Mr. Pearces office. This
fact of being private, to me, means that she does not want to be interrupted. When

Muslims pray they submit themselves to God. Amal is so committed to being a

devout Muslim that she wants to completely alone when she prays. I consider Amal
to be religious because she follows the all of the Islamic traditions no matter where
she is.
This semester we have read about many characters that would consider
themselves religious. The most predominant instance of a character being religious
was from Amal Abdel-Hakim. Amal, the main character of Does my Head Look Big in
This, was a devoted Muslim. She followed all aspects of the Islamic tradition on her
own. In my understanding of the word religious, I believe that Amal would consider
herself as a religious person.