IAT REFLECTION PAPER
Nowadays, living in a multicultural society, it is obvious that every day we may come across people with various religious views and beliefs. I know a bunch of people with religion that differs from my own. I used to live near the woman, who was Orthodox, during the period of the Great Lent. It is a period of fasting in Eastern Orthodox Church before Easter that lasts forty days. The woman was very devoted to it, in such a way showing appreciation to her religion. That is why I could not but respected her belief, seeing how important and serious she treated it.
But also I used to come across some people, who take part in various celebrations and holiday that their religion presupposes and all the same show no respect towards such rituals as praying, visiting church, fasting, showing appreciation to God and other Saints. They celebrate Easter and Christmas not like religious holidays, not knowing their origin and real meaning. Such people make me wonder what the purpose of such feasting is.
Small conclusions to make, people who treat their beliefs with appreciation deserve to be respected. Religion is a serious thing and should be confessed accordingly.
All in all, I really respect all kids of religions and everyone should do it. In my opinion, we have no right to judge other beliefs, as frequently they are based on ancient and authentic traditions and customs. Our ancestors created all the sacred literature basing on some real past events and decided to pass it from generation to generation in order to explain to their heirs how it is important to live in harmony with nature, God and other people.
The only view that I do not split is atheism. Often these people correlate themselves with atheism because of some music preferences (goth, metalhead and so on) or after having some troubles and difficulties in their lives that they overcame without any support and as a consequence lose their faith in God. At the same time I understand that it is their choice and I still have no right to influence them.
Also it is a pity when some people deliberately change their religions in order, for example, to get married or even to move into another country (and change citizenship) where a particular religion is very important. But it does not mean that I am against changing of the religion. Some people may find the other concession more comforting to them and again it is their own voluntary choice.
Also I do not really like people who try to encourage others to change their belief and join different confession. Every person has a right to choose religion and follow its traditions and customs.
While completing the test I felt a little bit bewildered and surprised because the task seemed to be strange at first. I could not get the idea of the purpose of such assignments and how it is possible by pressing buttons after the appearing of words on the screen to decide whether the person is sympathetic to one or another religion.
I was not surprised with the results because on my scale all the religions – Muslim, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are standing together in the middle on one level. It means that I treat all of them equally and respect all of them.
I think that such tests may be helpful for some people as they can show their true attitude towards religions and can force hand them to review and rethink their religious views.
