Amen...

amen

[ey-men, ah-men]

1. it is so; so be it (used after a prayer, creed, or other formal statement to express solemn ratification or agreement). 

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I always thought religion was an important part of each individual. Whether someone believes in something or not it is important for each person to believe in something, even if it's not believing in anything. It is important to know what you and the people around you believe in and more than anything practice what you preach, and if you don't believe in anything well I guess that's not really practical. The point is that we each have a choice. In a way our beliefs often reflect our actions. 

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I heard a phrase once that goes like this, "God only gives you as much as you can handle". As a child I'd always question the division in a family and also wondered about the homeless people I would see walking around the crazy streets of L.A. I wondered about the children that would come to school with me wearing the same clothes every week and about the children that had nothing better to do than to put others down. I wondered what it was that drove these families, these homeless, these children to turn towards something good or in some cases something bad. What was it? What is it that drives them to turn towards good actions or bad ones?

There is roughly about 4,200 religions in the world today; the most popular ones being: Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism. Now I know you may be asking yourself what these religions have to do with good actions or bad ones. Here it is, the sense of community is what most of these religions have in common and as many know, they each have different beliefs, and different principles that dominate their perspective of the world and of others. Where one sees skinny jeans to be an appropriate dressing style others see long skirts to be the right dressing style. 

Image Source - https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/inspiring-interfaith-top-quotes_n_3678988.html

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'My religion as a Sikh affects everything I do, even the food that I eat — I am a vegetarian because of my religion — and my appearance. I am not supposed to cut any hair, even my facial hair, and because culture and religion go together, I do not wear pants that are too baggy or too tight. In my religion, if you see someone you do not know, you say hello to them, and if you see someone of your religion, you will talk for a while.'

—Harpreet Singh, third-year public health major. Hometown: San Pablo, CA.

'Christianity is pretty important to me. I grew up in a Christian household, and it's shaped my morals, how I think about things. I consider it a guide for how to live my life, not a strict doctrine that I have to follow.' 

—Jennifer Tillett, first-year applied mathematics (intended) major. Hometown: Los Angeles, CA.

'I was raised a Buddhist, but I don't go to temple and neither do my parents, even though they're religious. I've learned about a lot of religions, through religious studies classes, and I've integrated various morals and values from several of them. When I need to make decisions in my life I reflect back on what I've learned. There isn't a single religion for me.'

—Henry Truong, fourth-year political science major. Hometown: Los Angeles, CA.

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I never understood how the words that were preached on Sunday mornings made everyone scream "AMEN!" in a Christian church, even less what encouraged the  Jehovah Witnesses to go out and knock on doors handing out pamphlets. I didn't understand how people could remember all the angels names in the Catholic church nor why the Buddhist church believed that karma had a significant effect on people that did others wrong. I could not understand how there were a number of beliefs in the world today, and still there was so much mess and destruction all over the world. 

Some people blame religion, others blame their enemies, many simply blame God even with a simple "Oh My God!". But what if religion is the solution? What if community could bring us all together and help us move forward all together and make a positive change in the world.  

Religion would be a principle battlefield in this rapidly changing landscape and it was already clear that religion was a significant part of the problem, mentions Sharon Brous. But what if religion could be the solution.

Psychologist tell us that the more we learn about what's broken in our world, the less likely we are to do anything. You can't do everything but you can do something. Forgive, love, show up, protest, and be a part of the conversation.

Religion can and must be 

a force for good in the world. 

A shift towards love, 

towards justice, 

towards equality

and dignity for all.  -Sharon Brous

Amen.

and toward dignity for all.