{"id":1946,"date":"2011-11-07T16:49:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-07T21:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/?p=1946"},"modified":"2011-12-12T08:00:20","modified_gmt":"2011-12-12T13:00:20","slug":"battling-religious-bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2011\/11\/battling-religious-bias\/","title":{"rendered":"Battling Religious Bias"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Carli Striker & Rachel Beard
\n<\/strong>managing sports & speak up<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“People think it\u2019s a cult,\u201d senior Allie Davis said in regards to her religion, Unitarian Universalism.<\/p>\n

Senior Amanda Drottar, who is a solitary practitioner of paganism, has encountered similar assumptions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been called out for being a devil worshipper,\u201d Drottar said. \u201cThey hear pagan and assume Wiccan, which is not what I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a town that is predominantly Christian, many people have misconceptions or negative ideas surrounding other religions. While these seniors are prejudiced for their religion, in contrast they\u2019re open-minded about other people\u2019s beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201c[My religion\u2019s] a lot about being accepting,\u201d Davis said. \u201cYou can choose your own deity to follow or not to follow. They\u2019re like, promote the inherit dignity in everyone, social justice, the inherit web of all things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davis\u2019 religion, Unitary Universalism, is a branch of Christianity. Practitioners of this religion believe in seven principles. Some of which include goals of peace, the democratic process and search for truth and meaning. Davis, however, hasn\u2019t always been a Unitarian Universalist.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy family started searching for a new church when I was little,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThis one fit really well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though her father and sister are Unitarian Universalists, she has had doubts before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went searching because I wanted to be sure I was correct,\u201d Davis said. \u201cI went to a Methodist church for a few months. I tried Lutheran. I tried Evangelical. I thought they were too strict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drottar has had a similar experience with her search for a religion that fits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI first started with Buddhism which was the closest thing, but then I researched, and I eventually got [to Paganism],\u201d Drottar said. \u201cI was born into a Christian church, and I didn\u2019t like having a book telling you what to do. I didn\u2019t like the concrete rules, like how you could do \u2018x\u2019, but you couldn\u2019t do \u2018y\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Drottar\u2019s definition, Paganism is a nature-based religion. Pagans can choose to believe or not believe anything they want, including reincarnation or polytheism.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun,\u201d Drottar said. \u201cYou can pick anything you want and choose what you believe. It\u2019s kind of like Christianity with all of the branches, but Paganism has just as many, if not more because it\u2019s older.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike in Christianity, where the branches all follow a general set of similar beliefs, the branches of Paganism can differ widely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are very different traditions,\u201d Drottar said. \u201cThere is very extreme, which I don\u2019t agree with it, and it can be very weak, which is what I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the holidays practiced by the extensions can vary greatly.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have our main holidays, which are the Sabbat, it\u2019s based off a wheel and it celebrates the changes of the season,\u201d Drottar said. \u201cIt\u2019s also kind of confusing based on what kind of tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another religion practiced by some DHS students is Mormonism, a religion that began in the 1820s.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Mormonism] is what most people call it, but it\u2019s The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints,\u201d sophomore Natalie Savage said. \u201cPeople call us Mormons, because we read the book of Mormon. Some of us use LDS, Latter Day Saints.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike Paganism, Mormonism is a branch of Christianity. The primary difference is that Mormons don\u2019t believe in the Holy Trinity as most Christians do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is Christianity,\u201d Savage said. \u201cThey believe different things than we do, but the center is still Jesus Christ.\u201d
\nDespite this, some other branches of Christianity don\u2019t approve of Mormonism. Some even call the religion a cult.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people are anti-Mormon,\u201d Savage said. \u201cNormally, people aren\u2019t like that. It depends on who I\u2019m talking to. They try to tell me their beliefs, and I\u2019m just like, \u2018okay, whatever, this is what I believe.\u2019 Everyone has their own beliefs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mormons, like Unitarian Universalists and other Christians, practice their religion every Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a Sacra-meeting, then people give talks about religion,\u201d Savage said. \u201cThere\u2019s no minister or priest. People from the ward just share things and tell their story.\u201d<\/p>\n

A ward is the congregation of the church and a Sacra-meeting is their term for the Christian sacrament, or Eucharist.
\nDespite the numerous similarities between Paganism, Unitary Universalism and Mormonism, many other people aren\u2019t very accepting of these religions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy boyfriend converted to my church,\u201d Davis said. \u201cHe was Catholic, so his old church doesn\u2019t like me very much. They say things like, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re from that church.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Drottar has received somewhat similar treatment in regards to her religion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s mostly awkward with friends\u2019 parents,\u201d Drottar said. \u201cMy friends understand, but some of their parents are like, \u2018we need to convert her.\u2019 One parent actually made my friend get me a Bible for my birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Drottar has encountered opposition from parents, her friends have remained loyal.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friends understand who I am and that my religion doesn\u2019t make me a bad person,\u201d Drottar said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DHS students share their experiences with non-mainstream religions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[43,34,42],"class_list":["post-1946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1-news","tag-dow-high-students","tag-news-stories","tag-student-activities-dow-high"],"yoast_head":"\nBattling Religious Bias - UPDATE ONLINE<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2011\/11\/battling-religious-bias\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Battling Religious Bias - UPDATE ONLINE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"DHS students share their experiences with non-mainstream religions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/update.midlandps.org\/index.php\/2011\/11\/battling-religious-bias\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UPDATE ONLINE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DHSUpdate\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-11-07T21:49:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-12-12T13:00:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Update\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DowHighUpdate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DowHighUpdate\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Update\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/battling-religious-bias\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/battling-religious-bias\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Update\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/be39f258dafaaac3e98f5951fe5e9198\"},\"headline\":\"Battling Religious Bias\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-11-07T21:49:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-12-12T13:00:20+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/battling-religious-bias\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":844,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Dow High Students\",\"News Stories\",\"Student Activities Dow High\"],\"articleSection\":[\"NEWS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/battling-religious-bias\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/battling-religious-bias\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/battling-religious-bias\\\/\",\"name\":\"Battling Religious Bias - UPDATE ONLINE\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-11-07T21:49:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-12-12T13:00:20+00:00\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/index.php\\\/2011\\\/11\\\/battling-religious-bias\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/update.midlandps.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"UPDATE ONLINE\",\"description\":\"H.H. 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