This past Fall Semester 2013, I was able to participate in an honors seminar that was called "Understanding Religious Intolerance." It was not my immediate plan to join this class after reading its summary but I realized that I would only benefit from taking this class. I had always had an interest in worldly religions and the various struggles many religions faced, specifically those that are in the minority and so I was excited to take this class. It also doubled as an honors experience and so I thought, why not add this class to my schedule? I already had some pre-set notions as to what to expect from this class but my experience was slightly different. I knew the class focused on intolerances various religions faced and the extent of these intolerances as demonstrated through hate speech, and other heinous acts. In this class, I was first able to learn about the definition of a religion and the difference between a religion and a New Religious Movement (NRM). Many of the religions I considered religions were actually New Religions Movements. I learned from this class that there isn't a set definition for religion. It is all subjective. And so throughout this class, we as a class were collectively defining the term "religion" as the semester progressed.
A decision was made at the beginning of the semester to make a website that represented what was learned from each student in the class. This was also done so there was some type of documentation about the class and what was learned after it was completed. If you would like to read the papers submitted by each student as well as pictures of various worship centers, here is the link to the website: Understanding Religious Intolerance.
A decision was made at the beginning of the semester to make a website that represented what was learned from each student in the class. This was also done so there was some type of documentation about the class and what was learned after it was completed. If you would like to read the papers submitted by each student as well as pictures of various worship centers, here is the link to the website: Understanding Religious Intolerance.