Intercultural Field Experience and Research Paper

Culture defines the social forces within a community involving its conventions for behavior, ranging from food preparation techniques to forms of entertainment that keep the community together such as music, dancing, dating rituals, and so on. One of the many aspects of culture is religion. Religion defines how the community members interpret their role in the universe. Because the teaching of religion is based on the local culture, different religions rise out of different cultures.

The history of religion is probably as old as the world’s history itself. It is an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. There is no culture in the world that has not practiced some form of religion. Religion involves spiritual aspect of the human condition, gods and goddesses, the creation of the world, a human being’s place in the world, and every nation has created its own god in its own image and resemblance (Keisling).

Just as how religion defines culture, it also defines one’s identity. Religion is part of a person’s identity. It is a concept of who we are and who others think we are (Sorrells 11). It is what makes a person different from others. It has the power to give us sense of purpose that extends beyond ourselves. It connects us with the divine, and situates us in a story that has been going on long before we drew our first breath, and will continue long after we have breathed our last.

I was born and raised Catholic by my parents, and I am a strong believer of God. Being a Catholic has always been part of my cultural identity. I have an optimistic view of creation, and believe that God created everything, even us. I have been taught that creation represents Go...

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...tion than I have towards faith in God. It gave me an understanding that we should not question other people’s beliefs, and that their religion and experiences are always valid. Misconception about someone’s religion is one of the barriers of communication. Being hostile to this religion would be very unfortunate because I think that what I experienced was a lovely treasure I will always keep and remember joyfully.

Iglesia ni Cristo inspired me to devote as much of my free time to God and serving Him. The way that the minister encoded the message of God may be different from ours, but the most important thing is the way we decode it and apply it in our daily lives. It was a pleasure that I was given the chance to witness the religion that has the strongest emotion and deep passion towards God. Religion, nonetheless, gives a person a sense of identity and belonging.