What Does Religion Mean To You?

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My faith has shaped me morally, ethically, and in multiple other ways as well. My parents came from two different faith backgrounds, so in a sense I was confused by the different labelings of Christianity. My father was raised with Christian beliefs and my mom was raised Catholic. My parents decided to give their children a Catholic baptism. My family attended a Catholic church on holidays, such as Easter and Christmas, and taught my brother and I the basics about religion. However, there was not always a consistently in religion. As a child and adolescence, I did not really understand my religion, how it affected me, or just the “why, who, what, and how” questions. My mom often responded with a frustrated tone stating “you don’t ask any questions, …show more content…

During this time, I decided to take control of my own religious journey. I remember thinking to myself “if they can’t give me answers, I am going to go find my own.” Instead of researching into Christianity due to my anger towards it, I decided to research into different religions. Throughout my adolescences, this was an area I continuously struggled in. My lack of understanding, questions, and anger slowly started to decline when my grandfather died. This was the first time in my life, I was able to understand the true meaning of the statement “have faith”. I was able to see the power of God comforting my family members, especially my grandmother. I was finally able to understand and grieve with God’s help. Another event that has shaped my spirituality is attending Fresno Pacific University and CARE Fresno. I was in a physical and verbal abusive relationship for two years before I started Fresno Pacific University. During my Jesus & Christ Community class, we where discussing the Book of Matthew. I was able to apply many verses to my life and finally understand that God is always going to be there during stress, hurt, anger, and happiness. I was able to relate the verses to my morals and values in life. For example, how to treat people. I was able to connect and personalized the Book of Matthew to my abusive relationship, which made me reevaluate the situation. I believe that

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