With the number of attacks across the world looming in our minds it begs the question if religion still plays a relevant role in the lives of Maryland students.
The terrorist extremist group Islamic State (ISIS) committed the Nov. 13 Paris attacks. ISIS creates threats and causes harm to innocent civilians based on Muslim ideals. ISIS has devastated many lives and caused multiple tragic events in the name of these ideals and the push for power.
The Washington Post published an article on Nov. 23, which detailed how more Je teenagers choose to take gap years between high school and college to strengthen their faith and study in Israel, a hugely positive step for them in their religious journeys.
These two parallels leave the question of whether Maryland students feel that religion plays a relevant role in their lives, and in society.
Some students have religion entrenched in their daily lives and it is hugely relevant to make them feel like they have a purpose.
“Religion is relevant to me,” said Diana Goodman, a senior kinesiology major. “I’m planning on converting to Orthodox Judaism. Religion to me means having a purpose and having something to strive towards and if that’s bettering myself then that’s having a way to do that. Then that’s what I see religion as.”
For others religion wasn’t relevant or practicing a faith wasn’t important to them.
“It’s relevant mainly for me in a family kind of sense,” said Jason Goldstein, a sophomore English major. “My family keep up the traditions a lot but we don’t really observe the faith as much.”
Christine Knauss, a graduate marine science student, said, “Generally no, religion doesn’t have any relevance to my life…I’m a lot more spiritual and just believe in treating people the way they should be treated, and being the best you can and I think that is the basis of a lot of religions.”
Digging a little deeper, the role of religion in society also sparked different responses from students.
“In society, I think the purpose religion has and what it should have are very different,” Goodman said. “Right now, I believe that [religion] comes as a way to separate us … instead of bringing us together because beliefs are so different.”
Goldstein said, “Values in the bible, for me personally, the Old Testament, they are values that people should know as common sense. For me personally, it’s more common sense and being a good person over being religious.”
Knauss said, “As a whole I think that religion is a lot less important and a lot less of a focus than it used to be.”
She continued: “Other things have taken [religion’s] place…there are different ways to be connected…the Internet any type of social media, it’s a lot easier to connect to someone all the way across the world.”
Knauss added, “Religion can be restrictive. I think people, especially our generation want to be a lot less restricted and not told what to do and religion does a lot of that.”
When it came to ISIS, there was a consensus that religion was not the cause.
“Religion in that term [ISIS] is used as an excuse, instead of as a type of voice,” Knauss said.
Goldstein said, “I think that ISIS is a group of extremists…I don’t think that they have an idol but they have more of an idea that they should be all powerful. It’s more of an extreme sense of Islam.”
Knauss said, “I think [ISIS] is manipulating Muslim ideals into, to, shape young people and work their minds and say this is actually religion and you need to like be a part of this religion and they make you feel included and it’s another community. I don’t think it’s real religion though, I think they are taking pieces of Islam and taking it out of context.”
Religion for Maryland students is dependent on each person and their experiences and life route.
The relevance of religion in society today, according to these students, was that it can separate people instead of bring them together. It can highlight their differences. For others, it was common sense and other things like the Internet which can make people feel connected and take the place that religion once held.