Religion and Socialization [Yoo, Week 11, Dialogue]

As Lauren pointed out, in America, being tolerant of other religious beliefs equates to being tolerent of religions that are not Christian. In class, Elizabeth made an interesting comment about how people of different religions need to interact more in order to better understand each other. Another individual pointed out that due to technological advancements, people of different religions are able to interact each other more in today's society than in the past. I feel that more interaction can lead to two distinctively different outcomes: people of different religions may better understand each other, which is positive. Or, people of different religions may be appalled at each other, which is negative. I do not want to get psychological and sociological, but I believe interaction must start at a very early age in order for it to lead to a positive outcome. Children are socialized from the beginning of their lives to act in certain ways, and to view certain things as the norm. Even as a non-practicing Christian, I cannot imagine living in a society where Islam is the dominant religion. Even though I "respect" Islam, I can never imagine requiring my daughters to wear a scarf in order to go out, or to pray to Allah before eating dinner. I am impressed with Elizabeth's idealism and her belief that people can change, but I am overall skeptical of interaction leading to better understanding. Some people always refuse to change.