I am extremely grateful to have been born in the United States, raised a Christian, with parents that remained together, awesome siblings, in a nice neighborhood, rarely hurting for money.
I know I am very fortunate.
One thing this foster process had me realize is that I am not very diverse. Without ever thinking about it, my friends, the places I shop, the places I eat and drink, my favorite places around town, the churches that I’ve attended, I’m surrounded by people like me. I’ve never branched out or attempted to understand people that are “different” than me.
So I set out to get a better understanding of others. And my first goal was to focus on religion. So I began a study of: what does a Buddhist believe, an Atheist, a Jew, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Catholic, a Mormon, a Christian, and a Scientologist. In this study, my main goals have to been to answer the following questions:
- What are the core beliefs?
- If there is one, what is the main book, the history of the book, when and who wrote it? What language was it written in?
- What are the biggest criticisms of the religion?
I know that there are typically many branches under each of these religions and maybe I will get to those at some point, but for now, I’m just getting a general overview.
Once I complete this study, I’d like to continue to diversify myself. Understand other cultures and races, volunteer, reach out more, and be less sheltered.
The Full Series:
- Quick Recap of How I Got to Where I Am Now
- Why Foster to Adopt?
- The Full Pre-License Process
- Foster Process – Phase I
- Foster Process – Phase II
- Foster Process – Phase III
- Scratching the Surface: Religion (this one)
- Overwhelmed (future)