Reflection Question #1

Reflection Question #1

According to Mircea Eliade religion has "not vanished without a trace; [it] has contributed toward making us what we are today and so, after all, [it] forms part of our own history". In what ways has religion contributed toward your personal history?

My religion, Christianity, has contributed to my own personal history in a variety of ways.  In my childhood, not really understanding the religion that I was a part of, merely accepting it, Christianity ingrained into me a moral code that shaped who I became.  As I grew older and more aware of what I believed in, I grew to identify with others who were also Christians, which contributed to my relationships with others in mainly positive ways.  I found that Christianity, being one of the largest religions in the world, was universally true and was transcultural, enabling me to empathize more with those around me, especially as I lived in a more international environment.  

But, knowing how my religion shaped my personal history, what is curious to me in retrospect is that I never really doubted the faith that I was a part of, even when exposed to the ideas of other religions.  I wonder whether it was out of a sense of the fear of the strange and unknown, rather than a sense of true belief.