All posts by Shalyssa Mantock

Cultural Profile

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Abstract

For our cultural profile essay, we were tasked with interviewing someone who comes from a culture different from our own about a social, political, or cultural issue. For my cultural profile, I chose to interview my aunt. The reason I decided to interview her, even though we have more similarities than differences, is that she is an astrologer who uses tarot cards, so I was curious to know what it is like to follow a different religion/belief system from the one you were raised in/grew accustomed to. For context, she grew up Christian (Seventh Day Adventist) like me, but she decided to leave the church.

 

The Importance of Religious Freedom:  Why You Should Not Judge Others Who Don’t Conform

When I was a little girl, a painting lived on a wall in my house of a woman reaching towards the sky, and a white hand reaching down through clouds. Honestly, the picture kind of scared me, but to little me, it established that God does exist and this is who “He” was. My family is Seventh-day Adventist and attends church on Saturdays. These mornings consisted of waking up early to the smell of yummy breakfast, like eggs and pancakes, getting dressed in your best dresses, and going to church, and I often looked forward to it. Up until I was ten, I attended church every Saturday with my grandmother, who took my sister. We stopped going with this consistency because my grandmother’s schedule changed, as she is an important member of her local church community and attends churches farther away for fundraising, events, and meetings. 

In America, there seems to be a cultural shift, with research showing that some Americans are straying away from Christianity due to its strong connection to political Conservatism. The Pew Research Center revealed that only 45 percent of America’s Gen Z identify as Christian, a ten percent decline from 2014. In 2020, during a time of massive political upheaval and lockdowns, I began wondering about my religious beliefs as there was a lot of political and Christianity-related content online that upset me. Politicians used violent language against the LGBTQIA+ community and against people’s right to safe abortions, using the Bible as a way to condemn human rights. This kind of rhetoric made me begin to consider if I was an atheist because these weren’t and are not my beliefs. But what I’ve learned now through my exploration is that the Bible’s true message is that of love and not hate. I don’t believe in judging people for their religious beliefs since judgment is something I’ve experienced from my family. For example, being called “ungodly” because of my lack of enthusiasm whenever going to church was brought up, but that was more so because I didn’t want to wake up early on a Saturday. 

My experiences, combined with the rise of Christian nationalism in the U.S., motivated me to interview my aunt, Renée Wedderburn, who made the unique choice to leave behind the church and explore spirituality on her own terms. Born in Jamaica and immigrated to the States when she was a baby, Renée is a writer and soul-led creative. She describes herself as a “seeker” and “student of life” who finds inspiration through immersion in other cultures, which led her to travel and live abroad for more than six years. Her upbringing was very erratic as she moved around a lot, but one of the constants was her familys’ Seventh-Day Adventist beliefs, which they instilled in her through her mandatory church attendance. I find Renée’s story interesting for two reasons: one, because it’s not easy to be different from your family, and two, I’m interested in exploring different beliefs as well, but I’m scared of the potential backlash that could come from my family.   

In our conversation, which took place over Zoom on a Saturday evening, Renée shared the moment she knew she’d never attend church again. It was the middle of the week, and her mom asked her to go to a special service with her two siblings because a visiting pastor was in town. She was hesitant because by this point, she was “over it,” but went out of obligation. “As I was sitting in the pews between my siblings and mother, there were two projectors up at the pulpit with red imagery, which I assume was supposed to be hell. The pastor is preaching, but more like screaming, about the fire pits of hell and sin and I looked around thinking how absurd this was even though I felt slight anxiousness.” At this point Renée describes that earlier that year, she read the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho which changed her life because it was a story that described a “loving Universe.” It was this evening, during that service, that Renée declared to herself, “I’m never coming back here again,” and it’s been a decade since she’s been inside a church. Even before 2015, she understood that the teachings and beliefs of her family were not her own, as they were fear-based and often left her feeling afraid of someone she assumed should love her unconditionally. 

A lasting impression that I got from my interview with Renée was that to her, church felt like an obligation. This highlights the weight that was placed on religion within her family and how it was ingrained into the familial culture since she didn’t have much of a choice. When I asked her what her current religion was, she told me she didn’t have one, which shocked me a little because I’ve seen her pray before she eats. But she explained that even though she’s not religious, she is spiritual and has spiritual practices that make her feel “rooted” in who she is and how she connects with other people and the world at large. “To me, God is everywhere; it’s not a person, it’s a presence. I’m praying, but it’s more so giving gratitude for my meal. Thanking god, yes, but I also thank every being who had a hand in making the meal possible. The farmers, the warehouse people, the supermarket, the seed, the fish or salmon itself.” Some of her spiritual practices include meditation, offering food to her ancestors on her altar, hugging trees, and journaling.

Renée deciding to no longer be a part of organized religion is a common occurrence amongst her fellow millennials. According to Psypost, “Tracking a cohort born in the late 1980s over ten years, the research found that while traditional religious involvement has declined sharply, many young people are not abandoning spirituality altogether. Instead, they are reshaping it to better align with their values–especially those related to individual autonomy, authenticity, and social justice.” Like Renée, they seek meaning outside the strict boundaries of traditional faith. 

To me, her journey highlights the importance of religious freedom and the right to practice (or not practice) in ways that feel authentic. Just because someone doesn’t attend church doesn’t mean their faith or values are any less real. What matters is sincerity, not conformity. Although I have not yet told my family that I want to explore different belief systems, I hope that as I search for what feels true to me, whether it keeps me within Christianity or leads me elsewhere, I will receive their support. Ultimately, religion should be about love, not fear or judgment. Everyone deserves the freedom to find their own path, and respecting that freedom is what allows us to live with compassion toward one another.

Works Cited