Running head:WHAT SHAPES A COMMUNITY’S BELIEFS ON RELIGION?

What Shapes A Community’s Beliefs On Religion?

Jaydon Dobrow

Arizona State University

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Abstract

Throughout my life up to this point, I have always been curious regarding how a certain

individual becomes religious. Was it a family influence? Maybe a personal experience?

Therefore, I sought out several individuals who I know to have religious beliefs and proceeded to

ask them a series of questions relating to how they became to be who they are today with

reference to their religious beliefs. In addition to each of the interviews, I ventured to HillSong

Church for three consecutive Sunday morning services where I observed the rituals and customs

of the average religious character.

Keywords​: Religion, spirituality, Christianity

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What Shapes a Community’s Beliefs on Religion?

Section 1, Question Bank

The purpose of this inquiry was to uncover the reasonings behind a person’s

religious and/or spiritual beliefs. Discovering if their current belief has to do with a family

influence, did they come to be that way by means of religious exploration within themselves?

Not only that, but if they are religious, how do they practice their faith? Do they have a certain

object that represents their religion? And if so, does that object comfort them in a time of

hardship? Considering that I have never been one to consistently go to church every Sunday or

pray before I eat dinner, I have always been inquisitive when it came to the topic of religion.

“Central Research Question” : What influences shape a community’s beliefs on religion?

“General Inquiry/Observation Questions”

● What is the typical environment of a Christian church?

● What level of importance do symbols such as The Cross and The Bible have on a

religious community?

● What keeps a religious community intertwined within each other apart from the typical

sunday service?

“General Interview Questions” :

● What is your religious stance?

● How did you become to be that way?

● Do you believe family influenced your religious beliefs in a significant way?

● How do you practice that religion, if you are indeed religious?

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● Is there a symbol and/or object that comforts you that represents your religious or

spiritual belief?

“Interview Questions for Specific People”

● What is your opinion on the current increase in population who are no longer

religious?

● Have you ever fully read the bible?

● How long have you been going to church?

● Do you have a Cross in your house? Possibly wear any cross jewelry?
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Section 2, Sites of Inquiry

Sites of Inquiry Contact / Location Dates / Times

HillSong Church 402 W Monroe St, Phoenix, AZ 11:45 AM Church Service;

85003 10/14/18
Phone:​ ​(602) 253-4550

HillSong Church 7926, 655 E University Dr, 9:00 AM Church Service;

Mesa, AZ 85203 8/26/18
Phone: ​(480) 834-1822

Erin Dobrow 1009 45th Ave NE, Great Falls, 9:00 PM

MT 59404 10/8/18
Phone: (573) 239-3718

Isabelle Newman 888 N 4th Street, Phoenix, AZ 9:30 PM

85003 10/8/18
Phone: (402) 871-0984

Daisy Hanks 888 N 4th Street, Phoenix, AZ 8:30 PM

85003 10/10/18
Phone: (517) 528-5439
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Section 3, Inquiring into Objects /Artifacts

Regarding my research upon mainly the christian and catholic religions in several of my

close friends and family members, it seems that most individuals relate the cross to being the

main symbol of their religion. Therefore, I observed several crosses and how they related to the

group.

As far as the interviewees, Daisy Hanks and Isabelle Newman both stated that the cross

would be considered the main symbol of their religion as I had suspected. This cross symbolizes

the fact that Jesus gave his life in order for us to be forgiven for our sins. As you can imagine,

this cross can mean a lot to a large variety of those who are religious and believe in the Christian

values. However, in addition to the cross, there were two interview answers that were different

from the rest of the pack. One stated that they found comfort in the symbol of a priest and the

positive energy that they displayed. In a separate interview, an answer was that she did not find

comfort in the cross, but rather in the reading of the word of god and knowing the love God had

for her.

At HillSong church in downtown Phoenix to which I attended three times, I found that

the cross was not a large object in that environment. Typically, when one musters up the idea of

a church, one of the first things to come to mind is a cross. However, this specific church seemed

to focus more on the idea of God and the love he has for them, rather than worshiping the cross.

Additionally, another significant object to the religious community would be the Holy

Bible. Both throughout the church services and throughout the interview the bible was brought

up consistently. Initially, when interviewing Daisy Hanks, she stated that she loves to read the
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bible, specifically the New Testament. She states that this section of the bible has shown her how

to live a much better, loving life as well as serving as a large symbol for her religious beliefs.
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1. A significant observation in relation to the objects that represent this community was the

realization of how the cross is not as worshiped as it once was. People in this church still

love the cross, however, the church only has one cross throughout the entire church.

2. “Rather than focusing on worshiping the cross, I find my happiness in the love I share

with others everyday, through God.”

Daisy Hanks stated this during our interview, showing how the modern idea of

what religion is, is now changing. With this change in ideology, the influences that shape

the beliefs of religion will change as well.

3. “The Cross doesn’t mean as much to me as it necessarily does to my Mom. But, since it

makes my Mom so happy, it has always made me happy in turn.”

Isabelle Newman said this when asked about any religious symbols that may have

comforted her in past experiences. This was a great answer not just because of how much she

cares about her mother, but it also shows how deep the factor of family influence of religion is.
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The cross is regarded as a symbol for several religions across the world. Therefore, it is

only right for us to recall the cross as the first thing we think about when the word religion

comes up in conversation. However, after my venture to three different services at HillSong

Church, I now have a different perspective on how the average church service is conducted in a

Christian church.

Although church tends to be revolved around the symbol of the cross, the place where

Jesus Christ was crucified, it seems to be different now. Although this church is christian church,

which tends to be more progressive when it comes to changing with the times, it felt different

than any other church service I had ever been to. Rather than people bowing their heads to the

cross and surrendering their soul to Jesus, it seemed to be more about the journey of life and how

to navigate that with love through God. Rather than singing bible hymns, it was contemporary

rock infused with religious lyrics, which opened the doors to a much larger, younger audience.

Throughout all three services, the cross, the main symbol of religion across the globe, was only

shown twice. Therefore, in conclusion, the cross is not as strong of a symbol for the christian

community than was implied through previous stereotypes and preconceived notions about the

general Christian community.

Another significant symbol to the Christian religion was of course, The Holy Bible.

While listening to each sermon by all of the different pastors, I couldn’t help but think to myself

that this was a very new way of going about a church service. Instead of reading straight out of

the bible while everyone silently follows along, there seemed to be a life lesson connected to

each sermon that everyone could gain something from. Each person was engaged and listening

intently to each word the pastor said, you could feel the love and support throughout the crowd.
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Rather than making you feel guilty for your sins you may or may not have committed throughout

the week, the bible passages that were read seemed to relate to those sins in a way that helped

you prepare for the next time that situation arised. All in all, the Bible is still a large part of the

Christian belief system and is still widely used in each church service, on the contrary to the

placement of the cross throughout HillSong Church.

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Section 4, Inquiring into Place

The place that I chose to observe was at first a hard decision, considering there are so

many churches around the downtown Phoenix area. However, a good friend, Daisy Hanks (also

interviewed) recommended HillSong considering that she attends the service every Sunday.

Considering that the Christian religion is such a popular belief system in today's day and age, it

only seemed right to dig deeper into what makes the average Christian community what it is

today.

The HillSong downtown location is a very old, rustic church that was originally a

presbyterian church prior to HillSong taking it over due to the previous church’s inability to pay

for the upkeep of the building. The church is a very interesting environment with an outdoor

grass area for people to socialize, drink coffee and enjoy the nice Arizona sun before the service

begins. Inside is a large chapel floor with a stage and two floors of seating. Although the typical

person would expect a large amount of crosses throughout the chapel, there were actually a

minimal amount, and although the church is such an old building, it has a modern environment,

filled to the brim every Sunday with young, energetic college students and other families around

the downtown phoenix area.

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1. The outdoor area in the front of the church allows all members of the church to feel

included into the community by socializing with other members. The music, grass area, coffee

bar and social interactions make it a very welcoming area to walk into.

2. The older architecture of the building with the modern contrast of the stage and crowd

inside makes for an intriguing environment for this community. The modern style of worship

music attracts a younger crowd and the twenty minute concert provides a great introduction into

the service to come.

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Visiting this old, but somehow modern Church was a great experience and helped

immensely to gain insight upon where this community gathers, and the characteristics of this

gathering location. Although the church is very old in its age, the young members (ages 18-25)

not only double the older population, but also give the church a young, energetic feeling.

After the first service, I thought to myself that there was no way the following services

could be better than the initial one. However, I was proven wrong to say the least. Each service

at HillSong was astounding and each lesson that was preached had a wide variety of individuals

that it could potentially impact. The building has so much history, such a distinct past with so

much religious history there, it makes it an even greater experience thinking of all of the others

who have worshiped there before us.

Another large influencing factor to the success of the church is the central location near

the ASU campus. This location allows the church to be easily attainable to all of the citizens

living in the dorms, apartment complexes, or simply living around the area. With this easy access

to the church, it provides a large environment of younger college students along with a good mix

of other ages.

All in all, the results of this inquiry of the HillSong downtown church location led me to

the realization that although the architecture of the church may be older, the modern

environment inside creates a brand new idea of what church really is in the Christian community.

I think that if society as a whole can grasp onto this idea and expand it to what we perceive

religion to be, a large amount of people will be more open to the idea of going to church in the

future.
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Section 5, Inquiring into Activities/Events

In order to conduct my research upon a religious community here in Phoenix, I ventured

to Hillsong Church, right here in downtown Phoenix. Before walking into the church itself, we

felt immensely welcomed by each volunteer within the parking lot and front doors. We were

greeted with a “hello, good morning” by almost every new face we saw. The atmosphere inside

the church was lively and fun which to be completely honest, I did not expect one bit. When it

comes to church, I always revert back to my memories of sitting quietly while listening to the

pastor preach about things I did not understand. However, this experience was quite different,

and an enjoyable time to say the least. Starting off the service was a twenty minute concert of

modern, christian rock music, making it a very welcoming and inviting environment to walk

into.

Following the concert was an amazing sermon delivered by a pastor by the name of Miles

McPherson. We listened to the sermon through a television screen, being that Miles was actually

in San Diego. Listening to a sermon that was not in person was a little odd to begin with, but

seemed more comfortable as the service progressed. As the pastor spoke, you heard several

people chant “AMEN”, the sound of hands clapping in joy and agreement, as well as the hands

of several people in the air, almost reaching for God to feel their presence.
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1. A large observation through experiencing this church service was the discovery of

a loving, warm atmosphere amongst all of the church members. This loving

environment not only draws in members, but it keeps them attending as well.

2. The sense of community within the church was felt thoroughly when Pastor Miles

Mcpherson said “when one claps, we all clap!”, after he said this, the church

erupted with claps and cheers of happiness.

3. At each Sunday service there are several banners posted around the parking lot,

on the doors and inside the chapel that read “Welcome home.”. These simple

banners made a huge impact on how I felt walking into the church. I not only felt

welcomed, but I felt accepted by each and every church member and volunteer.
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Going to the HillSong church service was a very eye opening experience and

helped myself gain insight on what an accurate view of what a Christian church is

nowadays. I found through observation that this church, rather than worshiping the cross

while the church choir sings, is centered more around the love and happiness they all

share through this one common belief, God. The environment was very warm,

welcoming and quite enjoyable to say the least. Therefore, as far as my research is

concerned, I believe that a large role in why people come and stay religious has to do in

large part with feeling as if they are a part of something larger than themselves. Human

nature tends to make an individual desire human connection, if people can get this

through a community like a church that fits a large majority of their beliefs, they tend to

uncover a certain level of happiness in that.

Each specific service that I attended had the same type of energy, and I really do

believe that these people who barely know each other, feel a sense of family in that

chapel. As people sang along to each worship song, their hands up in the air, praying to

God to help them through whatever challenge may face them in their upcoming week,

you could feel a certain type of infectious energy amongst the church. Through

observation, speculation and a lot of in depth thinking around this subject, I believe that

the church is a sign of something extremely significant to this community. Their ability to

join together on a Sunday morning and worship God together and just simply enjoy the

loving atmosphere is what makes it so special and significant to so many that attend each

Sunday.
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Section 6, Inquiring into People/Person

T​o begin, I interviewed my Mother, Erin Dobrow. My mother has never been the

stereotypical religious individual, therefore, she seemed like an interesting person to interview

for this specific research proposal. After the series of questions that I proceeded to ask my

Mother, what I got from the interview was that she is spiritual, not quite religious. My brother,

Quincy, was born with a severe heart defect which by most doctors opinion, should have killed

him upon arrival into this world. Being that my brother is still alive, she believes deeply that

there is some sort of a higher power, however, she is not sure that the higher power is necessarily

God. She states to this day that whenever the priest that roamed the halls of Phoenix Childrens

Hospital prayed with her, she always felt an overwhelming sense of peace and calm. My Mom

grew up in a household with a father who was Agnostic, she believes this to be a large influence

on what she believes in respect to religion. When it came to the question asking if she practiced

her beliefs in any way, she pointed out that every time she had been at the lowest points of her

life, she had always turned to prayer. She stated that she didn’t know for sure if it worked or not,

although, she is not close minded to the fact that it could.

After interviewing my Mother, I interviewed my girlfriend, Isabelle Newman. Isabelle

grew up in a strong catholic environment which included consistent church, communion,

baptism, and even catholic school. In response to my question about her religious stance, it was

very similar to that of my Mother’s response. She is spiritual, not religious, maybe even

borderline Agnostic. When asked about how she practices her beliefs, she responded that in very

low times, she turns to prayer in a “subconscious manner”. As far as an object that represents
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her belief or lack there of in religion, she stated that a cross has always resembled hope to her.

The reasoning why being that the cross seems to mean a lot to her mother, and her mother means

a lot to her.

The last interview was done with a good friend, Daisy Hanks. Daisy is a devout Christian

and had an interesting path to her faith in God. Daisy found her way to religion through a rough

time in her life where little to nothing was going her way. As Daisy stated, “sucky boyfriend led

to God.” Throughout Daisy’s early life, she was partially raised by her nanny, who was a very

religious woman. Daisy considers this woman family to this day, as well as crediting her as one

of her biggest influences to becoming a christian. As far as her family, she does not consider

them to be a large influence on her beliefs. Daisy practices her religion through love, being a

good person, the occasional prayer, and following the word of Jesus. As far as comforting factors

of her religion, Daisy credits her comfort to prayer. She stated that talking to God directly gives

her a sense of comfort in her life.

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1. “Throughout the lowest times in my life, I have always seemed to turn to prayer.”

My mother, who is spiritual but not religious, stated this during our interview and

I found it to be very intriguing. Why is it that when people go through a tough time in

life, that they turn to God by instinct?

2. “Sometimes I pray; Not like a conscious manner though. More of in a subconscious

manner, almost like I expect nothing to happen, but I might as well try.”

Isabelle Newman said this during our interview when she was asked about finding

comfort in a religious symbol. This is important to the question because helps to shape the idea

for why she is not as religious as she once was.

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Through the interview process, I learned a large amount of information in respect to how

an individual becomes religious. I conducted three total interviews, on three very different

people when it comes to their religious views. Getting all sides of the spectrum was a very

important factor in this research project, being that understanding all sides was crucial to

grasping how each individual got there in the first place.

After conducting all of the interviews, it seemed that the two largest factors to an

individual becoming religious were family influence and overcoming adversity. To begin, family

influence was a large factor for all three individuals. Whether it was direct family or a close

family friend, each interviewee credited a large part of their current beliefs from those familial

influences. Additionally, each person reported that whenever they experienced an extreme

hardship in their life, this is when they either found god or turned to prayer and realized that

religion was or was not necessarily for them.

Additionally, through the interview process, although it was not said in a direct way, you

could tell that these individuals who valued religion also valued the community aspect as well.

When asked if they felt comfort from praying, one specific answer in particular led me on to

believe this. My mother talked about how seeing the religious individuals simply being a friendly

person and helping out when needed made her feel comfortable in whatever situation she was in.

In my opinion, this is the reason my mother to this day still goes to church with my father

regularly, taking into consideration that she is not very religious herself, what else could be

motivating her to go? The community aspect of a religious community is a large influence upon

whether or not an individual will commit to living a religious life and if that life will be

continued for years to come, or a short lived couple of weeks.

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Section 7, Soundscape Link

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ruq08rrAHDaa4LbY61jlgTPFcrbO_k7T/view?usp=sharing

The link above was taken from HillSong Downtown Phoenix church during their concert

section, also including a small portion of the sermon. As you can tell from the sound, the

environment is very lively and energetic making it fun and worthwhile for everyone attending

the service.
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WP3 Proposal

Concluding this research regarding what shapes a community’s beliefs on religion, I have

found that the two major factors are family influence as well as finding a sense of community or

acceptance. Prior to doing this research project, I assumed that a large factor in religious beliefs

were family influences, however, the desire to find a community was not suspected by myself at

all. Now that I have observed religious individuals at all levels of the Christian spiritual

spectrum, I can confidently say that each interviewee had a large impact from a family member

on their current religious beliefs. Whether it was a parent, brother, child, or nanny, each person

that was interviewed accredited their religious state to a family member. My second attributing

factor to being religious (sense of community or feeling welcomed/accepted) was not found

through the interviews, rather through the inquiry of three church services. Each Sunday, I began

to recognize several people and how they have formed a community within the church. The

community invested inside of the church is networked through support, love and companionship

however, most importantly, through their common belief in Christianity. Not only does this sense

of community and acceptance keep a person religious, it attracts those who are in a tough time in

their life, giving them a place to feel welcomed, accepted and given a sense of hope when it is

not to be found anywhere else.

When it came to objects or symbols of these religious communities, I had to take a step

outside of my perceived belief that all religious people worship the cross and read the bible daily.

Through the researching process I can now say with confidence that although there are a lot of

preconceived notions regarding the cross and what it means to the christian community,
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however, a lot of them are not true. The cross in this church setting was not nearly as important

as some stereotypes would argue, in fact, it was very minimal throughout each service.

Additionally, The Holy Bible, also filled with several preconceived notions, lived up to a large

amount of what it is expected to be in a church setting. Each sermon was supported by segments

from the Bible, sometimes basing the entire sermon off of one passage. All three pastors used the

Bible in their sermons and you could tell the cultural significance as each church member would

listen intently, trying to understand the meaning of each word that was read from the Bible.

This research was centered around the question of how an individual becomes religious

and the factors that influence that belief. I had always been curious about the religious

community considering I had never been an integral member of a church. Growing up in a

Christian church environment while never feeling quite connected to God festered this curiosity

into my being that has always wanted to find how others seem to find that connection. This

research was done in order to give me the insight necessary to not only understand the members

of this group, but accept them with open arms, separate from all of the stereotypes surrounding

this community of people.

Questions regarding religion are always crucial to understanding who our society really is

and the factors that define those underlying qualities. Considering a large percentage of our

population is spiritual, I believe it is very important to understand why religion is so embedded

into our culture. If we can fully understand the reasonings behind why an individual is religious,

we can discover a lot about that person as well as a large amount of information about the society

as a whole. Therefore, almost a domino effect occurs in which discovering information about

religion, leads to us uncovering the layers to how we became who we are today as a society.
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Given my research, I propose an essay that uncovers the truth behind an Christian’s

religious beliefs and the largest influences that come into factor that have shaped those beliefs.
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References

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