My belief in a higher power places me on the opposite end of the spectrum from the college students at the focal point of this project. I believe in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which defines God as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I recognize Jesus Christ as God in the form of Son and observe the teachings of the Old and New Testament. My Christian faith served as the foundation of my understanding of religion in general throughout my childhood. I was raised in a fairly religious home where participation in Sunday school and church were as commonplace as attending school for academic purposes.
My hometown is located in the panhandle of Florida. While I consider myself a native Floridian, my religious beliefs align more closely with those geographically aligned with the “Bible Belt.” I have encountered very few instances of othering as the Christian faith is one of the mainstream religions in the United States. However, the proximity of my hometown to Alabama and Georgia, has resulted in assumptions that I may be affiliated with evangelic Christianity, which is not the case. If Christianity were held along similar lines as political affiliations in the United States, I would consider myself a “liberal” Christian. While I remain steadfast in my Christian faith, I am open to respecting and engaging in dialogue and understanding of those with different beliefs.
I respect spirituality but am also comfortable identifying myself as religious because of my beliefs. I was primarily raised in two denominations – African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and Missionary Baptist. However, I do not currently limit my participation in Christian churches to any particular denomination. My faith remains very important to me even though I do not “faithfully” attend church.
Sharing my faith is an acknowledgment of bias that may exist for me with this project. It will be necessary to conceptualize faith/religion in a way that respects and recognizes those who lack faith/religion as an important part of their identity in the same way as those who do have faith and/or identify with a particular religion.
