Blog Post #3

As I begin writing this post I am so thankful for this online learning option.  Without it I wouldn't have been able to get as far as I have within the last few semesters. Wow what an experience this class has been. Because of the format in this class I was able to experience a new way of learning, interaction with my class mates and insight from my instructor.  This may not seem like ground breaking thoughts, but compared to other classes I have taken, this class in leaps and bounds ahead of the game.

I have learned so much over the past few weeks with regards to the origins of religion and how it is interpreted and perceived.  I am excited about my next adventure that will end this weekend after this post is complete.  Having hardly any experience in virtual reality it was quite an easy introduction into this type of learning activity.  In the first Guild Adventure I was surprised as to how much the different perspectives helped me learn more about the ritual we were studying. I have enjoyed the interaction and learning new perspectives in an exciting new way.  The Guild Adventures have brought a connection that other online classes, I have taken, lacked.


The character I took on this course was Mary Daly. As a women in a patriarchal culture it was shocking, yet necessary, to be thrown into Mary Daly's perspective on the plight of women.  I have always felt it and the pressures of being female in our society. I may never feel the plight to the extreme that she advocated for it. In order for women to see the progress we desire think it is necessary to go to that extreme when explaining what it is like for women to succeed in a male dominated society.

The other thing that stood out to me was how easily it is to hold onto a belief system that was learned within the culture you grew up in.  You begin to accept those ideologies as fact and have nothing to compare it to.  This introduction to the study of religion has given me a launching pad to learn as much as I can about the culture in which religion is created and cultivated.

I am so thankful I chose to take this course.  I will use the knowledge I have learned to tackle other topics and gain more knowledge.

Week 2

Wow, so much has happened in just a week and a half.  The virtual reality experience wasn't as hard as I anticipated.  My guild mates and I successfully completed our first adventure. We only used the chat feature for the most part, so I am excited to get back in there and dig in more. I can see myself really enjoying these types of interactions.

The part I most enjoyed about interacting with my guild mates as my virtual reality character is that it really helped me learn about the topic of ritual from 3 different points of view.  I was really hyper focused on my characters point of view.  Interacting with my guild mates I was also able to hear their point of view and discuss the ritual.

I know this was the idea, but it couldn't have played out more perfectly.  I have to say I'm really enjoying the layout of this class. It provides challenges, interaction with class mates and support from the instructor when needed!

Week 1

Okay so I'm a little nervous about this course. I have no experience in Role Playing or guilds. The closest I've gotten to being apart of virtual reality is when I recently watched the feature film, Warcraft.  Still, I wasn't participating at all, I was simply observing.   Nervousness aside, I am excited to take on this new way of learning.  I am hoping this will open my mind up to new possibilities.

In the first chapter of Introduction to the Study of Religion the author discussed in great length about being unbiased, specifically quoted "how imperative it is for students of religious studies to try and understand the worldview of religion they are studying and enter into it through a temporary suspension of disbelief in order to resonate with the experience of some of the sentiments felt by the adherents of that belief."

I was immediately caught off guard, can one remain completely objective with their history and own traditions.  The authors believes one can.  I want to get as much out of this course as I can and so i will continue with the goal to remain objective while studying religions.

With that admonition in mind we were assigned the task of choosing our alter ego.  I grew up in a very religious home.  Christianity was the religion we practiced.  In order to give myself over to this process, I chose to be Mary Daly.  On paper she would be the complete opposite of everything I grew up believing in.  I am really excited to "enter it through a temporary suspension of disbelief"  in order to be fully objective.

With that being said, I am excited to see what each week has in store and what I am able to retain and what strides I can make in understanding the study of religion.