This past Winter Quarter of 2024, I was lucky enough to take Honors 104 Religious Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives with Dr. Sesay. This class primarily focused on understanding and defining religion within the contexts of the Black and African Diaspora. To be honest, I was nervous walking into this class for two primary reasons: I was personally not interested in taking any more religion classes after having years of Sunday School and I felt like my background in world religions was rather weak. However, I soon learned that neither of these anxieties matter in the course I was taking. This religion class was not at all about learning a specific religion and how to practice it, but rather learning how religion is a form of culture and a microcosm of society at large.
I expected this class to just throw different religions from the Diaspora at us, but it was so much more nuanced than that. We began this course by discussing our preconceived notions of religion and magic. We covered the categories of the major religions and the stark dichotomy typically put in place between the definitions of religion and magic. To the uneducated eye, one may think that magic and religion having completely separate definitions is a benign way to think about these two spiritual categories. However, through the guidance of Dr. Sesay, I have learned this is not the case. The reason many people in our society separate religion and magic is because they find themselves uncomfortable and in-disbelief of those who practice a religion or spirituality that isn’t normalized within North American culture. Despite the fact that, generally, the concept of religion can be difficult to believe in, major religions like Christianity are so entrenched in Western culture, many think that they are more valid than practices like Hoodoo or Conjure. These strict definitions do not take into account the interconnectedness of Black and African religious practices, and thereby they serve as a way to perpetuate Western beliefs. Failing to acknowledge religion and magic as connected highlights the ignorance many of us have around the spiritual significance of practices that may be seen as “magical” in a Western context. Only through rejecting the idea that these categories are mutually exclusive, can we as society be able to appreciate the depth and intricacy of religious practices among marginalized communities. Moreover, in this class we talked about how, specifically for the Black and African Diaspora, religio-racial religions like the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam, can provide an identity and belonging rooted in religion. These religions not only give its followers a meaning to life, but also provide a strong historical background that extends beyond the legacy of slavery. These religio-racial groups are powerful ways for those in the Black and African community to reclaim and assert identity, and thus show us that religion is not solely about finding meaning but also about finding yourself and your racial/cultural identity.
All in all, I can say with confidence that this course really opened up my mind to have a more intersectional approach to religion, something I never considered in depth before. It showed me how deeply and covertly xenophobia runs within all of us and has made me a more considerate person overall. This class thoroughly impressed me and more than exceeded my expectations for Honors 104 Religious Worldviews and Ethical Perspectives. If you get the opportunity, please try to take this course with Dr. Sesay– you won’t regret it!
About the Author
Megan Rust is an Honors freshman majoring in Psychology with a concentration in Human Development with minors in Spanish and Sociology.
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