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The most segregated hour in America happens on Sunday everywhere you go to worship. Why is that? Is it because of tradition, culture, race? Or does it date back to when our ancestors came over to the land of the free. Perhaps all of the way back to the time of Babel. … and he confused their language so that they were not able to understand one anothers speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth. All of these factors contribute to the problem. We need to ask the question is it better this way or should we do some thing about it ? Tradition is one of the key concepts in American churches it is the handing down of customs from generation to generation. For example it is a tradition for my family to celebrate midnight mass for Christmas. This is a tradition that has been practiced in my family for many years. People tend to follow the customs and beliefs that have been set before them by there parents and grandparents. In the American melting pot there are many different notions and practices that have been passed down through generations and show themselves in the way that people worship in church. There are so many stereotypes that are put on other races and cultures that make it uncomfortable for people to fit in. I come from a middle class town and attend a middle class Catholic Church that is very set in its traditions. The congregation is made up of mostly white middle class people. It would be very rare to see an African American family on a Sunday morning liturgy. On the rare occasion that a family of different ethnicity would come to celebrate with our church, we would just treat them as one of the families in our parish. It was up to them to venture out of their comfort zone and join in our traditions. Since I am a Catholic, all of my life I have joined in the custom of praying. However, my prayer is different than that of a Methodist or a Baptist. I pray to Mary and to the Saints to pray to Jesus for me. Many may say Why don’t you pray directly to Jesus? My response to that question would be that I was born into a Catholic family and that was how I was brought up to pray. It would be very tough for a Methodist to worship at my church, because of our differences in tradition. It would also be just as hard for me to go to the Methodist Church and say that I am saved when I have been raised in the Catholic Church. When our ancestors came to settle in the United States, they brought their different religious cultures because they were able to come and practice their religion freely. Culture is a substantial part of our lives, without culture we are missing a sizable part of our identity. In Syracuse, where I am from, they have a different kind of church for each ethnic background. Sacred Heart Church is a Polish Catholic Church, St. Patrick’s is an Irish Catholic Church, and St. Anthony’s is a Italian Catholic Church all of these Churches are Catholic practicing, but they have blended their cultures into the service and celebration of God. People of similar cultures stick together and that is how it will always be, because it is hard for most people to move outside of their cultural circle. I have gone to mass at Sacred Heart before and I saw how their culture bled through the mass. My Uncle is a Catholic Priest in Miami, and he is the only white person in his parish. This past summer, my Brother and I went down to visit him and we went to a mass at his Church on Sunday. In my Uncle’s Church the culture was much different than where I go to Church. The way the people dressed, the way they sang and worshipped was much more upbeat than my Church. It was a very different experience for me when we got a warm welcome and they had a reception dinner for us after the service with all kinds of different foods. The church that I attend never goes out of their way to make visitors feel welcome, and that is how our cultures are different. When you look at race in the church you also look at tradition and culture. Race is defined as a family, belonging to the some stock, a class or kind of people unified by community of interest habits or characteristics. In America race is determined by skin color, physical features, and language. Race is not just a beautiful thing that defines us as people, but also is a terrible theory that spawn hate, generalization tell us that different races worship in different manners. Church is a place where people go to feel warmth and comfort, and when confronted with difference worshipping styles may become uncomfortable. As a results most choose to worship with those in their racial boundaries. For example when I first attended my Uncle Parish Church which was all African American I felt out number and out of place, that was my initial reaction. After spending time with the parishioners I quickly became comfortable and felt as though I belonged. I believe that if more people would make the small effort to make the initial discomfort subside we would have more racially balanced worship experience. Word Count: 925

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