I am currently enrolled in a class here at Emory called History of Religions in America. When I signed up for this class, I fully expected to be given a history lesson on how the United States has changed and been affected by religions and their various fluctuations and interpretations. What I did not expect was for many of the traditions and identifying practices of American Religion to be called into question and thoroughly examined.

A concept that has been the subject of intense discussion during this class is that of a Worldview. This is something that is constantly in play in all of our lives that affects our decisions, that influences our emotions, and that has a deep determining factor in all aspects of our lives, from religion to politics to how we raise our families. A Worldview is a person's particular understanding and construction of the world that we live in, and their interpretations thereof.

An example of opposing Worldviews can be found in Arlie Hochschild's Strangers in Their Own Land, in which Hochschild examines and lives among citizens of Lake Charles, Louisiana. In the book, Hochschild recounts the tales of citizens whose lives were plagued with illnesses and cancers caused by carcinogenic pollution from the factory that many of them worked in. Most of the citizens agreed that the pollution was a big problem that could only be solved by government intervention, and their lives would be better for such a change.

Yet most of the citizens were too suspicious of the government to ever admit that such action would be helpful or even needed. The problem was there, the solution obvious, but their Worldview prevented them from being able to compromise the solution with the perceived evil they felt would take place. For so many in the community, it was better to wait or even decide to not take action, rather than risk corrupt people (aka, governmental officials) taking advantage of them and ruining things further.

The world that Hochschild immersed herself in was one ripe with deep religious and moral values, which sometimes even took precedence over reason and logic. Their Worldviews were ruled by their emotions, and Hochschild, witnessing where they were coming from and seeing the roots of their reasoning, could not fault them that. Having grown up in a small and fairly conservative town, I understood both sides of the situation that Hochschild was in.

Growing up, I was constantly surrounded by patriotism and American Pride. Being raised in a more liberal household, however, gave me something of an outsider's perspective on some of some of the thoughts and beliefs of my peers. I vividly remember the day in my sophomore year of high school that I overheard a friend of mine claiming that the economic decline we were currently experiencing was fully at the fault of the president; I asked my friend how they knew about stuff like that, and all they could say was that, "It's obvious - that's just how the economy works."

That was the first time that I decided to do my own research about something regarding the economy or the government. Until that point in time, I had approximately zero interest in such subjects. But I wanted to understand where my friend was getting their information, and I also wanted to be informed enough on the subject to actually participate in the discussion.

That was also the first time that I consciously decided to question something that was generally accepted by my peers. Since that time, I find myself readily questioning the motives and claims of the people around me, sometimes to their face, sometimes later once I am no longer in their company. I have also developed a tendency to call people out when I know that they are only getting their information by listening through the grapevine or only paying attention to extremely biased reports.

This has gotten me in trouble on several occasions. The first time that it caused a big issue, however, was in the library of my high school my senior year, when I was discussing a project I was working on for my online class with several of my friends. I had been researching the topic of gun control and the prevalence of mass shootings in America for over a week; I had gathered page after page of information, statistics, reports, files on various trials and court rulings, all manner of testimonies from people of all Worldviews and opinions. I had also compared such statistics to that of other countries; I had the facts. I knew the information better than anybody else, probably in the whole school, let alone that room containing just the four of us.

Yet when I presented these facts to my friends, merely commenting on how interesting I found the statistics surrounding gun violence in the USA versus countries such as Australia, I found myself thrown into the midst of what became a shouting match. My fact-supported arguments, all of my logic, all of my statistics and the hard work that I had put into gathering my information fell under the onslaught of condemnation and hatred that fell from the lips of my friend. Nothing I said could change her mind. I don't remember all that was said other than her phrase of, "The terrorists are at our doors and you want us to just let them shoot us!" and my own response of, "When have you or anyone you know had to fight a terrorist off your front porch?" In the face of the anger she spewed at me, I quickly lost my temper; I said a cold, quiet word that I will not repeat and that she had never heard me say, and left the room… then the building... then the campus.

I did not return to our friend-groups regular morning meetings in the library for the rest of my time in high school.

To this day, that moment remains one of the most eye-opening moments of my life. It was the first time that I had seen so much hatred and fear and ingrained ideas culminate in such a way and the first time that I witnessed such a level of emotion trump so much logic. It was the first time that I realized how real emotions and prejudices could be in regards to things as big and important as politics.

My own Worldview is a convoluted mess. Many of my thoughts are deeply affected by the traditions and values that come from growing up in a tiny bubble of conservative Republicans and helicopter parenting. I am simultaneously in constant flux with my own core beliefs, logical thought process, and thirst for unbiased knowledge. I am constantly compromising, rethinking, and reconstructing my understanding of the world as my experiences grow and the world around me comes more and more into the light. My Worldview is growing and maturing. I do not think that is a bad thing.

The next time that I am confronted by someone whose Worldview conflicts with mine, and whose emotions are too strong for them to allow compromise, I will try to keep my cool better than I did in high school. I know now, thanks to the readings that I have done in my History of Religions in America class, that it is a natural part of life for someone to have a completely different understanding of the world than I do, even if we grew up in the same town. I know that it is okay for some people to be ruled by their emotions rather than logic and that we need people like that for this country, and even this world, to function as best it can.

I don't think that I will ever be convinced of something through an anger-driven screaming match, or through various moral constructs and emotions. I need unbiased, unemotional research to help me construct my idea of the world, and for me to accept something as a fact.

If someone disagrees with me about that - well, it's just my Worldview.