Religion Statistics

Christianity:                                
CIA- 31.4%
Adherents- 33%

Islam:
CIA- 23.2%
Adherents- 21%

Hinduism:
CIA- 15%
Adherents- 14%

Buddhism:
CIA- 7.1%
Adherents- 6%

Judaism:
CIA- 0.2%
Adherents- 0.22%

The CIA World Factbook and Adherents.com statistics are very close to each other for the percentage of the five major religions in the world. Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism seem to be growing because the adherents.com information is from 2005, but Christianity and Judaism are a little less than it was in 2005.

Christianity and Islam

Today in class we started talking about the five major religions in the world. The first two we covered, which are the two largest, were Christianity and Islam. The number of adherents of Christianity in the world is around 2.2 billion (largest in the world) and they are of course called Christians. Christians are mostly found in Europe, the Americas, and Southern Africa with a bunch of denominations such as, the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Protestants (Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, Anglicans, etc). The founder of Christianity is Jesus Christ and the holy book is the Bible (especially the Gospels in the New Testament). Christians believe Jesus is both human and the divine Son of God and in his lifetime he was crucified, died, buried, resurrected, and then ascended to heaven to be with God the Father. The clergy in Christianity is the Pope is the head of the Church and there are priests that are local authorities. The number of adherents of the Islam religion is 1.5 billion (second largest in the world) and unlike the predictable name of Christians, they are called Muslims. Muslims are mostly in Indonesia, the Middle East, and North Africa and only have two denominations which are the Sunnis (75-95%) and the Shias (10-20%). The founder of the Islam faith is Muhammad and their holy book is the Qur'an (Koran). Muslims beliefs are monotheistic, Abrahamic, and the 5 pillars (testimony, prayer, alms-giving, fasting, and pilgrimage). Muslims see the purpose of life is to serve and submit to God.

Test Answers and Mid-Term Review

Today in class we turned in our essays, went over our previous test, and talked about the review for our mid-term test. Once again, I'm very proud of my essay and I think I will get a good grade on it. On our last test I got a 93, which is a grade I've gotten before. I got two questions wrong and they were the questions I thought I was going to get wrong. Of course when I found out the answer I felt dumb because it sounded so obvious. On the review for the mid-term I feel pretty good about all the topics. I just need to brush up on the things we did earlier in the year and some facts that I will forget about on the topics we just did. I know there is going to be some questions that I am going to be completely stumped on because that is what happens most of the time, but I'm glad all of the questions are multiple choice so at least I have a chance.

Peer Review and Mechanics of Essay Writings

Today we did the same thing that we did yesterday, which was finishing our essays and having a peer review it. At the end of class we talked about the mechanics of writing an essay and plagiarism. I am done with my essay and I am pretty proud of it. I took a lot of time to write it because I wanted it to be perfect. I think I took a very interesting approach to my essay that I think no one else in my class did. I did use my notes for some of my essay, but a lot of the information I used was things I heard from a show my parents watch, which is called Adam Ruins Everything on Netflix. When we talked about the mechanics of writing a good essay, I didn't have to do anything because I assumed we had to write our essays in Times New Roman font size 12. Overall, I think I did very well on my essay and I'm excited to see my grade.

Sub and Finishing Essay

Today we had a sub for class. We were supposed to finish writing our essay and then if we finished, peer review with someone else who is done. I didn't finish my essay in class because I'm not very good at writing essays in class, which is why I'm grateful that we are allowed to work on it before the exam day. I chose option B, which is about the evolution and effects of immigration policy over the last 100 years. I'm having a little bit of a hard time because I know what I want to say and I know I have good points, I just don't know how to put it into a nice essay and I also want it to be perfect. I currently have two paragraphs done and I'm starting my third one. There is just so many things I want to say, but they don't all belong in the essay even though they are good points. I think I'll be able to write a very good essay if I just sit down and really focus because even though I'm not to into government I do think this topic is important and interesting.

4th Test on Migration

Today we took our fourth test of the year which was on migration. It was a very short test with all multiple choice questions. The first page was easy, but it does help to look at all of the definitions before picking your answer because the next answer might make more sense. I would say about 95% of the multiple choice questions were easy. There were like 3 questions that I completely blanked on. All of the questions were fact based questions that we took notes on. For the 3 questions I think I got wrong, I know I knew the answer because it was on the tip of my brain. Tests with a lot of facts give me just a little bit of anxiety because I know all of the answers, but there is always those questions that you didn't take much time to look at or questions that were just a small part of your notes. You never know what the questions are going to be so that is why it is good to study everything. Although I wish I could remember everything I write down, I can't and so unfortunately when I don't know an answer, I just have to use my common sense, which is sometimes incorrect.

Unauthorized Immigration Notes That I Didn't Already Have

Mexico Border with U.S.

• view from U.S. recognized motives that compel unauthorized immigrants to enter illegally
• employment opportunities 
• family reunification 
• better way of life
• view from Mexico is more complex 
• residents from Northern Mexico wish for compassion to be shown to unauthorized immigrants 
• residents of Southern Mexico are less tolerant because of number of unauthorized immigrants entering from Mexico from Guatemala 

Attitude toward Immigrants

• we don't have middle ground, everyone is either on the yes side or the no side 
• racial profiling with having to carry around proof of being a citizen, if you look Hispanic you would be asked for proof
• sanctuary- give safety to unauthorized immigrants 
• population growth in Europe is fueled by immigrants from other regions, Europe doesn't like that 
• biggest fear is there country's culture will be taken away 
• different language 
• different religions 
• different food and habits 
• hostility to immigrants has become a central plank of some political parties 
• blamed for crime, unemployment rates, and high welfare costs 
• inhospitable climate for immigrants in Europe is especially ironic 
• Europe was main source of most of the world's emigrants 

Characteristics of Migrants (long-distance)

• most are male 
• most are adult individuals 
• most are young adults seeking work