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Experiences of Religion and Racism

Langston Hughes, in "Salvation," describes his childhood introduction to religion, specifically Christianity. Hughes is forced by social pressure to claim that he has experienced the presence of Jesus within himself, when in fact he has not had such an experience, and the experience sours him on religion and on Jesus. The essay is an example of human beings completely misunderstanding what it means to have a personal experience of God.

Hughes is remembering the event which he underwent at the age of 12. The culture in which he lives believes that finding Jesus is an entirely emotional matter, that one gets swept up in a revival atmosphere and joins other "sinners" in taking the step to "come to Jesus" (Hughes 161).

What the adults in Hughes's do not understand is that "finding Jesus" must be an individual matter which is sometimes emotional, sometimes inspired by social encouragement, sometimes an intellectual matter, sometimes a step taken out of desperation. To say this does not place a higher value on one way over another, but it is to say that the act of "finding Jesus" must not be forced. If it is, as in Hughes's case, then the result brought about by those doing the forcing is precisely the opposite of the one desired. "Finding Jesus," then, is an act, or decision, which must be taken or made in complete freedom.

Experiencing God, as Smith points out, is also about love and not forced acceptance of a religious ideology: "The love of God is precisely what the first Christians did feel. They became convinced that Jesus was God and they felt directly the force of his love" (Smith 281). What the members of Hughes's community are feeling is not love but instead the need to have every member, including Hughes and the other children, conform to their beliefs. What Hughes is feeling is not love but the force of the community and his fear that something bad will happen to him unless he pretends to have an experience of Jesus....

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Experiences of Religion and Racism. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 08:13, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1693181.html