Yesterday was our first class on Inclusion and Equality. At the beginning of the lecture, we were asked to work with a partner and discuss the meaning of Inclusion and the meaning of Equality. I had thought that the two meant roughly the same thing, however, I soon learned that they had different meanings. I found out that inclusion helps the policies that support diversity and also give individuals a voice and choice. This is important because if we fail to promote this may lead to oppression. People who are at an advantage ignore the life experiences of those at a disadvantage because they do not have to deal with those realities.

Equality is making sure that each individual has fair equal rights. Equality often gets mistaken as meaning ‘sameness’ and not ‘fairness’.

I found yesterday very useful as I learned a lot which I was not aware of. I learned the real meaning of Inclusion and Equality. To further my knowledge of this I will engage in further reading.

Today’s class was very interesting and educational. I learned a lot about new scholars and went into more depth regarding unchurched spirituality. I learned that Max Weber was a German Philosopher who believed that religion  is important in our lives, whereas, Karl Marx believed that religion is the ‘opium of the people’. He said that it is the drug that deadens the soul. He also believed that religion’s promise of a greater life after death was a capitalist illusion.

I found the videos and information about Jehovah’s Witnesses very useful as I was not aware that they do not wish to receive blood transfusions for medical treatment.

Today has made me further aware of religious aspects I had not known before. In order to find out more, I will engage in further academic reading.