Jesus Terrazas Terrazas, 1

AP English Literature

Block 1

15 November 2018

Personal Statement

Religion is big part of people's daily activities, but it shouldn’t be a net cast upon the

future generations of society. People should be allowed to follow their own beliefs based on their

own experiences. In my family, religion plays a role in the way we think and the decisions we

make, overall trying to be in a high moral standing. I believe that no one should be forced to

believe in a religion or any belief. People should be allowed to grow on their own and not be

judged for it. Modern generations might face the backlash of older generations for lacking faith,

but older generation should adapt to future views.

The religion followed in my family is Catholicism. Everyone in my family has a strong

faith and belief towards it, and I was raised to do the same. As a child, I followed whatever my

mother told me, so her beliefs were my beliefs. Both my mother and aunt have a strong and blind

faith towards the church. The decisions they make are heavily influenced by their faith towards

God, which means that they try to do good deeds so that people struggle less with their own

problems. Neither me nor my family try to be seen as good people to those around us. We just

want to be good people based on what we believe is the moral thing to do. My opposition to the

religion began when I was about 15 years old. After years of thinking about it, I began to

question the existence of God and his miracles. I didn’t disagree with the morals of the religion,
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but in the blind faith towards God. This caused great a deal of instability between the rest of my

family and me.

My stand on the religion isn’t complete denial, rather a different point of view. Most

followers would see it as an atheist view, but I don’t deny the existence of God, instead I

question it. In modern times, every new discovery has some sort of evidence behind it, but the

only form of evidence the Catholic religion has is the Bible, which could’ve been written with an

exaggeration of events. The blind belief given to God, along with prayers, won’t give people

what they want by simply wanting it. A person must work their hardest in order to achieve their

goal. It is possible that God grants people their wishes once he sees that they have worked their

hardest, and even then, they might need to continue working to keep it. I see myself in a middle

ground when it comes to religion. Although I question the existence of God I don’t deny it

because there is evil out there in the world. Science has proven that everything needs balance in

order to function correctly; therefore, evil can’t exist without a source of good. This source of

good is what I believe to be God.

My mother was in complete disapproval of my view at first, but over time, she came to

understand me. At first, she was very disappointed, and for some time there were high levels of

tension between her and me. As time went on, I began to modify my view on religion, from

questioning to intertwining God in my view of the world and life. My family now understands

my view as I explained to them why I developed it. They don’t agree with me completely but

now, they know why. Both my mom and my aunt have moved past their traditional views and

have adapted to a new generation.

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Religious beliefs shouldn’t be forced upon anyone. People should be allowed to grow and

make their own view of the world and life. Modern society gives people the freedom they

deserve when it comes to following beliefs. People should learn to adapt to this and begin

accepting these new views.