Byrnes - Thoughts of an Atheist

 I entered this class not really expecting much. I figured it would be an easy way to fill my cultural pre-requisites, and I heard from some friends that it wasn't too rigorous. I am not particularly religious, although my household is, so I came in not expecting to have my worldview challenged much. Instead, I found an environment where the spiritual process and institutions such as prayer were described not in a catholic, or Jewish, or Islamic way, but as a deeply personal way that is detached from any one particular theistic belief set. I found it described in a way that enables me, as someone who does not practice faith, to be able to connect with ideas that formerly seemed uniquely ingrained in organized religion that followed a particular God or prophet figure. I found spiritual significance in geography, in other people's actions, and in detachment from modern institutions, which is something that the Abrahamic faiths don't put a massive amount of influence into.