Sociology: Understanding Christian Faith Through an Interview

This essay documents an interview with a Christian individual, exploring their faith and religious practices. The respondent discusses the core tenets of Christianity, the importance of Jesus, and various rituals such as baptism, Eucharist, and confession. The individual shares their worship habits, including attending church on weekends, participating in communal activities, and the role of music and prayer in their spiritual fulfillment. The respondent expresses a pragmatic view, valuing gospel singing for its peace-inducing effects while questioning the confession ritual's practicality. They also emphasize the welcoming nature of the church community and the guidance provided by the priest to newcomers. The essay provides insights into the personal experiences and perspectives of a Christian, highlighting the intersection of faith, community, and individual belief.

Running Head: INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT
SOCIOLOGY: RELIGION

2INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT
My experience from interviewing a person from the Christian religion:
From the interview taken to a person having his faith in Christianity, there were various
responses to various different questions that were thrown towards him. During the interview, I
also noticed that the respondent was more religious and bias towards their own religion in
response to some questions but while answering some other questions he came to me as being
more practical and pragmatic towards the religious piety that he had put his faith in. At first, I
asked him to give me a brief idea about Christianity, to which he seemed to be very eager to
respond. He told about Jesus of Nazareth, and his life teachings, as mentioned in the old and the
new testament of the Bible, being the root of the religion (Fox, 2018). The followers of this
religion, considered to be Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God and the savior of men
whose coming was prophesied in the old testament of the Bible.
The respondent was asked about the rituals that he needed to follow because of his
religious beliefs and he responded by mentioning various different rituals that were followed in
the past and some is still continued to be followed. His first response to this question was that he
was baptized in his childhood which was considered as his admission to the Christian faith and
belief. He also went on to explain that baptism is basically considered as “christening” which is
done by using just water. While explaining he also brought up history by mentioning that it was
John the Baptist who was the person who baptized Jesus and depending on the type of Churches
it is considered to be a sacrament in some and ordinance in others (Brunn, 2015). He also
mentioned about other rituals that he follows that are Eucharist; basically having a piece of bread
and a sip of red wine as Jesus's flesh and blood. The respondent further mentioned about
confessions where an individual confesses his sins to the Holy Father in order to seek
forgiveness and achieve a place in heaven.
When asked about the place of the worship he said that different Churches and Chapels
are subjected to variations in the size and structure. The respondent further added that he only
visits the church on weekends, mostly Sunday, as he is busy during the weekdays. He also said
that he is willing to give as much time as he can afford in order to pray. The respondent clarified
that since there are various chapels and churches in his area, he prefers to visit every alternate
Churches at alternate weekends. He concurred that whenever he goes on holidays to different
locations he makes sure that he at least visits one church of that area and worships. He added that
there is no distinguishing between the seating arrangements of men and women (Baker, James &

3INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT
Reader, 2016). Anybody can sit where they want to and the respondent prefers to sit with his
family with whom he visits the church every weekend.
Further, when asked about the contribution of the church to the community the
respondent was very composed in airing the fact that he tries to involve himself in communal
activities the church arranges for the community every month. Even though he fails to attend all
of those activities he mentioned that he enjoys every time he gets the chance to be a part of the
whole movements and try to involve himself as much as he can. He also feels to be proud being a
part of the crowd that gathers every weekend at the church and the communal services that the
church provides for the society every month. Next when he was asked about the presence of
music in the place of worship, he responded that the church makes them sing gospels and various
prayers while worshipping Jesus and the presence of music and the chorus of the prayer makes
the atmosphere of the church more joyful and gives a lot of peace in his mind (Fung, 2016). The
respondent considers the time he spends in the church provides fulfilment within himself and
rejoice the moment differently from day to day hectic life.
The respondent was asked about his preference, the ritual that he believes to be helpful
and practical. In response, the more pragmatic side of the respondent came under the lights as he
mentioned that according to him, singing along to the gospels and prayers is more helpful for
him as it gives him a peace of mind (Smith, 2017). He also considers the confession part of the
worship to be the least important for him as he feels that one should not commit sins in the first
place rather than commit sins and ask for forgiveness every other week. This was initially
viewed with suspicion by the respondent but later he came to make amends by the help of the
personal benefits they got from the church. He considers it to be an excuse to commit more and
more sins as he has his own set of beliefs and he prefers to stick to them. He again mentioned
about the social activities that the church organizes for the community to be another important
aspect of the worship and also considers them to be one of his own social responsibilities. When
asked about how an outsider will know how things work in the place of worship he mentioned
that the priest is the one who would help him get accustomed to the rituals and give positive
ideas and advises on things to do during the service (Bowen, 2017). Moreover, the respondent
said that he felt very much welcomed by the priest and everybody were warm and comforting
and nothing felt strange as such.

4INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT
References
Baker, C., James, T. A., & Reader, J. (2016). A Philosophy of Christian Materialism: Entangled
Fidelities and the Public Good. Routledge.
Bowen, J. R. (2017). Religions in practice: An approach to the anthropology of religion.
Routledge.
Brunn, S. D. (Ed.). (2015). The changing world religion map: Sacred places, identities, practices
and politics. Springer.
Fox, J. (2018). An introduction to religion and politics: Theory and practice. Routledge.
Fung, A. (2016). Music in religion, religion in music: Christian faith and Confucian filial piety in
the lifeworld practices of two musician-educators. International Journal of Religion and
Spirituality in Society, 6(3), 77-92.
Smith, C. (2017). Religion: What it is, how it works, and why it matters. Princeton University
Press.