Here’s my biography by Dana for her sociology class. Enjoy. I like it a lot.
By Dana Christensen
Sociology 455: Religion & Society
Fall 2006
A Spiritual Shaping of a Life
Misha’s faith is the current stage of a personal spiritualization that has been evolving for the last seven years of his life. A pre-med student in his final year as an undergraduate, Misha plans to pursue a medical degree because it provides a means for him to “unite evangelism, social justice and science around curing the consequences of violence and overpowering future violence with love today.” (Misha: 2006) Having known Misha by means of the American Civil Liberties Union, I have come to learn that he is a Mennonite because of their commitment to non-violence, which he sees as the core of Jesus’ teachings, along with social awareness, which he concludes is the natural progression from non-violence. His belief and relationship with God is of an “intellectual and experiential” nature, developed over time to shape his social and political consciousness; inspiring him to be vegetarian, anti-war, anti-Bush administration, and interested in Christian anarchism, communal living, and asceticism. (Misha: 2006)
Misha’s story of finding faith and social awareness incorporates many of Lofland and Skonovd’s means of conversion and Heirich’s transcultural aspects of religious experience, along with the modern phenomena of exploring and searching for one’s best religious fit. (McGinn: 9/7/2006) The way that Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) and the Mennonite church carry out different roles in his religious and spiritual life is a demonstration on how Heirich’s transcultural aspects of religious experience can be bet by the compliment of more than just one institution. (McGinn: 9/7/2006) This may seem like “Sheila-ism,” or a “conscious attempt to forge ones own,” coined by Robert Bellah to “tailor one’s faith by drawing from other resources,” but Misha firmly identifies with the Mennonite faith and is aware that CRU is not a denomination but a means to provide a culture for Christians. (McGinn: 9/21/2006) Because Misha grew up atheist, found God at sixteen years old, and has only started attending the Mennonite church in Ann Arbor a year ago, CRU serves as his religious community, for he has only started to form roots with his intellectual and theological community with the Mennonites. Misha shares with many college-aged students the experience of awakening and desire to change the world for the better, with his faith being his inspiration and momentum.
Finding God: the Teachings of a Community
Growing up in communist Russia by scientist parents who “believed that religion was for stupid people,” Misha was atheist due to his government, education, and family when he moved from Moscow to Ann Arbor at the age of seven. (Misha: 2006) (McGinn: 9/7/2006) Upon arriving to America, his parents became friends with a few Christian families who sought them out and would host bible studies with them. While they appreciated the company and kindness of their new friends, Misha admits that his parents, although “sympathetic” to his and other people’s faith, “still haven’t come to God.” (Misha: 2006) It was these families that recommended two summer camps to Misha’s mother for him to go and learn values and be outdoors; an example of Robert Wortworth’s idea of parents indoctrinating or at least exposing their children to religion as a means to learn “right from wrong.” (Misha: 2006) Although he complied, he was still a non-believer. These two camps would have opposite and life changing effects on Misha.
The first camp Misha went to was a Russian Orthodox camp that he describes as “like Boy Scouts” with an “emphasis on the white soldiers” and old nationalism focused on the Czar. (Misha: 2006) Going into the camp not believing in God at thirteen years old, Misha came out unconvinced and turned off by the rigid structure of the camp. Not having known anything about religion, Misha’s impression based on his first camp experience was that it was all based on traditions and practice and not the meaning and integration of the scripture. He was not drawn to the people either, feeling that activities like lining up like soldiers and singing Russian patriotic songs to the Czar were more strange than spiritual. The camp was lacking nearly all of the five transcultural aspects of religious experience in Misha’s case: encounter, transformation, meaning, and relationships. What was left for him was the judgment of the Orthodox tradition, with the constant reference “to God’s laws,” and the consequences there of, without the theological meaning to support the claims. (Misha: 2006) He was open about his atheism at the camp, which was met with disapproval and further alienated him from the rest of the community. After two summers, Misha gave up on the camp, but decided to go to another camp recommended by one of his mother’s Christian friends at the age of sixteen.
This time, Misha went to a Christian Russian Baptist camp in Connecticut, and his experience was “completely different” and positive. (Misha: 2006) Instead of enforcing the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church and the legacy of the Czar, the Baptist camp focused on “what the Bible has to say,” and had church, meditation, Bible studies, and evening devotions multiple times a day. (Misha: 2006) For the first time, Misha learned about the teachings of Jesus, something he claims was completely ignored at the Orthodox camp. The constant exposure and study of the Bible, and the support of the camp community that did not make an issue of him not believing in God, which made him comfortable listening and taking to heart what was taught at the camp. Coming back to Ann Arbor after weeks there, Misha decided that he believed in God.
Conversion: A Change, an Ongoing Search
When asked how he came to accept God, Misha states that “it made sense. I learned about Jesus’ teachings, and he said he was God, so I believe that. It is like believing in any other truth.” (Misha: 2006) With exposure to the Bible, Misha related to a Christian message not translated at the Orthodox camp, and could make a logical connection between the “truth” of Jesus and the presence of God. (Misha: 2006) This type of intellectual change in belief falls under Lofland and Skonovd’s conversion principles, and has been the driving force of Misha’s spiritual development since his first “leap of faith” at sixteen years old. (McGinn: 9/19/2006)
Misha’s original conversion to becoming a believer was brought on in large part by the change in spiritual community provided by the open and biblically-focused orientation of the camp. Along with what Heirich would call a “change of heart” and a personal push away from Atheism to Christianity, Misha’s stay at the Baptist camp provided him a means to experience religion and “pulled” him to faith with God. (McGinn: 9/19/2006) “My belief in God is intellectual and experiential,” Misha said, based on Jesus being his mentor and “exercising/experiencing Jesus’ teachings,” which demonstrates the dual personal/social aspects of how Misha approaches his faith. (Misha: 2006)
His spiritual growth ran parallel with a new-found appreciation of learning and thinking, fostered in an advanced-level high school humanities class that taught world history from a four perspectives: world literature, history/philosphy, art history and music history/theory. Before, Misha was not interested in learning, just getting good grades, having fun, and “not getting into trouble.” (Misha: 2006) He had started to experiment with girls and drinking, and was not convinced by his parents that his actions had negative consequences. It was only after camp and finding God that he “understood right from wrong,” with his family noting a striking but positive change in him. (Misha: 2006) “My parents said that I became more loving, displayed more kindness to people,” he said. (Misha: 2006) His parents were supportive of his newfound faith, because he says that “they did not need to convince me that what I was doing was bad. I stopped doing it.” (Misha: 2006) But as a result of finding faith in God and denouncing his previous ways, Misha lost many of his friendships with those who shared his old pursuits of girls and other debauchery.
Finding the right religious community and identity was a process that lasted up until this past year for Misha, as he tested churches and youth groups in hopes of finding what was right for him. His “quest,” or an attempt to find experience where others are “inadequate,” is discussed by N.J. Demerath, III as part of the compensatory or “alternative commitments and communities” that one seeks in regards to the sacred experience. (Demerath: 1999) One of ongoing themes in Misha’s religious story is his journey—interacting with varying denominations, Christian social groups, and exploring a variety of theology and philosophy.
Identifying as non-denominational throughout high school and into college, Misha started off going to a Baptist church, but it did not feel the same atmosphere or make the inter-personal relationships that he did at the Baptist camp. He was baptized at a Pentecostal church and became involved there for the rest of his high school there. He still felt that he had not found a place of worship that felt right to him, so he continued to study his faith on his own, which led him to explore Christian existentialism and other philosophies, along with Bible study. By the time Misha arrived at the University of Michigan, he was still looking for a more defined religious identity and a community of Christian peers that he could develop meaningful relationships. Very soon into his freshman year, he became an active member of Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU).
Two Communities Make a Whole Experience
CRU became Misha’s religious output while he continued to experiment with the many denominations in the Ann Arbor area, for he was able to participate in weekly Bible studies with other Christians. Having not bonded well with Christian peers in high school and often feeling on his own, Misha took great comfort in the supportive environment of CRU. After his freshman year, he went on a CRU sponsored mission to the Ukraine, where he practiced Russian and communicated the teachings of Jesus that inspired him to people with a similar history as him, and went through “big change in maturity.” (Misha: 2006) He was discipled by an older CRU member who became his mentor, and is currently a Bible study leader for the organization, as well as the webmaster. He plans to continue his involvement in CRU while studying to be a doctor and beyond.
When asked how CRU has changed his life, Misha reflects on the spiritual and social benefits that he has gained from his involvement in the organization. While he has a deepen “understanding of Jesus and his teachings” thanks to CRU, he also developed close friends within the Christian community, along with learning how to organize events, gain more people skills, and get a message across “in a friendly way.” (Misha: 2006) People skills development is a common trait found in religious organizations, especially those driven by evangelism, because they teach their members how to communicate in order to spread the word of Christ and conduct group meetings. Timothy Steigenga observed an increase in self-confidence and leadership and organizational ability in those who participated in voluntary, predominately Protestant interdenominational organizations, much like Misha and CRU. (Steigenga: 2001) Misha says that CRU made him “a strong Christian,” and by providing overlapping educational, social, and spiritual opportunities, it has also made him a stronger person. (Misha: 2006)
While CRU succeeded in providing Misha a social network and a cultural realm to further his Biblical studies, it did not—because of its limitation as a parachurch and not a distinct denomination—settle his need to find a church that fell in line with his more developed religious and social beliefs. For his first two years of college, he researched and visited a few denominations, “shopping around” for Christian organizations that supported non-violence, the main issue that would decide Misha’s religious affiliation. (Misha: 2006) As he puts it, “if they don’t (support non-violence), Jesus’ teachings don’t make sense. How can you love and kill your neighbor at the same time? You can’t.” (Misha: 2006)
Although searching for a community that identified with his beliefs, Misha also looked for some degree of structure and authority in the denomination, which became apparent when he turned down the peace-loving but freewheeling local Quaker church. The church did not have a pastor, and Misha did not relate with the informal structure of everyone sitting in a circle and saying what he saw as random things. He was most put off by the inclusiveness of atheist thought in the Quaker church. “People didn’t believe in God,” he explained in what he viewed as the flaw in their church religious logic, “you have to believe in Jesus’ divinity, they come together. If you don’t believe that Jesus was God, then a lot of his teachings would be insane or lies.” (Misha: 2006) It was this particular Quaker church’s acceptance of self-tailoring of beliefs, associated with Bellah and “Sheila-ism” that turned Misha away, realizing that his church needed to have more than non-violence at its core for him to be in intellectual agreement. (McGinn: 9/21/2006)
It was after the Quaker church that Misha went and soon identified with the Mennonite church, saying that “they (Mennonites) are a lot like hippies, but also have some tradition;” most importantly a pastor and an unified belief in God, along with the prerequisite of having non-violence at the core of their mission. (Misha: 2006) The particular congregation Misha attends does not adhere to some of the more conservative Mennonite customs, like dress codes, and has a large representation of people involved in scientific research and the University of Michigan. He has not made too many personal relations within or done too much with the church, but now feels like he has found a denomination that is in sync to the intellectual orientation of his religious conversion, and plans to get more involved and know more people within the church. The socially-charged sermons and an environment conducive to intellectual discussion have only helped to further the connections Misha has made between the Bible and living a righteous life, from leading him to pursue medicine as a way to heal and evangelize to buying local food as a way to live a simple life that Jesus preached.
These two communities of faith are not at odds with each other, but create a harmony of belief, support, and identity for Misha. Together, the Mennonite church and CRU covering many of the transcultural elements of religion, with the Mennonite theology supporting and enriching the message of Christ and covering the characteristic of “meaning.” (McGinn: 9/7/2006) But before Misha arrived at choosing to become a Mennonite, he had a deep understanding of the meaning of the Bible and Jesus influenced by personal pursuit and Bible study with multiple spiritual communities, including the Baptist Russian camp and CRU. Misha’s transformation—noticed immediately by those who were closest to him when he was sixteen years old—came from the acceptance or encounter with Jesus’ teachings at the beginning of what would be Misha’s ongoing “relationship with God.” (Misha: 2006) Heirich’s “encounter” and “transformation” aspects did not come from CRU or the Mennonite church, but Misha’s exposure to Jesus by means of the religious environment and structure of the summer camp. (McGinn: 9/7/2006)
Misha’s religious journey, while intellectually-rooted, has also been fueled by the need to find another aspect of the religious experience—relationships in based in a sacred commonality. This is where CRU fills this role in Misha’s life, having provided a spiritual community throughout his college years where he had none as a child and weak and unsupportive as an adolescent and beginning Christian. As Misha becomes more involved and integrated in the Mennonite church, he hopes to develop relationships on the same level as those he has made at CRU, but does not see any potential social problems between the two religious communities. He plans to find spiritual fulfillment from both entities, each contributing their religious, social, and personal dynamic to his overall experience as a Mennonite-identified Christian.
Conversion and Experience
Starting with his initial conversion to become “a pupil of Jesus’ teachings,” Misha’s religious experience has been one of intellectual pursuit for truth and community. (Misha: 2006) How the two intersect and inspire each other confirm sociology of religion principles on conversion, and what defines the religious experience. Misha’s story shows that conversion can be a moment of change and part of a larger experiment of searching, that relationships and community can be both religiously and personally enriching and a sustainable spiritual support—especially for the individual looking for the perfect denominational fit. As Misha becomes more socially aware and active from his membership in the pacifist-orientated Mennonite Church, he will continue to be driven by a relationship in God, which he describes as “the closer two people are, the more similar the two people become,” and from that, he hopes he “will continually grow more Christ-like.” (Misha: 2006) Believing that love, non-violence, and social consciousness are the keys to living as Jesus preached, Misha will continue to grow religiously and reach out—within the Christian community and larger society.
Works Cited
Demerath, N.J. III, Presidential Address: Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Department of Sociology: University of Massachusetts: Amherst, MA. 6 Nov 1999.
McGinn, Terence. Lecture Material from Sociology/Religion 455.001. Fall, 2006.
Misha. Interview (In person) 18 Sept. 2006.
Steigenga, Timothy J. The Politics of the Spirit: the Political Implications of Pentecostalized Religion in Costa Rica and Guatemala. Lexington Books: 2001.
My biography by Dana ChristensenThis entry was originally published at Interconnectedness by Mikhail (Misha) Lomize
