OGDEN -- If Prasanna Reddy were a practicing Hindu in India she would probably follow her mother"s advice.
She wouldn"t cut her hair on a Friday, she would wear black to the temple and put her religious statue in the northeast corner of her home. She"d also be seen walking around with a pot on her head every now and then. "Can you imagine if I walked down Harrison Boulevard with a pot on my head? I"d stop traffic," she said.
Reddy was one of four panelists at Weber State University talking about their religion and how it differs here in America from their native homeland. The interfaith roundtable discussion was part of International Students Week.
Here in America Hinduism is much different, said Reddy. Members can sing the same hymns, but in a different tune. The same food is cooked, but with different spices and holidays are celebrated on the same day, but in different ways.
"Here we are free to practice the way we see fit," she said. In India the Hindu religion makes up 80 percent of the population. In Ogden there are approximately 15 Hindu families, said Reddy, and since there is no temple to attend members meet at each others" homes to sing, meditate and worship. "It"s OK though. We don"t need a temple to go to and pray. I can sit on my john and pray, for all that matters. The kingdom of heaven lies within."
For Marsha Newby, being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is much different in America than it is in her native Jamaica. "I think they modify some things over in Jamaica to fit the culture," she said. For instance, Newby said she was shocked to sit down with her bishop to go over tithing records at the end of the year. She said in Jamaica the church doesn"t do that, probably because of the poverty level.
She also said there is more pressure put on her to get married here than it would be in her country.
"I"m 28 years old and I constantly have people asking me when I"m going to get married. I feel like asking them why they have five children," she said. Also in Jamaica the church size is smaller, which makes it easier to feel the spirit during meetings, said Newby. "There are so many people in my ward. I don"t even know all of them and the children are very noisy," she said.
Senad Palislamovic is a Muslim from Bosnia. In his native
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"I only became active when I moved to America," he said. "If you went to church in Bosnia no one would hang out with you. Your religion was just something you put down on a piece of paper."
Palislamovic said practicing his faith is much easier in America because there is no peer pressure and members here have more freedom. "You have your space here in America," he said.
Francisco Gereda, from Peru, is a member of Catholic Church. He said the religion is practiced so differently in America that he actually stays home to pray and even attends a Baptist Church from time to time.
"If people here went to Peru they would be amazed at the differences. For one thing you won"t see people being baptized during mass and there is no one walking around for collections," he said.
Gereda also said in Peru people usually don"t take their children to church until they are past the age of 7.
"That"s because they aren"t going to want to be quiet. They aren"t thinking about church. They"re thinking about playing and I"ve seen the priest get really mad when a child is disruptive."
After answering questions by the audience the panelists each said they were grateful for the opportunity to explain their religious views.
"I encourage more of it and in a bigger setting with more people. I think it"s important to talk about the diversity here," Palislamovic said. "A lot of people including the media have misunderstood views regarding Islam. This gives us an opportunity to explain ourselves," he said.