Dearborn is a Town of Religious Diversity-and it’s Great!
Dearborn, MI is no doubt a very diverse town when it comes to religion. According to statistics, about 16.83% are Catholic, 0.34% are Latter-day Saints, 6.51% are another Christian faith, 0.01% are Jewish, 0.26% are an eastern faith, and 29.85% affiliates with Islam.
Most people in Dearborn respect each other’s differences and tend to get along well. “I like it because everyone is so close and mostly everyone gets along and meets new people easily,” says freshman Kristina Garcia when asked if she likes living in such a diverse community. “I think it’s interesting to be able to live in the middle of such diversity and learn about a different culture and experience people from outside countries while it’s still in my hometown,” says sophomore Stella Arsenault.
In the upcoming election for mayor, a lot of questions have been raised. What will happen when one of the Catholic nominees becomes mayor? What effect would it have on the community? “There wouldn’t be a huge argument about it with one another, and a Catholic mayor would know that not everyone has the same religion as him, and he would still respect others,” says Garcia.
Stella Arsenault personally knows both of the nominees because she grew up with their kids. “I believe that from being familiar with both candidates, the cultural diversity won’t be going anywhere and both Muslims and Catholics and everyone else will have an equal say in what’s going on in the community,” says Arsenault.
The main issue that many have with a Catholic politician is that their faith will control their decisions and actions. “I think that a leader wants what’s best for the people and we live in a free country where we can worship and believe in what we want, so I don’t think the mayor would do something to negatively affect a huge part of kys population,” says Arsenault. A Catholic mayor wouldn’t let his faith negatively affect the community.
“I think he would not let his religion get in the way with what’s going on in Dearborn in a bad way, but I think it could affect Dearborn in a positive way. Like when the Bible tells us to care for the homeless and sick, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for our community to help the poor and sick,” says Garcia. Listening to the beatitudes and other Gospel teachings and living them out could spark a good change in Dearborn.
“I also think a Catholic mayor would work around everyone’s different beliefs and it could teach everyone to be more united and connected with their neighbors. It’s what our faith teaches us to do,” says Garcia.
So if your neighbor is Jewish, or Muslim, or Methodist, you should always keep your door open and extend welcome arms. Jesus taught us to treat others the way you would treat yourself, and it would be a kind thing to be excepting of others. Therefore, to be united as a community, we should work with one another regardless of religious background.