Calvin Lu

Mrs. Lucarelli
Honors Senior Seminar
23 January 2017
Interview with Johnathan Vera
The interview with John was very interesting and informative, and it definitely added
meaning to the service that Bailey and I attended. We thought it would be valuable to interview
someone that held a position in the Church, but was not a priest so that we could get a more
authentic interview. While a priest would be more inclined to speak highly of his religion, a
senior volunteer could provide a more genuine interview.
Johns answers really reflected the message of acceptance that I heard during the service
that I attended. Especially with the question about atheists and agnostics, he expressed the idea
that you can believe whatever you want as long as you do not impose your beliefs or threaten
those of others. Throughout all his answers, he gave the impressed that he was very open-minded
and accepting of all people, regardless of their religious beliefs.
However, there were a few details that I noticed during the interview I found to be
particularly interesting. When asked what he thought of other religions, John only mentioned
other Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity, omitting religions such as
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. While this could have been just the religions most familiar to
him, it may also reflect the Western-dominated idea of religion in modern America. Hinduism,
though not incredibly prevalent in the United States, is the worlds third largest religion, with
more than a billion followers.
I also found the reason behind his belief in Christianity very revealing. When asked why
he personally believes in his religion, he related his faith to his belief that there had to be

somewhere for his mother to go after her death. The close relationship between death and
religion that he mentioned speaks to the origins of religion and the meaning that people find in
religion.

Q. What is your relation with and position in your religion?

A. I volunteer at my church every Sunday and assist with the proceedings of the service.

Q. What are the duties that you perform in your religion?

A. It changes a lot. Some weeks, I carry around the basket to collect donations to both the church
and the charities that the church supports. Often, I read from holy texts while Father Michael is
doing something else to help the service transition smoothly. I usually hand out pamphlets at the
end of services too.

Q. What are the central tenets of your religion?

A. I think just passing on the Lords message of peace and forgiveness. I really think forgiveness
is important to the church, forgiveness of sin. Not that everyone should go out and sin, of course,
but I think the best and most important thing about the catholic religion is that if you truly
believe in God and accept Him into your life and act upon His wishes, you will be forgiven.

Q. What are your views on the positions and operation of your religion?
A. I think that the Catholic Church gets a bad reputation nowadays.

Q. What do you think about other religions in the world?

A. I think we all need to be more understanding of each other. Judiasm, Islam, [Christianity],
these are all the same God. Just different interpretations.

Q. What are your thoughts specifically on atheists and agnostics?

A. I think that theyre wrong. (laughs) Seriously, I have no problem with anyone who believes
that way, as long as they do not try to discredit my faith. I wont try to impose my religious faith
on anyone of that belief either, but I really do hope that everyone on this Earth finds God in their
own way.

Q. What are the strongest symbols of your religion?

A. The cross. The breaking bread ceremony is very important.

Q. Why do you personally believe in your religion?

A. I suppose I like the idea of an afterlife and forgiveness of sin and progression. It makes sense
to me. Especially when my mother died, you know? There just needs to be somewhere she can
go, somewhere good hearted people like her go, when their suffering has ended. I think death and
religion are very closely related, and this is the belief that makes the most sense to me.

Q. What do you want others to know about your religion?

A. Its not as bad as what you hear. (laughs)

Q. Do you have anything that you would like to add that hasn't been covered?
A Not unless you have anything to ask.