Why Faith?

For the majority of human history each society has accepted a particular faith and made it an interregnal, if not defining, aspect of their culture.  As an agnostic I am an exception to this historical normalcy.  Because of my lack of faith, I interpret the teachings of religion as nothing more than the foundation for a homogeneous moral code. In my ethnography I will attempt to explore the culture of people who do not see religion simply as a set of social values, but as the word of God, or their gods depending upon the faith, and devote them selves entirely to those teachings and the God of religion every day. 

            The culture of devout faith consist of dozens of sub cultures of religions and sects within those religions, yet are similar in some ways because of their devout faith.  Each religion has its own particularities, but what I intend to study is not the religions themselves, but devotion to God as manifested in different religious acts. I intend to investigate this culture by doing contextual research on the particular religions, interviewing practitioners, and possibly being a participant observer at religious ceremonies. 

            Through this cultural study I intend on gaining a full understanding of why people devote them selves so fully to a religion, and once they, become devout practitioners, how the display their devotion and use it to inform their daily perspective. I hope that this process will also enlighten my skeptical perceptions of religion and gain the cultural perspective of devoutly religious peoples to inform my own perspective on American culture and my own life.