Closing Remarks: Broader Parallel's in Religion

Bender's article presents us with the argument "that this work demands of sociologists more than a 'descriptive' definition of religious experience. It further requires that sociologists move religious experience closer to the center of the study of religion[1]. Slightly deeper into the article we have James define what is meant by religious experience. "Religious experience is the feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men in their solitude, so far as they apprehend themselves to stand in relation to whatever they may consider the divine[2]. In many ways this is similar to the liberal movements that took place in the Untied States. Romanticism emphasized feeling, the body and more feelings of absolute dependence. Another broader concept these feelings of religious experience can be attributed to is New Thought. Under New Thought falls a practice called affirmative prayer meaning whatever you believe to be possible or ask for believing, it is yours. The public has very much shaped this tradition in the popularity of its advertisement. The book and the documentary "The Secret" is well known among Americans. It builds further on this concept that the world responds to the positive or negative energy you put out. Bender's article mentions how the realness of the event depends on your own personal belief or skepticisms taking us back to the concept of religious experience[3]. Religious experience emphasizes that experiences are felt which is similar to the ideas along with New Thought and also the individual is the person who validates their own personal experience.

Davidman's article shows us how traditions have been defined by outsiders and how Jewish people have tried to reclaim authority over their traditions. "Unsynagogued Jews provide an interesting challenge to this conceptual distinction because they indeed consider themselves to be Jewish (which they see as an ascribed, ethnic characteristic), but they also make choices about how they construct (achieve) a Jewish identity, including the choice not to join a synagogue."[4] Individuals in general do not always grasp this concept of a Jewish person being Jewish because they solely tie it to this idea of religion when in fact to be Jewish has a religious and ethnic connotation. From an outsiders point of view, to see a Jewish person not attending synagogue, not participating in some of their cultuses or abiding by their codes, it becomes more likely they will view this person to not be Jewish. Conversely from an insider's perspective (someone born Jewish), they view themselves to be Jewish regardless of their participation in certain creeds. "In the Jewish tradition, what is more important is not swearing allegiance to a specific creed but rather fulfilling particular ritual obligations, such as observing and celebrating some of the other annual holidays."[5] Therefore their validation of being Jewish is also left up to themselves regardless of outside opinion. "Unsynagogued Jews suggest that questions about everyday religion should pay attention to practice as well as belief and to the complicated intermingling of ethnicity and religion that is increasingly common among immigrant Americans."[6] That is the way Jewish people feel they should be viewed but American religiosity has already divided achievement and ascription into two separate categories that shape their views. Religion is viewed as a set of rules and practices, not paying as much mind to ethnicity.

Raboteau discussed the minority group of African Americans. Slavery was one of the driving forces forming their religious views. African Americans thought themselves to be suffering peoples in the same way Jesus had suffered for us.[7] Unlike the other traditions, African Americans were not able to validate their religious tradition. Their slave masters were the one who controlled what they were and were not able to do. This was reason for the later formation of the "Invisible Institution." Through this religion African Americans were able to create an unofficial church to come together and share time in the word and praising. By creating this institution, African Americans were able to reclaim authority over their traditions. They did not have ordained pastors or approved ceremonies but it was their own personal way of shaping some type of structured religion in their life. African Americans are huge believers in praise and worship. This dates back to the days of slaving because music and hymns played a huge role in keeping their spirits up while enduring the sorrows of slavery.

Iwamura's article broke down the stereotypes of how American's view the oriental monk. "The Oriental Monk has enjoyed a long and prominent sojourn in the realm of American popular culture. We have encountered him under different names and guises: as Mahatma Gandhi and as D. T. Suzuki; as the Vietnamese Buddhist monk consumed in flames; as the Beatles' guru, the Maharishi Mahesh; as Kung Fu's Kwai Chang Caine and as Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid; as Deepak Chopra and, as well, as the Dalai Lama."[8] America has already defined the way this culture/religion is viewed. I would argue that America has more control over the validity of this religious figure solely because of the portrayal of the oriental monk in all these different forms. Most Americans probably do not have any knowledge of its actual origins; all they know is what is being advertised through their media outlets. However, this particular religious figure has shaped American culture in the sense that the stereotyped oriental monk is portrayed in many popular films and television series. Practitioners response to Americas view is this: "Although these figures half-signify the dominant culture in racial terms, they have an ambivalent relationship with that culture; this allows each to make a break with the Western tradition radical enough to embrace their marginalized half."[9] Rather than trying to completely reconstruct popular opinion, it is recognized that Western society is partially correct in their views and hopes Americans can recognize the figures "hope of saving the West from capitalist greed, brute force, totalitarian rule, and spiritless technology."[10]

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[1] Courtney J. Bender. Everyday Religion. "Touching the Transcendent: Rethinking Religious Experience in the Sociological Study of Religion." Nancy T. Ammerman. Oxford. University Press 2007. Pp 201-215. Web. Page 203.

[2] Bender 204.

[3] Bender 209.

[4] Lynn Davidman. "The New Voluntarism and the Case of Unsynagogued Jews." Pp. 51-65. Page 52-53.

[5] Davidman 57.

[6] Davidman 65.

[7] Albert J. Raboteau. Reflections on African-American Religious History. "A Fire in the Bones." Boston, Massachusetts. Beacon Press 1995. Pp 183-196. Web.

[8] Jane Naomi Iwamura. Religion and Popular Culture in America. "The Oriental Monk In American Popular Culture." Bruce David Forbes, Jeffery H. Mahan. California. UC Press 2000. Pp 25-43. Web. Page 26.

[9] Iwamura 31-32.

[10] Iwamura 32. 

Religious Connections

"It was in the fervid stirrings of heart religion in the Great-Awakening that the crucial transition from the "Puritan" to what is sometimes called the "Methodist" or "Evangelical Age" in American religious history occurred. The Methodist Age, inaugurated in the 1730s and 40s and continuing through most of the 19th century, was a time when "vivid feelings" often took precedence over ideas, new or old, and when modes of religion spawned by the Awakening came to prevail.”[1] The broader themes that lie within the Baptist tradition and also fall into Julia's personal beliefs can be found within moralism and combination. Moralism refers to codes of conduct put forward by societal groups, for example religious groups and is accepted by an individual for his or her own behavior. Among those who use morality, all hold that it refers to a code of conduct that applies to all who can understand it and can govern their behavior by it. On the other hand combination religion is viewed as the mixing of multiple practices taken from different branches of religion. Sometimes the beliefs seem contradictory while others mend well together. There are many reasons for the combination of traditional beliefs and unrelated traditions. This occurs for many reasons such that "where multiple religious traditions exist in proximity and function actively in the culture, or when a culture is conquered, and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in entirely eradicating the old beliefs or, especially, practices.”[2]

In Herskovits's words, "the conclusion that we reach is that in Africa, as in the New World, the cultural processes that will be operative will be those of addition and synthesis to achieve congruence with older forms, rather than of subtraction and substitution, with their resulting fragmentation."[3] Historically, there has been this advocacy for the combination of different practices in order to keep old traditions along side new traditions. My friend's personal practices reflect this idea of combination. She attends a Baptist church where much of the emphasis is on evangelism. However, her practices combine with other branches of Christianity. For example, she believes in the usage of sacred images, worship, and transubstantiation used in Catholicism. She also incorporates a few of their sacraments into her practices. 

Historically, "the genealogy of syncretism (combination) directs attention to larger, governments and Churches, that can shape the evaluation, indeed the very perception, of religious mixture. These institutions are themselves capable of reversing themselves and changing the rules in order to maintain control. Likewise, New World nationalisms did not form their positive views of mixture solely on aesthetic grounds, but in subversive resistance to the colonial metropolitan arrogation of purity and out of practical need to assemble numbers."[4]

The history of "moralism has become aggressive and culture affirming. During recent decades the heirs of colonial establishment-- the Congregational, Presbyterian, and Episcopal denominations; of frontier achievement-- the Northern Baptist, Methodist, and Disciples of Christ denominations; and of continental immigration-- the Lutheran and Reformed denominations-- ironically came to be called "mainline" at precisely the moment when their place was being challenged. They had long been custodians of the cultural lore, had had access to power all the way to the White House, and had occupied a privileged status in the national ethos, although not in law.”[5]

Julia's practices of morality are all self-reflective. She makes up the rules she wants to abide by. For example, her rejection of the excessive party scene is viewed as immoral while others see this as solely having a good time. When talking to her, it is clear that she sets up these standards for herself that pressure her into living by a strict code of what appears to be old-fashioned societal views on morality and immorality. Overall, she leads a life where she strives to do well, helps those around her, and develops her own personal relationship with God. She attends a Baptist church that seems to work for her but she also combines different practices from outside religions. In many ways her beliefs are somewhat individualistic.

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[1] LeRoy Moore, Jr. “The Spiritual: Soul of Black Religion.” American Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 5 pp 658-676. (The Johns Hopkins University Press), 658-659.

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncretism

[3] Charles Stewart. “Syncretism and Its Synonyms: Reflections on Cultural Mixture.” Diacritics, Vol. 29, No. 3, pp. 40-62. (The John Hopkins University Press), 50.

[4] Stewart, 54.

[5] Martin E. Marty, “Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.” Vol. 480, Religion in America Today, pp 11-23. (Sage Publications, Inc.), 13.

Self-Practice

There are several different branches of Christianity. They range from Catholicism to Methodists to Adventists and many more. However, Julia does not fit directly into any of the branches of Christianity. Rather, she a Christian in the broader sense meaning many of her ideas of belief are deep rooted throughout the different branches. I would argue Julia expresses more self-selective practices reflecting general practices of Christianity in America. Her story includes many early Christian influences. By looking at different historical practices within the Christian community, we can better understand her experiences.

One historical practice of Christians is baptism.

"The New Testament implies that the custom of baptizing those who were converted to the Christian faith was derived from John the Baptist, but the source of his own practice is uncertain. Some scholars have argued that it was based on the ablutions of the Jewish Essene community at Qumran, but these were repeated washings related to the need for constant ritual purity and do not seem to have included an initiatory baptism. Others have suggested that John was influenced by the practice of baptizing new converts to Judaism, but there is some doubt whether this was being done in his time or whether it was only adopted at a later date. A third possibility is that it arose out of the Israelite traditions of ritual purification and/or of prophetic symbolism, which had spoken of God's people being cleansed with pure water in preparation for the advent of the messianic age."[1]

Although the origin of baptism is not clear, when further interviewed Julia mentioned it was a practice she did not necessarily agree or disagree with but she does not practice it herself. She breaks away from this early ritual in that she does not believe a pastor can hold the same weight as Jesus himself. She said her spirit has been baptized but a pastor dipping her in water would not add to or take away from the personal relationship she has with her savior.

There are different approaches to developing a personal relationship with God, which is also another common practice among Christians. One way is by engaging in song and dance. "When they become warm the beating ceases, and they begin to dance and jump, clapping their hands and shouting at the top of their voices until at length all idea of melody and metro is lost, and it becomes a riotous rather than a religious assembly."[2] "Rejoicing in the Lord is really what it is all about," said Julia. Praising has a deep-rooted past that goes as far back as Native American rituals with spirit dancing and African American music and dance. Julia follows these old traditions in a similar way by worshipping on Sunday's during service and on her own time.

One last ritual that she follows is Eucharist, which was seen with early Catholicism. It is one of their seven sacraments. Although she beliefs in the ritual of Communion, she disagrees with the manner in which Catholics receive the bread and wine. "Provide three days of prayers to be said before receiving Communion and three afterward--- it was a rare enough event that essentially dedicating and entire week to reflecting on it did not seem excessive--- and such mediations could be adapted when one was receiving the sacrament only spiritually."[3] In the manner she receives Communion, her pastor says you should never feel guilty about coming up and taking the bread and wine but with Catholicism that is much different. This shows us the change of belief over time and also the different ideologies within the branches of Christianity. With this example, the practice has the same ideas in that the bread becomes the body of Christ and the wine his blood but much different philosophies on who should and should not be able to receive it.

All of these cultuses are practiced within the Christian culture. However, some are more associated with more specific branches of Christianity, for example Catholicism or Baptism. For this reason, it is justifiable for why Julia choses to classify herself as solely a Christian instead of being more specific as to which category of Christianity describes her beliefs best and in consequence is selective in which practices she feels best suits her beliefs.

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[1] Paul F. Bradshaw, “Early Christian Worship: A Basic Introduction to Ideas and Practice” (Collegeville, Minnesota), 2.

[2] Richard Wallaschek, “Primitive Music: An Inquiry Into The Origin And Development Of Music, Songs, Instruments, Dances, And Pantomimes Of Savage Races” (London, 1893), 13.

[3] James M O’Toole, “The Faithful: A History of Catholics in America” (United States of America), 30.