Back in 2010, you know, waaaaaaaay back, I posted major religious news each week in a blog-segment entitled “Religion on the Web.”
These posts were not the most popular posts in the world.
However, on occasion in 2011 I will be posting top religious news stories from around the web when they are obscure, weird or otherwise noteworthy and yet not widely reported on.
This week:
To clarify, it isn’t “God” per se, but YHWH, the LORD of the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Old Testament that got married back in the day. Turns out he was bunking up with Asherah all along…and if you’re familiar with the Tanakh/OT at all, you know that he was constantly blaming those Asherah poles on the people!
If speculative religious papers on YHWH’s wife and pole dancing for Jesus were not enough to scare you away from a religion then how about this little sociological tidbit?
Religion will soon be extinct in at least nine different nations across the world. Did yours make this dubious list?
For millions of Christians around the world, this week marks the beginning of Lent. With Ash Wednesday comes the advent of a spiritual season marked by humility, repentance, prayer and self-denial in remembrance of Jesus Christ’s suffering and eventual crucifixion some 2,000 years ago. Most of all, Lent prepares the Christian believer for the highlight of Jesus’ ministry on earth – the week of his passion, crucifixion and resurrection. Lenten preparation is steeped in a tradition that reaches back hundreds of years and is full of meaning for Christians throughout the world.
Throughout the season, liturgical churches are full of decorations and traditions that imbued with sacred meaning. The colors of the vestments set the tone for the services: purple for Christ’s suffering, black for his death and then white on Easter to proclaim new life. Many sermon series and devotions invoke images of Christ’s suffering and death to call to mind the extent of his passion. Believers are offered ore times to gather together for food, fellowship and worship with specially themed services on Sundays and Wednesdays for Protestant churches such as Lutherans and more celebrations of the Mass for Roman Catholics. Above all, Lent is a tactile learners dream where people get to see, touch, taste, smell and hear the passion of Christ. On Ash Wednesday believers receive ashes on their forehead and are told, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Throughout Lent, the faithful practice some form of self-denial and almsgiving (fasting). On Maundy Thursday, when Christians remember the Lord’s Last Supper (Jesus’ celebration of the Jewish Seder Meal) many pastors will wash their parishioner’s feet and preside over the Celebration of the Eucharist (aka Communion, the Lord’s Supper) where participants taste the bread and wine and hear the words of Christ at this Holy Meal as they are recorded in the New Testament. On Good Friday there are many churches that perform a Tenabrae service, a service which reads through Christ’s Passion until his death as the sanctuary gets progressively darker. Other churches stage a full Passion Play, acting out the events and character interactions leading up to Jesus’ death on the cross. Then, on Easter Sunday, Christians go all out with bright colors, full feasts and celebratory songs to celebrate the resurrection they claim brings about their salvation.
This all undergirds the fact that Lent is not a cerebral season, it’s an interactive experience.
Meaningful Christian holy seasons aside, I am one to posit that this week, many more people are headed to get iPads than ashes. For all those who remembered Ash Wednesday I would venture to say that just as many – if not more – will be headed to the white washed walls of their nearest Apple cathedral (er…I mean “store”) to recognize and celebrate iPad Friday.
Why?
In the words of Hutch Carpenter, a tech-news commentator at Cloudave.com, the “iPad is tapping into an emerging dynamic of a more interactive, tactile experience with digital technology and information. These interactions make technology less of an interface, and more of an extension of ourselves and our environment.” In other words, that which Lent does so beautifully for Christians, the iPad and its newest manifestation, the iPad 2, does for tech-users across the world.
It’s already been documented and discussed that Apple-ism is an implicit religion unto itself (read a related Ubuntu post here). If this is to be accepted, then Apple’s major release dates, such as iPad Friday (March 11, 2011), are the high holy days of the “Gospel according to Jobs.” Thousands of people will flock like pilgrims to Apple stores across the country on iPad Friday to be one of the first to get their hands on the newest and hippest relic of the age. With their new iPad 2 in hand they will experience “digital intimacy” like never before. At their fingertips will be the magical user based digital interface of a post-PC era that lets them manipulate, customize and give shape to their world. iPad 2 users will be able to create in ways previously unheard of, interact across thousands of miles in via video and voice and store information, cherish memories and entertain themselves at the touch of a finger.
Who needs the tangible-but-transcendent mystical nature of Lent when something “magical” is as immanently close as my fingertips?
Forget what some say are the fatal design flaws of both generations of iPads (lack of Adobe Flash capabilities, no USB port, low-res graphics in comparison to other tablets etc.); faithful Apple users will still clamor for the new iPad and defend it to a digital-martyr’s death in the blogosphere with unwavering and unapologetic devotion. Ignoring rational argument and the rules of logic, devoted Apple fans let faith guide them in their new found, or old and comforting, implicit religion of fidelity to products like the MacBook Pro, the iPhone 4 and iPad 2. And they are not alone. Disciples of Steve Jobs and his Apple crew find support in their faith as they confess, “I’m a Mac-user.” Saying this is just like professing, “I’m a Christian.” It is to claim a community, to be part of an historical narrative with myths, beliefs and traditions.
And why do such Apple-ites possess such undeterred faith?
Hope.
A beautiful belief that the iPad 2 is going to tangibly transform their world.
In a post-modern world where little seems to be within our reach and under our control, the iPad 2 makes the user master of their reality. No one can tell the user what she can and cannot do when an iPad is in her hands. With over 65,000 apps to choose from she can fly a plane, make her own movie, play her own music, confess her own sins, trade her own stocks, talk to her friend in Peru or write her own blog.
Lent offers the penitent believer the opportunity to remember the suffering of Jesus Christ for humanity’s sake and walk the path of suffering that eventually leads to the resurrection of life, love and hope. In the words of Linda Parriot, Lent practitioners “are invited to nothing less than a ‘transformation of the soul.’” However, while Lent is about cultivating patience and experiencing transformation partially now, but fully in the future; the iPad 2 season delivers transformation immediately and directly and customized to the individual. You don’t have to wait for this salvation baby, it’s right there in your hands…and it’s sleeker, lighter and more interactive than ever before.
There is no church authority to tell the owner how to use it, no political government that is going to take it away and nobody who can tell the faithful user to stop believing. The hope and belief is that the iPad 2 is going to renew life and give the user a hope, destiny and identity that he can create, control and use to connect. No longer does an individual have to wait for salvation or practice their faith in a church community, it’s here and it’s a tablet that allows him to take the world and shape it, transform it and give it new life through his own creative imagination and manipulation.
On March 11, 2011 thousands of people will be proclaiming and purchasing a new message of hope for the post-modern millennium when they buy their iPad 2 and begin using it. They will declare implicitly, “Who needs Lent? Who needs Jesus? Who needs the church? I have my iPad 2!” However, despite the similarities in the promises of Jesus and Jobs, the path is much different.
For the skeptic, perhaps the question is which one really delivers. For the Christian, it is whether or not they will celebrate both Ash Wednesday and iPad Friday this week. Or, an even deeper question (tongue in cheek): can they head to their Lenten services with their iPad in hand so they can use their Bible App to read about the Passion of the Christ and not feel as if they are serving two masters? To that end, I leave this to you, the readers, to tell me what you think of Lent, Apple-ism and the manifestation of post-modern salvation in the form of new technologies such as the iPad 2.
It’s time for glitz, glam, Vanity Fair specials, a little naked gold guy with a huge sword to get manhandled by some and coveted by others. It’s time for TIME to go absolutely nuts posting the top ten opening sequences, the top ten movie theme songs and the top ten weird giant movie monsters. Basically, it’s time to go nuts about some awards many of us would literally kill to get our hands on.
Whoopee!
Amidst all the glam and the style and the fashion and…oh yeah…the movies, spirituality and religion creeps in and colors the film industry with some heart, meaning, complexity and controversy. Although none of this year’s Best Film nominees are explicitly religious in theme they certainly play off the spiritual quest of humanity. For a more in-depth exploration of the spirituality of this year’s major Oscar nominees look here to a CNN Belief Blog on the topic.
With all the spirituality making its way into the movies I began to wonder about the spirituality of the movie makers. It seems all you hear about when it comes to religion in Hollywood is good ole’ easy-for-laughs-but-not-for-substance-scientoligist-Tom-Cruise
Oh yeah! Scientology!
Or maybe when it comes to religion and the stars you naturally gravitate to thoughts about so-racist/sexist/crazy-but-also-devoutly-Roman-Catholic-it-seems-to-overshadow-the-priest-sex-abuse-scandals-walking-contradiction-Mel-Gibson
There just isn't a caption for a picture like this...
But there is way more going on in Hollywood than one might think.
Here is a quick run down on the faith of some of the major hitters in Hollywood and a few of the nominees for Best Director and Best Actor in a male or female role.
Before getting into this year’s Oscar nods, I thought I would start out with every tabloids favorite couple, Brangelina. Where do they turn when life gets tough, when they are thinking about divorce for the umpteenth time or when Brad is with Jennifer or Angelina is in Africa…it turns out, nowhere.
So many kids, so many faiths...why pick one?
Brad told German magazine BILD that he doesn’t believe in God by stating, “I’m probably 20% atheist and 80% agnostic.” But what about Angelina Jolie his philanthropist wife? Surely her good-deeds come from some spiritual awakening? Apparently, Angelina’s religious position is as confusing as her relationship with her father. Asked in 2000 about her belief in God, Angelina hoped that for the people who believe in God that there is. Some Buddhists claim her because of her Khmer Buddhist tattoo (inspired by her son Maddox) and atheists claim her as well for her vague references to all religions being right/wrong. Certainly, Angelina is not Bible-toting Evangelical, but she is certainly someone on a journey without coming to a final conclusion.
What about the axe-weilding (American Psycho), crime fighting (Batman) and former crack addict boxer portraying (The Fighter) ubiquitous Hollywood favorite Christian Bale?
Batman, Patrick Bateman, Dicky Ecklund and why not Jesus?
Okay, so he’s played Jesus…but does he believe in him?
Growing up with a father connected to the local bishop Bale grew up believing that Jesus looked like Neil Diamond (according to an E! Online interview in 2000), but since then his beliefs have become murky. Christian Bale prefers to keep tight lipped about his faith, although many suspect he is still nominally Christian he has chosen to keep even diehard Bale fans in the dark. What is known is that somebody decided to start a religion called Bale-ism and get it going on Facebook. So, maybe Bale is a Bale-ist.
The Black Swan star and popular actress Natalie Portman was raised Jewish and indeed she’s stated that she wants to raise her children as Jewish. However, don’t be fooled by the lip service. Natalie Portman openly stated she neither believes in the afterlife nor practices any particular faith. In a Rolling Stone interview back in 2002 she shared, “I don’t believe in [the afterlife]. I believe this is it and I believe it’s the best way to live.” While not specifically talking about G-d, Natalie Portman effectively rules Ha Shem out of the equation by negating the afterlife and affirming the positive dimension of living as if the supernatural does not exist. We could go way down this rabbit hole, but Portman is part of the large rank-and-file of “atheist” Jews, which may seem contradictory, but is an ever growing blend of culture/philosophy/religion/secularism in the Jewish world typified by the likes of the other Oscar fags the Coen Brothers. While creating a religion of their own with “the Dude who abideth” and touching on their own Jewish roots in A Serious Man, the Coen brothers are avowedly non-religious. Ethan even went so far as to say that believing in an all-knowing and all-loving G-d is “the height of stupidity.” Although not an Oscar nominee per se, Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed in this year’s critically acclaimed film, The Social Network, and also is an example of someone still culturally Jewish, but philosophically atheist.
Zuckerberg doesn't "Like" G-d
Now, this one is a personal favorite tidbit from this article. I’ve had a man-crush on Colin Firth for years now, ever since I first saw him grace the screen as the indubitable Mr. Darcy in Sense and Sensibility.
Raised by academics in Nigeria, Britain and America and with grandparents that served as missionaries in India Colin Firth’s religious journey is an interesting one. In fact, his mother is a comparative religions professor who studies mystical religions in particular. Above it all, Firth seems to be an open-ended man who respects the religious journey of his family. However, with all that said, he is for all intensive purposes a pantheistic Western-style Hindu akin to his mother. Why is this so interesting? a) because Colin Firth is dreamy and b) because his grandparents were Congregational missionaries in India, where his mother was raised and through this influence they both actually became Western-style Hindus. What a fascinating journey!
Now, leaving the best for last, the person you are all wondering about. The actor who perplexes people with his spiritual complexity and challenges movie-watches with the depth of his emotive acting and stunning realism. Woody from the Toy Story series. Although his pull-string isn’t too telling, sources close to Woody tell me he’s sporting the red-thread bracelet of the Kabbalah. Only time will tell if this is a fad or if Woody is serious about his mystical portage through life.
There's a red wristband in my gun holster!
As you can see, it isn’t always easy to know what the makes actors’ souls tick. While we know Richard Gere and Orlando Bloom are Buddhist and it’s pretty obvious that Kirk Cameron is a full-blown Evangelical, other stars keep quite tight lipped about their faith. It kind of makes me wonder why? With all the other things they speak out about why not their faith? Maybe they should keep their mouths closed, I mean, they say enough about politics; but maybe they should speak out. With their lead, there might possibly be a better dialogue on faith in the public sphere. I mean, if Hollywood stars can be honest about their spiritual journey and share their struggles then we could too?
For now, while all the other news agencies are telling you who will win and what to watch out for on the red carpet (not to mention a few drinking games to go along with the live broadcast from the Kodak Theater) I encourage you look out for spirituality and religion at the Oscars this year. Listen for references to the spiritual side of life in movie clips, red carpet fashion, interview questions and acceptance speeches. You might be surprised by what you hear, and you may just be encouraged to find out that along with the fame of Hollywood, comes a very human struggle with faith.
It’s that time of year when everyone (and truly, I mean everyone) is putting up Top 10 lists for 2010, noting the most “intriguing people” of the year and counting down the best and worst of what was the last year of the first decade of the twenty-first century. So, with Oscar season just around the corner and awards being given to various people for momentary movie glory I thought I might toss around a few meaningless awards as well.
In the spirit of “awards season” these are the official Ubuntu Spirit Notable Religion Awards featuring the moments, events, people and positions that gave shape to the religious landscape of 2010:
Most Contentious Religious Event:
With arguments over the soul of yoga and the ubiquitous holiday hostilities it was (sadly) a tough category to win this year as religious leaders fought for first place in this category where winners are awarded for fighting (or instigating a tussle) over religion. Above all other contentious moments, one reigned supreme:
Abdul Rauf certainly did not plan for his mosque to cause such a ruckus, but it surely did. The plans, and not the actuality, of a mosque near an American Patriot’s Holy Site stirred up thousands of angry protestors, instigated responses nation-wide and pulled Islam in America into the limelight. Many are amazed that more violence and contention did not ensue and many more are overjoyed at that fact (myself included). Included in this award as a “supporting actor” you might say is Pastor Terry Jones who organized, and subsequently cancelled, a National Burn the Koran event in Florida. Contentious? Yes. Ridiculous? Yes. Saddening. Yes. This whole debacle, and its subsequent fallout, truly deserves such a dubious prize.
The various faith based groups (from Christians, to Jews to…yes, Vodun adherents) all deserve a HUGE kudos for their continued response to the devastating quake in Haiti. I was honored, and humbled, to attend a talk given by a medical doctor who responded within days of the quake by sacrificing her own time, her own funds and in the end risking her life to help. A member of a Telugu Indian Christian Fellowship here in Houston, she is just one example of the great response that came from religious groups across the world.
Most Religiously Confused Trend:
Overall, television, internet and radio are forces for good in our multi-cultural and religiously diverse world. Yet, in Ghana, it is the opinion of many that broadcasting religious revivals and a wealth of information on various faiths on the internet has got the people of Ghana religiously confused.
The most interesting part? As a rapidly developing economic sleeper in Africa, Ghana is poised to become Africa’s next big economy. While the country’s GDP is on the rise, per capita it still struggles. Religious leaders continue to confuse the economy, financial success and religion in such a way that it causes general incertitude among the common people looking for a faith to follow and a greater being to believe in as they struggle with day-to-day realities like unemployment and paying for this week’s food and supplies.
Most Intriguing Religious Moment:
This event drummed up quite a bit of conversation as well. When atheists took top honors in a Pew Forum Poll both religious adherents and stringent non-believers paid attention and discussed what the poll meant. Above all else, one thing became clear – no matter who came out in front, every demographic didn’t make a passing grade.
In a report coming out of Texas A&M University in College Station, TX researchers claim that Apple’s cultish following can only be explained by comparing it to religious devotion. The white washed walls of the Apple Store are the new sanctuaries of a tech-savvy culture and the iPhone and iPad akin to Jesus Christ (crucified, but not denied, by the media). Why is it the Best New Religion of 2010? Well, because it’s made by Apple
Most Awkward Religious Moment:
Pastor Terry Jones, who made a tense religious situation even worse back in August and September by threatening to burn Korans and copies of the Talmud at a rally in Gainesville, FL took to Tampa as the first leg in a national tour. The only problem was that an awkwardly low amount of 10 people showed up!
Maybe it’s funny, maybe it’s not.
Maybe it’s very encouraging.
At the very least, it was awkward for Pastor Jones.
Most Out-Spoken Atheist:
Rather than awarding an individual, this year I want to “honor” an emboldened association of atheists – the American Atheists.
Note, this award is not given to the most “religious” per se, but the most ridiculously religious person out there. This year, it goes to the Tea Party supporting Mormon magistrate of a New American Religion that’s reinventing God’s will for His country; none other than Glenn Beck.
Why so religulous? The guy used fear, religion and politics to celebrate America (and himself) at his popular Restoring Honor Rally on the National Mall in Washington D.C. and, get this, claimed it wasn’t religiously motivated at all! Take a few moments to watch his speech, listen to the prayers of invocation preceding the rally or read the placards held by disciples of “the Beck” and you will clearly see this event was not only religious, but religulous indeed!
Last year, the cinema was awash in explicitly spiritual movies like The Blindside, Avatar and A Serious Man. This year, although there were plenty of films out there with religious leanings and spiritual gleanings, we weren’t so spoiled for choice.
While some argue that Harry Potter’s final chapter is particularly Christian (and, I believe, there is an argument to be had here) I think the following that ole ‘arry Potter has is the most notable aspect of “religion” in the famed series and the beginning of the end (might we say, the final eschaton, or revelation?).
On top of that, although not being a prophet, me thinks Part 2 will prove a major talking point in religious circles in 2011. We shall see.
For this year, my suggestion is go watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 1 and put your religious thinking cap on to see the MANY themes that emerge and read just how fanatic people can be about Harry Potter (you can do so by checking out a related Ubuntu post “Modern Religious Pilgrimages.”).
Best Religious Book:
American Grace by Robert Putnam and David Campbell certainly rules the roost on this one. Following years of research, dialogue and deliberation Campbell and Putnam released a tome that is sure to set the stage for plenty of religious research in the years to come. For that gift alone this book deserves much laud and salutation!
Stephen Prothero from Boston University for his continual “crusade” to teach America about religion. In 2010 he taught the world religions in 140 characters or less via his Twitter feed, appeared on the Colbert Report, released a watershed book on the eight most influential world religions and why they matter entitled God is Not One and continuing to get people thinking about religion and religious events via his CNN blog and Wall Street Journal articles.
Sadly, with every game there is a loser and with all awards ceremonies there is a rotten tomato. The Ubuntu Spirit Rotten Tomato Award goes to the least viewed post from the last year:
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Gustav Niebuhr, an accomplished chronicler of religion and religious events, was honored by Religion Newswriters for his passionate position that to cover and commentate on major world events is to report on religious trends. Thank you sir for making sure that religious reporting stays at the forefront of our papers and magazines, whether they be in print or on the web!
Honorable Mentions in Religion from 2010:
There were many events, moments and individuals that gave shape to the religious landscape of 2010. It was, and continues to be in its final days, an exciting year for religion…and isn’t it always? The “honorable mentions” are too many to count. I encourage you, the Ubuntu reader, to check Ubuntu’s archives or scroll through some of the links on the blog roll to discover your own “top ten” list of religious events in 2010.
Peace to all of you, Happy New Year and see you next year!
Ubuntu will return with a reflective post on the state of religious reporting in early January!
I am hoping to read Robert Putnam and David Campbell’s new tome on American religion this winter break. In it they reveal the results of their study and their thoughts as well on the religious make-up of America and its sociological implications. The book is called American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us.
By all accounts it is GROUNDBREAKING…
GAME CHANGING…
EPIC…
and obviously capable of being described with hyperbolic CLICHES!
Runners visiting the shrine of St. Pre in Oregon, USA
I heart running. So much so that my wife was talking to a friend recently and responded to her friend’s concern for my amount of running by saying, “Yeah, it is a little crazy, but at least he is enjoying it.” I run marathons, I run 5ks, I fundraise through running. I wake up at 5am, run at midnight and dream of it in my sleep.
I heart running.
To some, running is a form of release, to others it’s simply exercise, to still others it’s a crazed form of sado-masochism and to a growing minion, running is religion.
I’ve not always been such a runner (flashbacks to a chubby childhood filled with visits to the park where my dad would coax me to run one more sprint before I collapsed in a heap of mild-adolescent obesity), but in college and following I developed a keen enjoyment of running, and at that, running long distances.
You can read back through the Ubuntu archives and peruse my journey through the Dream for Three initiative when I ran three marathons in 62 days for Team World Vision.
Like I said, I heart running.
I heart running particularly because of its somewhat ascetic dimensions. While friends and family bemoan the fact that running hurts, that legs burn, lungs contract, brows sweat (along with a myriad of other body parts) and on long runs the minutes pass by like hours and the miles like molasses in January, I and many others like me really enjoy the pentative aspects of running.
Indeed, in many ways running is the new form of religious asceticism complete with its own ascetic disciplines, literature on the spiritual benefits of running, a fellowship for running communion, running shrines, running meditative practices and encouragement to reach out with the running gospel from running prophets and priests.
The evidence is everywhere – from the newest addition of Runner’s World to Border’s bookstacks to blogs to my local running club.
Asceticism is severe self-discipline and avoidance of indulgence. Clearly, the weekend warrior is not as much of an ascetic as a full blown ultra marathoner, yet an ascetic foundation links the two together. You might compare such a spectrum of running asceticism to that of a Roman Catholic parishioner fasting from meat during Lent to a full blown solitary monk tucked away in a cave somewhere in the depths of the Egyptian desert.
Whatever form asceticism takes it always involves discipline for the sake of advancement. Typically, religious adherents use spiritual and physical disciplines, often quite austere ones at that, to grow closer to the divine and to follow a path of true religious devotion. To outside observers some of these grave disciplines seem downright strange. For example, there is the story of a Christian ascetic who one day slaps a mosquito on his shoulder. Upon realizing that this was a denial of suffering and that suffering was a part of his walk with Jesus he promptly walked down to a nearby swamp, shed his clothing and stood waist deep in the waters for several hours. Upon returning from the swamp he walked into the city and not one could recognize him because he was disfigured and swollen from the mass of mosquito bites he endured.
Intense.
An observer might react in a similar way to the story of multiple runners who compete annually in the Badwater Ultramarathon from the depths of Death Valley to the heights of the Mt. Whitney portal amidst the searingly hot temperatures of mid-July. Enduring stomach illness, sunburn, melting shoes, festering blisters, tearing muscles, hallucinations and sheer exhaustion to complete a 135-mile course that gains some 8,000 feet in elevation. All for what? A belt-buckle and a cheap certificate.
Or, is the experience much more than that?
A perusal of recollections of Badwater Ultra experiences include references to the spiritual journey, the solitude of the course and even one reference to fellow Badwater “Mystics.”
The feelings of pain that a runner experiences in training and in racing all pale in comparison to the rush of completing a race, overcoming the adversity of a run-ending cramp or struggling through salt-crusted dehydration to attain the famed and mythical “runner’s high.”
In fact that adrenaline rush and euphoric feeling known as “the runner’s high” can be said to substitute the “mystical union” that people such as Bernard of Clairveaux or Teresa of Avila have described. The “runner’s high” is a physio-chemical reality that is induced by the body’s release of endorphins during extreme conditions. It is, by all comparisons, similar to an orgasm. There is a rush of emotion, physical relaxation and an overwhelming feeling of peace and tranquility. Any survey of mystical ascetic writers would reveal just how similar a mystics “union” with the divine is to a runner’s “high.”
I personally have touched the runner’s high and felt its extreme embrace. During the 2010 LA Marathon after running the first 20 miles in 2:24 I was on the verge of total self-destruction. I had a major cramp in my right side, my legs were sore and it was getting hot outside. I had little to no compunction to want to finish that race. However, I looked at my time and realized I could possibly qualify for the Boston Marathon if I just maintained a 8-minute per mile pace. Step-by-step and breath-by-breath I pushed through the final six miles of the race and finished in 3:10:01 with 58 seconds to spare on qualifying for Boston. As I hit the finish line chills worked their way up my spine and tears flowed from my eyes. It was, and still is, the toughest physical adventure I’ve ever endured and I rode that high for a couple of hours after that momentous marathon.
Thus, one can easily see how running is the new asceticism with its focus on overcoming pain and enduring suffering for the sake of the running experience and even the mystical “runner’s high.” Beyond that, running even features as an increasingly popular form of meditation in established religious circles.
In a May 2010 feature article in Runner’s World Claire Trasegar wrote in “Transcendental Steps” how a retreat center in Colorado leads workshops and retreats on “running with the mind of meditation and yoga.” Runners are encouraged to meditate on their breath as they run, take in their surroundings and experience the transcendental steps of running meditation. The words and ideas behind such running methods are all essentially that of the traditional Buddhist monk and borrow heavily from that religion’s established ascetic tradition. While also being an example of the modern Westernization of Buddhism (particularly in its Zen manifestations) transcendental running programs such as this one also highlight how running down a path can serve as a new pathway towards religious enlightenment in our pluralistic world.
As such, running has created its own forms of fellowship and its very own religious shrines and sacred locales.
Running clubs across the world provide runners a means of fellowship quite like the local synagogue or church. Indeed, in most running clubs you can find the traditional aspects of any church: fellowship, discipleship, worship, service and outreach. Runners fellowship via regular training runs, races and social events like pub runs. They learn from local talent and invite experts to come and speak at club meetings. They admire and revere their best runners and venerate the pros who set records and win races. They volunteer at running events, raise money and organize around special needs in critical times supporting one another through conversation and comfort. Many testify to how running and running communities has a positive impact on the community and can change lives for the better. Finally, running clubs and individuals who run engage in outreach by inviting friends to “join” the group and become part of the “growing running community.” This aspect of running was even recently encouraged in the December 2010 edition of Runner’s World when an author said that some of the best part of running is getting others to run as well (she even mentioned how she would go after sluggish friends with a “missionary zeal”).
Furthermore, there are running shrines. Ultra marathon trail runner and writer Rachel Toor writes of her love affair with trail running in her op-ed piece, “Ode to Dirt.” In it she says, “Because trail running is as close to church-going as I can get. Because you do not stand still to behold the sublime, but move through it, limbs hailing and exulting all there is in the world and whatever lies beyond. Because dirt is elemental.” The free trail has become the new communion rail where the religious adherent and the divine meet in sublime encounter.
Beyond this, there are physical places where runner’s flock to behold the “awe” of a place steeped in running lore. All you have to do is mention places like Hopkington, the Oregon University Track or Tavern on the Green and runners are filled with nostalgia, excitement or a combination of the two. There are even literal running shrines like Pre’s Rock in Oregon.
Then there are the ubiquitous prophets of the religion of running. No more vocal and more outlandish than the Old Testament’s Isaiah, ultra-marathon legend and running spokesperson Dean Karnazes constantly calls on all human beings to enjoy the fullness of the human spirit and go for a run. Dean Karnazes sees running as ultimately a spiritual experience. He writes, “He [the marathoner] commands his body and mind to do the unthinkable, to endure inconceivable hardship, all in the name of accomplishing something he deems noble and worthwhile.” To this point I and many others could easily follow. Then he concludes, “The marathon is not about running; it is about salvation.” To that end Karnazes preaches the running gospel in word and deed by regularly appearing at running events across the world and engaging in physical feats of running extremism like running 10 marathons back to back in a 262 mile race or running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. The man is an animal, all for the sake of converting you, the reader, into a runner.
Here the author of this post poses with Dean Karnazes at the LA Marathon Expo
Then there is Ryan Hall who stands at the seemingly opposite end of the spectrum. While Karnazes is a professed agnostic, Hall is a devout Christian who regularly intertwines his faith and running. Although many may see Hall as Karanzes’ opposite, for both men spirituality and running are all tied up together. Hall shares, “Running has always been deeply spiritual for me. My desire is to have my training be more biblically designed…” For Hall and for many others running is more than a recreational activity, it is a path of spiritual devotion and enlightenment.
As you can read running religion often funnels into established religious traditions such as Christianity (Ryan Hall), Judaism (Running Rabbis) and Buddhism (Transcendental Running) to name a few. Yet, in the midst of this fray of religious-running syncretism there is the solitary voice of Kaj Arno, who, in 2009 announced the birth of a new religion – Runnism.
For Kaj and his followers the connections between running and spirituality are clear. Runnism is as much of a religion as Hinduism or Catholicism. Indeed, it may even be superior with its focus on expanding past borders made by human hands and human language. With that belief in mind the founder engages in an aggressive PR campaign speaking at conferences, publishing via social media and being involved in running events as a herald of the new running religion. Kaj Arno writes of runnism:
Born out of the mental peace of mind instilled by long-distance running, Runnism worships physical well-being. It starts from a simple insight: looking at running as a religion holds the promise of a happier, more energetic everyday life.Classical religions are role models for Runnism. Be it Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism or any other religion, practitioners testify of inner peace, a sense of belonging, fulfillment and a deeper meaning in life. Religion can provide consolation in times of hardship. Religion provides simple answers to some of the most pressing questions in life. From a non-believer perspective, practising a religion may pose some constraints on everyday life — dietary constraints, daily routines and other limitations. Believers are gladly willing to accept these, as they perceive the rewards to be greater than the loss.Running is no different. And that’s where Runnism comes in. Of course, Runnism isn’t a true religion, and it is compatible with any of today’s world religions, as well as with atheism. Runnists are tolerant and respectful of true religions, while at the same time approaching life with a light heart and lots of humour. Runnism is fun!
Here, nearing the end of a marathon of blogging, you, the reader, may feel like you have never read so much about running or cared about it being a religion. However, surveying running’s religious aspects and even its religious aspirations showcases a growing spiritual trend in the post-modern world. Not only is Runnism, or non-affiliated running religious paths, a form of new world religion that values a different path than what is offered in traditional religion it also displays the human desire for legalism, asceticism and struggle in the religious pursuit. Throughout religious history the ultimate suffering of death remained at the forefront of theological thought. Through religion humans attempted to make sense of death and its inherent and impending doom for all things “human.” In order to alienate death as an experience that we can integrate into our reality and foreseeably conquer we introduced suffering as a key element of the religious experience. Thus, religious asceticism became a way to mitigate the ultimate suffering of death and a mirror of that suffering all with the end goal in mind – that through this suffering there is hope and there is joy and release from all pain. Call it what you want: nirvana, beatific vision or paradise suffering on earth produces ecstasy beyond the grips of death. In the same way, modern religious running adherents seek to minimize the sting of death by highlighting how the human body and the human spirit can overcome pain and adversity to claim the prize of finishing the race, pushing limits and owning that simple little medal or belt-buckle.
At its core the religion of running, in both its formal and informal manifestations, reflects the human religious pursuit to understand death within a system that relegates it to being a minimal experience in relation to divine ecstasy. Often, asceticism served to become a recapitulation of that cosmic reality and it is no different in running religion today. To run is to overcome suffering for the sake of the prize. Thus, for many, to run is to flee from death itself.
“While popular religion writers such as [Huston] Smith see in all religions the same truth and the same virtue, new atheists such as Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins see in all religions the same idiocy and the same poison. In both cases, Godthink is ideological rather than analytical. It gestates in the dense clouds of desire rather than with a clear-eyed vision of how things are in the ground. In the case of the new atheists, it springs from the understandable desire to denounce the evil in religion. In the case of the perennialists, it begins with the equally understandable desire to praise the good in religion.”
-Stephen Prothero
Literally, I was about to come and post some thoughts about how postmodern pluralism and atheism are doing essentially the same thing in different ways when I stopped by the Twitter-verse to see what people were sharing with the world in 140 characters.
I happened upon Sprothero’s Tweet about his recent article/excerpt in the Wall Street Journal.
Stephen Prothero is a religion professor at the University of Boston and is well known for his Religions 101 Twitter class where he described each major religion in 140 characters or less. If that isn’t impressive enough, he just released a book that goes against the vast majority of enlightened theological thinking.
In his new book, God is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions that Run the World – and Why Their Differences Matter, Prothero goes after the prevailing religious perspectives that say one of two things: 1) all religions are essentially good, just different in expression or 2) all religions are essentially evil, just different in expression.
Cheers to Prof. Prothero for, what sounds like, a reasoned exposition about why this leads to religious ignorance and is dangerous for today’s society wherein religion plays such a key role. Cheers indeed.
Both postmodern religious pluralists and semi-modern New Atheists do us a large disservice by touting their a-religious or tota-religious gospels. Whereas one pronounces that “all paths lead to God” with varying expressions of the divine the other pronounces that “no paths lead to ‘god'” because there isn’t one, and the only difference is what myth you happen to put false faith in.
These opinions are tacitly equal to one another. Take for example the diagram below:
This rudimentary illustration displays both the religio-pluralist’s point of view and the New Atheist’s vision of religion. However, the thrust is in opposite directions. Whereas pluralists see Wotan, the Tao, Jesus, Krishna et. al., Allah, the Dharma and Yahweh all pointing to what we may call “God” or the “Divine” the New Atheists see the non-existent “God” or “Divine” being falsely expressed in the likes of Wotan, the Tao, Jesus etc.
Do you see what I mean?
The two seemingly rival philosophies are both tantamount to “crying wolf.” If a pluralist is to be believed then we have nothing to worry about, religions are all basically the same. The question, why do we need to investigate the claims of religious adherents, study their rituals and understand the sociological ramifications of their beliefs and practices, naturally follows. On the other hand, if a New Atheist is right then all religious are equally worthless and all deserve nothing but extinction. The same question birthed from a pluralist point of view also finds its genesis in a New Atheist’s conclusions.
And that’s a dangerous question to answer; because both the pluralist and the New Atheist would have us to believe that we don’t need to study the religions, at least not in depth or with any real conviction, because they are all either priceless or useless, depending upon your perspective.
Prothero and I both concur that religions not only should be studied, but need to be studied in order for us to best understand how to interact with one another on both a global and local scale (a “glocal” scale…maybe). The perspectives of pluralists and New Atheists may seem harmless in the classroom, but they are poison in the real world of human interaction.
With that said, the likes of Prothero and I must also be careful. We too run the risk of understating the situation when we draw quick comparisons between New Atheists and religious relativists. To automatically lump them together into one category is slippery, because to do so would mean to miss the significant subtleties of each standpoint.
The conclusion I’ve come to is that all of us (Prothero and I included) must endeavor to be diligent in our understanding of others from various religious (or a-religious) backgrounds. This means reading, listening and exploring the faith positions of other people – including New Atheists and pluralists. Effective religious teachers and those who share their faith in positive dialogue are vastly important for our various cultures to move forward on the “glocal” stage.
I try to do this to the best of my limited ability. I take joy in teaching world religions in my various “Sacred Duty” classes (in Southern California with Mt. Hope, in Palmerston North, New Zealand with St. Luke’s and now in Apache Junction, AZ with Mountain View) and kindly interacting with, listening to and sharing with people of other backgrounds (currently I converse with a Buddhist, a couple Muslims, plenty of Jews and a few Atheists on a regular basis).
By taking steps like these I think we can all take a positive step forward in religious dialogue. Views that either discount, or effectively discard, religious faith based on their similarity (whether it be a positive or negative similitude) do not help the situation. In fact, they only make it worse.
I encourage us all to hold our positions, but hold them in such a way that we can also see, and seek to understand, the perspectives of others for what they are – as distinct and as different religious expressions that are not trying to think, say or do the same thing.
Personally, this enables me to not only believe, teach and confess my Christian faith but also to research and respond in a positive light to other religions (as with my book A Sacred Duty: A Christian’s Friendly Study of World Religions).
I encourage you to keep up the dialogue. Listen first, then respond and do so with conviction!
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