America is a secular society in which religion has become marginalized. Traditio

Question

America is a secular society in which religion has become marginalized. Traditional forms of Protestant and Roman Catholic Christianity are shrinking. Adults between 18 and 24 are increasingly secular and not connected with organized religion. Yet, at the same time, most Americans seek the transcendent, turning out in large numbers for visits of the Dalai Lama or the Pope. Explain the apparent contradiction. 1. Many aspects of human behavior are ritualized. What elements of common ground do you see between the role of ritual in established religions and the public rituals in American life? In your answer, pay special attention to the role of civil religion in America. 2. Joseph Campbell suggests that the western world is moving too quickly to formulate myth. The stories that define us are increasingly formulated by large corporations, seeking to accumulate greater profit. What will the effects of this trend be on religious institutions? 3. Theodicy is the theological problem of why terrible things happen to the innocent. As the United States becomes increasingly religiously diverse and as Christianity has less of a public role in American life, what will the effect of these changes be on the ability of Americans to address this problem? 4· Sacred space is traditionally understood as the opposite of profane or everyday space and is seen as qualitatively different. Many Protestant churches have lost any connection with this part of religious experience. At the same time, as the technological revolution increasingly finds ways to 5.

Explanation / Answer

Yes, indeed America is a nation where secularism is becoming highly prevalent in the society and religion in increasingly marginalised. However, seeking for the transcendent in the given scenario may be seen interchangeably with pursuing spirituality. This essentially means that religion and spirituality are two completely different domains. Religion is a highly suggestive path, whereas spirituality is much more flexible and allows an individual to engage in a direct connection with the higher source. Visiting the Dalai Lama or Pope may be a way to a self-reminder about one’s own higher identity. Spirituality claims each individual to be having two identities, one being the lower self- the ego or sense of ‘I’, and the other which is merged with the source and that which is highly undifferentiated. If Dalai Lama’s philosophical ideas are connected to, then he envisions the same. He talks about making spirituality as a way of life without leaving the everyday comforts and spaces that we own. Traditional ideas and religions like the ones talked about in this context promote different worldview regarding this. The ideas may now be primitive, especially for the youth to connect to. Just as eras evolve and so does worldview, similarly the idea of connecting with one’s higher purpose has now changed in America over the past decades. Many aspects of human behaviour are ritualised and the same can be identified in some cultural practices in America. This includes established religions and public rituals. Talking about civil religion, its founder Bellah was interested in the integration of the society and its unification through belief systems. He found this of immense importance due to this wide variety of cultures that co-existed within their country. Civil religion is rather something that creates a sense of belonging and identity in each American’s heart by portraying it as an ‘American way of life’. It integrates both the ideals of loyalty to the country and of the faith in almighty. It is seen in various aspects of their rituals such as national anthem. They also have a belief that they have a specific common God for themselves. It works as an implicit thread connecting a diverse multicultural population that they possess. Human behaviour in this sense is ritualised since a lot of our behaviour culminates from our values and belief systems. The general orientation and philosophy to life is created by these deeply embedded belief systems which religion tends to manifest. Especially in context of America where civil religion is highly valued and profound. In the new era of modern science, mythology is often questioned and debated about. Joseph Campbell who spent most of his life writing literature and understanding various aspects of myths, found it intriguing how the face of myths was changing in the modern era. This was primarily because researchers were claiming myths to be primitive and outdated counterpart of science. However, the question of discarding the same were rejected outright since mythology remained an integrated part of understanding human behaviour, their drives, motives and cultural baggage. Since its rooted and cannot be gotten rid of, myths have been pampered with, own versions have been created and formulated according to the conveniences of present era to suit the culture, behaviour, practices and perspectives of today’s time. This indeed is a step towards driving people to their roots in order to draw inspiration from and fall back upon for their everyday struggles, dilemmas or conflicts. Theodicy refers to the philosophical question on the righteousness of the almighty that if there is a source, then why is it that people suffer? It also questions the co-existence of God and evil together. In the given scenario of America, answering the question might be a challenge given that they do have a belief system regarding a personal God or the omnipotent. Also since this problem in itself is rooted in Christianity to quite an extent, people, especially scholars may be looking at it using different lenses. As it was spoken about before, the idea of spirituality and own identity versus higher identity is now changing amidst the youth.

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