Religion

As I traveled through the Southern U.S., I couldn't help but notice the very public nature of religious (that is, Christian) life in that region.

In cafes, coffee shops, and museums, I consistently overheard people speaking ardently about their faith. And if they weren't talking about it, then they wore clothing or jewelry that proclaimed it (for example, a t-shirt that read "Invincible in Jesus").

Perhaps I've limited my exposure, but I rarely encounter such public expressions of faith on the West Coast or New England.

The Southern tendency to incorporate religion into everyday life brought back a memory from my visit to Tibet in the mid-1990s. Ordinary Tibetan people, at least at that time, would spin prayer wheels while walking down the streets, prostrate themselves publicly in front of the Jokhang Temple, and recite mantras while engaging in commerce.

In short, religion in Tibet was as public as religion in the South.

In Tibet, I was deeply affected by this public devotion but I didn't have a similar response in the South.

I'd like to think that the Tibetan Buddhists were practicing, while Southern Christians were "merely" engaging in belief.

But the distinction between practice and belief actually doesn't seem very clear. Such parsing doesn't really clarify anything - it only reveals my attachment to opposites-thinking.

So I don't have a tidy conclusion for this post - only ongoing puzzlement about my experience.

Comments

[laura]

thanks for posting this. with the current (republican) political chatter about christian based morals in our society, i have often wondered where such widespread support must exist because i don't see it here in new england either. maybe new englanders aren't as public about their faith or maybe there really is a difference. nevertheless some food for thought.

[jill i]

I recently visited a former college boyfriend who is very very ardent and active in his Christian faith. He is feeling a call to mission. My attempt to relate by telling him I respected Jesus as a teacher prompted an angry outburst from him because, he said Jesus is not just a teacher, he is the Savior! Anyway, we attended a wedding with 600 similarly ardent Christians and boy was it a culture shock for me.This was in conservative Scottsdale Arizona.Needless to say, my thought that there might be a rekindled romance were dashed as it was clear his faith and practice of Christianity did not include room for someone who did not share his beliefs as a mate. Just a riff here...

[Marcus]

If you are going to compare, it is vital that you compare like with like.

Comparing a bead-holding Tibetan gandmother with an American teenager in a Jesus t-shirt wouldn't be fair for example.

But if you compared that devout Tibetan Buddhist grandmother with her American devout Christian counterpart, then I suspect that there would be very little difference between them in terms of spiritual maturity and compassionate response.

[Moleary93]

Compared to the South and midwest, you won't find very much ardent (not to say "strident") Christianity in New England, unless you go to rural places, especially north or west of Boston. Although, you'll find a lot more if you can get by in Spanish or Portuguese. But that brand of fire-baptized religion has gone way down in popularity in this part of the world, especially since the last world war. Or was it the death of the Mathers?

As for the Tibetan/Christian comparison, there is none. While superficially it appears that both are making a public show of their religiosity, the Tibetan is not terribly interested in whether you do likewise. The Christian, on the other hand, insists that you MUST believe as he does or face eternal damnation. It is in fact a cardinal rule of his faith that he spread his message--ironically dubbed the "good news"--to you and all the rest of the benighted world. However fervent the Tibetan, he would not consign you to the flames of hell for being...oh, let's say a Hindu. Or even a Christian.

[Marcus]

"The Christian, on the other hand, insists that you MUST believe as he does or face eternal damnation."

Perhaps the difference is that I'm British and not American, but thankfully, I've yet to come across a single Christian like this.

(In fact, most Christians I've come across - including some who are my best friends, Anglicans, Catholics, and Quakers - are more respectful of differences and of other religions than many Buddhists I've met and practiced with).

Given that, I think it unfair to suggest that all Christians think the same!