Religion without commitment

I was pondering a topic to blog about today, and I started thinking about the many people who consider themselves a certain religion yet rarely worship if at all. I think it's true with most religions that there are are more orthodox believers and also some bordering on secular. Often times these people don't get along, with especial bad feelings coming from the hard-core followers. So many sects can arrise from different religions, I think the root of unrest and war between religions stems from this more than other causes.
For example, the Bahai had different views than the rest of Islam but they were still very close to the orgin. Islamics however persecuted them more than other religions more distanced from their own beliefs. The Christians who wrote about meeting with the Bahai's were shocked by their knowledge of christianity, yet since they still considered them a different religion, they had more apathy towards their following of some of their beliefs.

Founding a New Religion

What are the elements that go into forming a new religion? Is it a sudden change or a long process? What is the relationship with past religions? What is the importance of a founder?

To form a new religion there must be a need for one. If the people are satisfied with their current religion, why would they convert to a new one? I think many of the Bahai's were unhappy with some of the violent ideas floating around in the Babi, and previously the Islam faith. Bahaullah advocated peace and brought with him wisdom that could solve all problems. Those Babi's put their faith in him. Whether it is a quick or sudden change depends on perspective. In the case of the Bahai's and most other religions formed from old one's(i.e.-christianity), the change occured relatively quickly, but not overnight. It takes time to gather followers, and most aren't converted overnight (except Bahaullah, who became a Babi after reading a letter--did anyone else find this weird?). The relationship with past religions is usually at least at the start, rocky. The new religion is moving forward in a way that the old religion is not ready to accept. Its like on the circle diagram we discussed in class, except instead of a single religion forms, an entirely new one sprouts off of the old. I think, sometimes more or less, the old religion will accept the validity of the new religion. The Importance of the founder cannot be understated. This is the person who reloutionizes the the old religion, completely changing the status quo. They are often worshiped or idolized. Without the founder, the new religion would never even come to be.

An Individual Religion?

I was talking to my friend earlier today who is in the Gender in Music class and he was reading an article that, summed up, pretty much said that without religion. human beings have no free will. I'm not here to discuss free will, because I probably couldn't make a good argument or much less come to a conclusion on the matter. But this did get me thinking on why free will or individuality could be applied when religion is involved. Maybe I should've read the article in question, but it seems to me that religion does quite the opposite of imposing a sense of individuality. People who are in most religions identify with that group of people that believe in the same things they do. By doing that they start trusting what their pastor says, because he has always had the right things to say to them before. While I wont go as far to say that religious people are drones (they certainly aren't), I think a certain amount of individuality is lost when put in a group such as a religious one.
Of course a lot of religious people may have slightly or even dramatically different views and still be in the same religion. Perhaps the general moral code instilled by the religious group would cause free will, but the fact that the group shares and is taught this moral code, can that be called free will at all? Religion brings people together, it does help individuals, but those people are ultimately part of a larger group.

Boboshanti

The video I watched for this blog on the boboshanti rastafari people gave a different impression of Rastifari than what I had previously thought. In the video, the people lead very simple lives sometimes with not running water or electricity. They pray 3 times a day even rising at 3 am to do so. The more mainstream view of Rastafarians is in my opinion, much less related to faith, and more anti-establishment culture. Bob Marley, is an example of someone who is Rastafarian yet leads quite a different life from the Boboshanti. If someone had described their habits to me without saying they were Rastafari, I would have thought that a more radical religion than rastafarian. But, with all religions there are fundamentalists, radicals, occasional believers ('easter and christmas christians'). Each sect of rastas believe in different things, though mostly their fundamental concepts are the same. The Boboshanti wore turbans, prayed more and observed the sabbath. More mainstream rastas do not follow these practices yet both are labeled Rastafarian. All sects of Rastafarians try to isolate themselves from the Babylon that is Jamaica, but the Boboshanti do it more radically by physically making their homes and towns farther away from civilization.

Am I offending you?

Something that I have been noticing about my blogs thus far is my fear of offending someone reading them. Since religion is one of the magic three that you must never talk about (the other two being politics and money) I thought it would be an interesting topic to discuss here.
It's true an innocent conversation can lead quickly to a heated discussion, argument or even war. This is most prone to happen when two parties are discussing religion. Offending someone on the religious level usually entails disrespecting another persons beliefs, albeit the original intention. Often the reason for offense is just ignorance. I know I've done it before. Being raised in a secular household has meant that all my knowledge of the bible comes from 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat' and 'Godspell' (My family likes musicals). After learning the hard way, I know avoid all talk of anything that could be remotely offensive, or at least, I try to. I certainly believe in respecting all religions and beliefs, but sometimes I think a theological debate could be educational and fun. I know I'm not prepared for it now, a certain level of religious knowledge would have to be attained first. But in an increasingly politically correct world, could the language barriers ever be broken down enough to have an honest discussion about religion with someone who doesn't hold the same views?

Kebra Negast

After reading the text given on Moodle I definitely see Ethiopia as a more significant country than I did before. I'll be honest, before this when I thought of Ethiopia I thought of Sally Struthers talking about starving children. Yea, I know its terribly ignorant and 'American' of me, but its seriously what I thought of. Anyways, it's changed now, and not just from the reading but also the slide show we saw in class.

Ethiopia plays a large role in Christian and Jewish faiths. The fact that their line of kings descended from king Solomon gives a lot of strength to their country. While Jerusalem is often gone to on pilgrimages, not going to Ethiopia is like only understanding part of one's religion. So this story gives a lot of significance not only to Jews and Christians around the world, it also gives an identity to the peoples of Ethiopia.

Conceptual Blending

The article on conceptual blending detailed an interesting feature of the human mind. I think this concept could be used quite easily when contemplating religion. But first, a quick example of conceptual blending.

Its very easy to blend two unrelated ideas or events. The article first uses the example of a boat race occurring in two different times. A modern boat was trying to beat a boat that made the same journey a hundred years previously. The excerpt used in the article made it seem like the two boats were racing each other at the same time. The blending of the two events happens almost unconsciously in human's mind.

The conceptual blending could be used in religious thought as a teaching device and also one to help interpret texts. Just as the french ski instructor in the article helped his pupil have good posture, so can a shaman or priest help teach with conceptual blending. For example: they could give metaphors for the best way to think of God as or perhaps who to act like in order to please a higher being. To assist in theological thought, conceptual blending an individual could contemplate the way in which the text they are reading helps them in their own lives. They can 'blend' the ideas in the text into themselves.

While I had never noticed how much conceptual blending I do in my thoughts, now that I am aware, it seems we are blending our world almost constantly.