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| Young Mormon missionaries after my heart - playing music! (Yup, yup...that's a ukulele in the hands of the one on the right!) |
Today
is Day Six of Week Five of the Omer. That is Thirty-four Days of the
Omer. The Theme continues to be Happiness.
Now that Lag Ba-Omer is past, we’re on
the final stretch of the period of the Counting of the Omer. I’m still writing about Happiness. Starting tonight and for the next few days, I’d
like to write about the connection between Happiness and religion. Of course I’m writing from a Jewish
perspective, but I’m also writing from the assumption that much of what I’ll
say can be applied to most religions. My
thesis, in brief, is that religion is another tool to reach for as we strive to
attain Happiness. And it’s a very good
tool, with a track record of helping people find happiness.
Much of the world acts as if the
opposite were true; they run from religion as if it were a force endeavouring
to rob them of whatever Happiness they might already possess. Some of that attitude is justified, whilst
some is illogical. Allow me to explain.
There is no question that religious
people, as a whole, are not immune to bad behaviour. I need not offer specifics, but everybody can
recount at least some of the scandals that have been perpetrated by the
purveyors of religion. There are more
than a handful of clergy, not to mention religiously-devout lay people in
prisons – and probably many more who belong in prison but because of the
silence that protects them in religious circles, are living free. That level of scoundrel aside, every
religious person seems to have at least one story from their personal
experience, of religious people behaving badly, specifically within the
framework of religious institutions. As
I like to say: Religion brings out
the best and the worst in people.
And that’s very unfortunate.
The first part of the equation, bring out the best, is certainly
expected. But when I admit that it also
brings out the worst in some, I have no pleasure in acknowledging it. And I get no schadenfreude when I
learn that representatives of other people’s religions behave badly. It is extremely unfortunate that people
cannot point to religious people in general and say: I want to be like them.
So many people who avoid religion
altogether, point to these badly-behaving religious people as their reason for
distancing themselves. And as I said
above, on one level I cannot blame them.
If religion cannot bring out the best in people whilst leaving aside the
worst – then one can easily make a case for not needing it.
But here’s the irrational side of the
argument; one simply cannot make the case that non-religious people are less
likely to behave badly. So, iff religion
in general or one particular religion is teaching things that resonate with
you, by avoiding religious people you’re not any more likely to avoid bad behaviour. The best that can be said, is that you will
avoid getting embroiled in the organisational squabbles that unfortunately
abound in religious life. But guess
what? Such squabbles abound just as much
in organisational life that has nothing to do with religion. So the only way to avoid them altogether, is
to eschew organisations altogether. Some
people do, but others find no substitute for organisations for finding people
with interests similar to their own.
So the worst that can be said of
religion, is that it does not seem to succeed in overcoming some peoples’
tendency to treat one another poorly.
That any given religious group does not somehow inspire all its
members to behave according to certain norms.
Maybe I can explain at least some of that. And look, I’m not giving religion a pass, but
I do think some context is important.
Religious communities, and I think
this is across-the-board for all religions represented in our society, struggle
to package themselves in a way that makes them seem relevant to the younger
generations, in particular the millennials, for whom religious affiliation is
simply not a given. So really all
religions, or at least certain sectors in each religion, have deliberately
lowered the bar with regards to what they expect of their members. I certainly see it in Judaism of the Reform/Progressive
type. In truth, I also see it in at
least parts of the Orthodox community as well.
Some days it seems that the entire religious establishment is struggling
to make attendance and belonging ‘less of an ordeal’ to get the millennial
generation sold on making religion part of their lives. In our congregations, we clergy are told in
no uncertain terms: Don’t challenge
us. Make us feel good. And yet, just getting people in the door is a
very big challenge.
But here’s the paradox – or perhaps,
it isn’t really a paradox. The
specific religions that require the most of their members, that set the bar
high, are the ones that are thriving. The
example that most readily comes to mind is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter
Day Saints, AKA the Mormons. Of all the
Christian, or nominally Christian sects, the Mormons probably expect the most
discipline from their members: in terms
of lifestyle and volunteering in the church and creating strong homes. They teach abstinence not only from alcohol
and drugs, but from coffee and other caffeinated drinks, for goodness’
sake! And a preponderance of their
children give themselves to a two-year stint as a missionary for the church,
putting any other ambitions on hold. And
there are no professional clergy and other church functionaries; everything is
done by educated lay people, who still have to earn a living and raise their
kids. One would think that people would
avoid the Mormon Church like the plague as being too difficult a walk – but it’s
one of the fastest-growing religious denominations, bar none.
Other religious sects that require the
most of their adherents are also flourishing at a time when more and more
people have little time for religion.
For example, in Judaism we were once ready to offer a funeral service for
Orthodox Judaism. But now it is the only Jewish sector that is experiencing
growth. And the sectors within Orthodox
Judaism that are growing are – you guessed it, those advocating the most intensive
regimen of various disciplines.
It’s probably easy to dismiss all
this. Some people just need
structure. Give them a complex set of
requirements, and they’ll find meaning in all the rules. But to dismiss the most challenging
religious sects as experiencing success simply because they provide direction
in a world that general lacks standards, really misses the point. These religions succeed in energising
their memberships, because we all really get it, at a gut level, that life was ‘t
meant to be easy. So, in selling a religious
path as ‘easy,’ we religious leaders are simply setting ourselves up to be
thought of as not serious. Those seeking
a serious encounter with G-d, are going to look elsewhere. I’ve seen this time and again.
But, assuming that all this is true,
what does that have to do with Happiness?
Well, Dear Reader, you’ll have to stay tuned for me to make the
case. But trust me, I will!
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