Religious Propaganda Too Successful for Its Own Aims

I recently posted the results of a Yesha Council poll and then this academic paper flitted across my screen:

While not all settlers, or ‘colonists’ as they are called in European newspapers, were religious (and this is a generalization, of course; There are many shades of observant groups in Israel, from light to ultra-orthodox, not to mention ‘secular’ sympathizers), the overwhelming majority was and still is.

The results of that poll were:

National - Religious: 34%
Hareidi - 32%
Secular - 34%

The study from which I culled that above excerpt, which deals with the Gaza expulsion: "Religion and Politics as Passive-Aggressive Partners: Some Reflections on the Israeli Withdrawal from the Gaza Strip", 8/2005 by Athalya Brenner, University of Amsterdam (now of Tel Aviv U.), also had this observation:

[I] expected to see how religious propaganda worked to convince—or to create conflict and disparity. This indeed happened, but on a scale smaller that anticipated. Paradoxically, the faith objects and concepts that were used in this largely performative event—performative, since the news media was ever present—achieved the opposite effect. Somehow, the use of religious symbols acted as conflict-resolving, rather than conflict-creating, agent. In that sense, it created [secular] public sympathy for the evacuees but failed to mobilize that public on their behalf and, therefore, no fatal rift occurred. In other words, religious propaganda in this instance should be evaluated as too successful for its own aims.

Her conclusion is even more direct:

Many voices in Israel and beyond proclaimed, at that time, that the degree to which the army and police forces were trained to deal with possible scenarios, their tactics and
superior power and numbers, was the main factor that facilitated the quick and successful evacuation...I believe the ultimate reason lies precisely in the fact that ‘A Jew can expel a Jew’ from the Jew’s home [to put the settlers’ slogan on its head], but—at least in this round—‘A Jew cannot kill a Jew’ for being expelled, certainly not in front of media cameras (the performative element), almost certainly because of the ‘Love thy neighbour/We are all one nation/Think of the Torah’ slogans (ideological elements) that united both sides well, to the chagrin of the slogans’ inventors.

For the settlers, the commonalities of shared [real or manufactured] memories and symbols proved to be a Trojan horse; for the ‘others’, non-religious Israelis, including most of the evacuators, the reminders of such commonalities assisted in checking potential violence against the settlers’ civic and more radical resistance, and in recognizing their very real pain of leaving their homes. Let me emphasize: that commonalities might eventually override differences in any conflict, including a civic conflict in which one side claims to have divine support, hardly needs further substantiation by the present instance. After all, techniques of [peaceful] conflict resolution will always seek common ground to base a solution on. What I found so interesting in the pullout case was the manner in which the technique worked so well that it achieved the opposite of what its initiators targeted. So game and match was won by the Israeli State this time. Religious/biblical symbols were recognized as shared, but ‘identity’ was ultimately resolved by being equated with obedience, or at least only a limited physical struggle with, the State. The stated overruled the Torah in this round.

I think this possesses much food for thought as regards the continuing hullabaloo over the "hilltop" youth phenomenon, that they are extreming themselves out of the mainstream, not only of those who are secular but of those among whom they live.

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Democratic and Less-than-Secular

The motto "In God We Trust" reaffirmed.

In America.

Israel still strictly non-religious.

The House of Representatives voted this week on a resolution “reaffirming ‘In God We Trust’ as the official motto of the United States.” It went through a speeded-up process and passed 396 to 9, with all but one of the no votes coming from Democrats; two members voted “present.” The Senate had passed a similar measure in 2006 when Republicans controlled that chamber.

Imagine if we attempted legislation here on that theme. Last time was over 60 years ago in the dispute over mentioning the divinity in Israel's Declaration of Independence.

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Any Jews In The Neighborhood?

Came across this item:-

Interfaith harmony has become a key to world peace and stability in this era of globalisation, researchers, academicians and students said on Monday.  At the opening session of a conference on "Harmony among Faiths: Highlighting Common Grounds and Respecting Differences", organised by the Hashemite University (HU) yesterday, participants noted that achieving a state of complete harmony among the major faiths has become an essential ingredient of peaceful coexistence in today’s world...

If one talks about "interfaith harmony key to world peace", one should assure that all faiths are represented not only in the hall but in the genral area in your city or country. That way, it sounds a more genuine message.

In this excerpt,

Noting that the Kingdom adopted "peaceful co-existence among faiths" since its establishment, Amin Maaytah, a researcher at Mutah University, said: "Muslims and Christians in Jordan live in harmony with no tensions whatsoever." He cited as an example the village of Ader in Karak Governorate. "Mosques in Ader have been built and rehabilitated by Christian engineers," Maaytah said, adding that "one of the most prominent imams in the village has a Christian mother".

I think Jews are missing? Are Jews not of faith? Are they not in Jordan? If not, why not? Should they be in...Israel?

And check out EOZ's post here.

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That Non-Denominational Tradition

From a NYTimes wedding announcement:-

a nondenominational ceremony that draws from Episcopal and Presbyterian traditions

Words of Wisdom

One of the problems of living in a secular society is the lack of any generalized conception of evil.



James Sharpe

So, Religion Isn't All That Bad

Found an article which postulates that:

Benjamin Constant’s...unpublished lectures on ancient religion...suggest that
Constant’s commitment to modern liberty was based in part on his deep anxieties
about religious freedom, and that he valued religious freedom because he thought
the "religious sentiment" was an important manifestation of a natural human
capacity for self-development. In putting religion and self-development at the
heart of his vision, he tried to show that modern liberty could have a positive
moral or spiritual purpose beyond merely assuring people freedom from
interference in the pursuit of their interests.

He Has No Orthodox Jews in His Constinuency?

In the UK Telegraph:

When Jim Fitzpatrick MP and his wife decided to leave a Muslim wedding party after they discovered it was segregated by sex, he did not anticipate the controversy his decision would generate.

Has he not been at an Orthodox Jewish wedding?

And read this by India Knight: "It’s interesting, the segregation of the sexes. It seems incredibly old-fashioned, but we do it all the time".

But wait, there is something sinister developing among the female sax in Gt. Britain:

Under the rules, swimmers – including non-Muslims – are barred from entering the pool in normal swimming attire.

Instead they are told that they must comply with the "modest" code of dress required by Islamic custom, with women covered from the neck to the ankles and men, who swim separately, covered from the navel to the knees (pics).

The phenomenon runs counter to developments in France, where last week a woman was evicted from a public pool for wearing a burkini – the headscarf, tunic and trouser outfit which allows Muslim women to preserve their modesty in the water.

Religion, The Tribe, Roman Catholic, Almost Jewish

About a decade ago, moved by a convergence of my longstanding fascination with religion and a time of great personal loss, I embarked on a search for a church and wound up a born-again Catholic. It was not a straight or untroubled path, guided as it was by both my attraction to and enmity for the Roman Catholic Church into which I was born and baptized.

Growing up Irish Catholic in New York City put me in a good position to experience the best and worst of the Church...

Roman Catholic, as it turned out, was the language my spirit already knew. Burning hyssop and frankincense, the stark and heart-charging splendor of Gregorian chant, Marian devotion; the iconography, the Latin Agnus Dei and Litany of the Saints, the Angelus bells, the rapture at the crux of Catholic worship have always held fierce sway with me.

As I started to experiment with religious observance, I quickly developed a sense of what I did and did not want...I am Catholic under protest and I’m in good company. The long tradition of radical thinking is alive and well in my Church...The power of the Church may rest with the College of Cardinals, but its glory rests with people like me.

Once I accepted that being Roman Catholic did not require that I be a papist — once I understood that it was possible to be simultaneously outraged by and in love with the Church — I saw the obstacles to being a practicing Catholic in a new way.

I certainly do not see religion as essential to an ethical, spiritually rich life. I am married to an agnostic Jew and I educate our three children in two faiths, teaching them to pray, modeling what practicing a religion authentically looks like.

...My practice of Catholicism inspired me to step up my efforts to educate my children about Jewish Sabbath observance and Torah, for example. When I light the candles on Friday nights, I do not do so as Jew, but I don’t exactly do so as a Christian either. I do it as the mother of children of the tribe, and when I do so, I enter this ritual fully, as a soul rising to the occasion of something more infinite that the sum of all our ritualistic parts — I stretch — a soul reaching to touch the hem of the garment of the Divine...

That was from Michele Madigan Somerville. Her Web site is Fresh Poetry Daily.

Religion Swapping

This survey:

The United States is a nation of religious drifters, with about half of adults switching faith affiliation at least once during their lives, according to a new survey.

The reasons behind the swap depend greatly on whether one grows up kneeling at Roman Catholic Mass, praying in a Protestant pew or occupied with nonreligious pursuits, according to a report issued Monday by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

While Catholics are more likely to leave the church because they stopped believing its teachings, many Protestants are driven to trade one Protestant denomination or affiliation for another because of changed life circumstances, the survey found.

The ranks of those unaffiliated with any religion, meanwhile, are growing not so much because of a lack of religious belief but because of disenchantment with religious leaders and institutions.

The report estimates that between 47 percent and 59 percent of U.S. adults have changed affiliation at least once. Most described just gradually drifting away from their childhood faith.

"This shows a sort of religion a la carte and how pervasive it is," said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion. "In some ways, it's an indictment of organized Christianity. It suggests there's a big open door for newcomers, but a wide back door where people are leaving."

The report, "Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S.," sought to answer questions about widespread religion-changing identified in a 2007 Pew survey of 35,000 Americans.

is useless for anything to odo with Jews, or converts to Judaism - an important element in the declared 'success' of Reform Judaism - for this reason, footnote #2:

2 The survey excludes respondents from the following religious traditions as defined in the 2007 Landscape Survey: "other Christian," "other world religions" and "other faiths." It also excludes "converts" within the ranks of the unaffiliated (e.g., those who were raised atheist and are now agnostic, or those who were raised agnostic and are now nothing in particular), as well as those who gave an ambiguous current or childhood religion in the original survey.

From a Book Review

Here:

The revised prayer for the Jews, incidentally, is translated thus:

"Let us pray, and also for the Jews. May our God and Lord enlighten their hearts, so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, saviour of all men."

I can see that Jewish people might [might?] not like those words - but that's because they believe that Jesus was not the Messiah. As for Christians who are offended by it, well, that's their problem.

Why should it be a "problem"? Can't persons of religious faith not appreciate having a believer of another faith trying to persuade them to reject their current belief? This is not a simple insurance policy that one agent pushes into the territory of another, or a fashion store advertising more (or less) garish apparel.

Oh, the book is the new Roman Catholic Missal.

Polish clergy seem to prefer celebrate over celibate

Remember my 'celibate/celebrate' joke (here)?

Well, the Polish clergy have taken it seriously:

Majority of Poland's Catholic priests 'want end to celibacy'

A survey of Poland's Catholic priests has shown that a majority favour an end to celibacy, with some admitting they are already in a relationship with a woman.

The research has dealt a blow to the country's reputation as a champion of traditional Roman Catholic values.

A survey of over 800 priests carried out by Professor Josef Baniak, a sociologist specialising in religious affairs, found that 53 per cent would like to have a wife, while 12 per cent admitted that they were involved in a relationship. A further 30 per cent said that they had had a sexual relationship with a woman.

Prof Baniak concluded from earlier reasearch that the desire to have a relationship and a family was one of the key reasons for priests leaving the priesthood.

His latest research echoes an earlier survey carried out by the Tygodnik Powszechny newspaper. The conservative publication, aimed at Catholic intellectuals, found that as many as 60 per cent of priests wanted the right to marry.

Professor Baniak's survey, however, has come under fire from the Church. Bishop Wojciech Polak, chairman of the Church's Vocations Council, described it as "full of generalisations", adding that he found the "conclusions hard to agree with".

Sundays Are For The Gym (Not For "Faith Experience")

Politico reports:

President-elect Barack Obama has yet to attend church services since winning the White House earlier this month, a departure from the example of his two immediate predecessors. On the three Sundays since his election, Obama has instead used his free time to get in workouts at a Chicago gym.

Asked about the president-elect's decision to not attend church, a transition aide noted that the Obamas valued their faith experience in Chicago but were concerned about the impact their large retinue may have on other parishioners.

"Because they have a great deal of respect for places of worship, they do not want to draw unwelcome or inappropriate attention to a church not used to the attention their attendance would draw," said the aide.

So, religion is out, faith experience is in.

But at least, he's referring to a church.

Words of Wisdom

If religious beliefs about the dignity of human life

were illegitimate as a basis for public policy,

there would have been no abolition

or civil rights movements.

Michael Gerson
Washington Post

The Minyan at the RNC

Thanks to Pam Geller of AtlasShrugs, here's the afternoon prayer quorum at work, God's work (avodah), at the Republican National Convention.



(if you can identify anyone, leave in comments)

The Burning of Mid-Pesach Chametz

These are the posters calling on Jews to come protest the liberalization of the non-display of Chametz legislation that was eased due to a recent municipal court decision, backed by Attorney-General Menni Mazuz.







The demonstartion is set for Tuesday at 5PM at Kikar Shabbat.

So That's the Reason for a Bar-Mitzvah

I am told that the Barna Group, a prominent Christian demographic polling organization, concluded from its surveys that in essence what you believe by the time you are thirteen is what you will die believing.

Source