Religion and Cultural Appropriation

[Ivy]

As we all know, the Catholic Church appropriated a number of pagan ideas, celebrations and practices, but they did it only to be manipulative of the pagan masses -- not out of appreciation for paganism.

[agricola]

And then there is cultural APPROPRIATION, where you take those admired events, holidays or ideas, and DECLARE OWNERSHIP of them for your own religious uses.

I sometimes attend Catholic holiday services. I'm not Catholic. However, I was raised as a Christian. And Catholics are Christians too, something many of them are very adamant about. So I wonder if they would view me as appropriating their religion or not. I'm not taking elements of Hinduism or Buddhism and trying to mix it in with my own beliefs. But it has occured to me that some might say I'm appropriating elements of Catholicism. I have not converted to Catholicism, either. I just enjoy the services.

Mixing aspects of other faiths with yours to make some kind of individual thing is syncretism. It's a sin in Judaism, by the way! I think most monotheistic faiths would view that negatively. But when you look at the 'mystical' or emotional aspects of any religious faith, you tend to find similarities.
That might actually be what the Dalai Lama was getting at - people looking for a deeper emotional experience sometimes think they already know everything about their own faith and haven't found that connection, when actually their faith DOES have that avenue, it just isn't particularly stressed or something.
Christian mysticism is actually around, it is just never brought up by more conventional denominations to any great degree - and is actively dismissed by the legalistic-minded types (e.g., the coc).

[agricola]

teresa wrote: There is a way to divorce Christianity from its roots. But it leads (IMO) to a mistaken view of God, like the idea that individuals are born cut-off from God; that God chooses to save some people and allows others to perish; that one needs to believe certain facts in order to be part of the saved; that one needs to do certain acts in order to part of the saved. I don't think this "divorced" Christianity results in any better outcome when it comes to relationship with those of other religions, and likely contributes to a worst outcome.

Sounds like you are talking about some of the Reformation groups, like Calvinism.

[Sean]

I can see the cultural appropriation argument maybe if we assume the culture created the religion or was the source of the religion. It seems to me the source of the material matters as to whether it can be misappropriated. So to me it seems, that if the source or a scripture, belief, or lineage is an external Creator God, then it seems to me that claims of "ownership" by man is unwarranted. For me, it sort of boils down to "Is it the Word of God or not?" If it is from God and all men are equal, then I don't get the ownership claim. Christians that I know have no desire to be Jews, do not want to be Jewish, do not want to study Jewish commentaries, do not hope someday to worship in a Mosaic priesthood temple in Jerusalem with physical sacrifices and ordinances.

And since Christians in fact have their own interpretation of the Word of God so they are not even trying to appropriate the Jewish understanding or beliefs about the Word of God. I see appropriation more along the lines of wanting to engage and have something that someone else has, like hey I want dreads too or hey, that batik bikini looks cool or Taco Tuesday or dress-up Halloween costumes. It is hard for me to see that Christians wanting to be totally separate, distinct, and different from the Jews as being an example of appropriation of anything. But that is me.

I don't really get the appropriation thing in general, and people being offended by it to the extent they claim. I guess I am more for liberty and freedom of the individual. I can see people being offended if all a comic did was a drunk Indian act, but all the stuff about clothing, food, language, etc...I just don't get it. IMO, if somebody wants to go with dreadlocks and it makes them happy, then I am all for people deciding their own path and doing whatever they like. I am for freedom. I take a dim view of groups building walls and borders around everything and making others stay away.

[agricola]

For an analogy -

a white guy with dreadlocks can be simply expressing an admiration for the style - that's appreciation.

a white guy with dreadlocks who claims that dreadlocks were REALLY invented by the Vikings - that's appropriation.

[Sean]

For an analogy -

a white guy with dreadlocks can be simply expressing an admiration for the style - that's appreciation.

a white guy with dreadlocks who claims that dreadlocks were REALLY invented by the Vikings - that's appropriation.

[faithfyl]

Mixing aspects of other faiths with yours to make some kind of individual thing is syncretism. It's a sin in Judaism, by the way! I think most monotheistic faiths would view that negatively. But when you look at the 'mystical' or emotional aspects of any religious faith, you tend to find similarities..

The only issue is that Catholics claim to be a Christian faith, too. Not "a different faith" from the rest of Christianity. In fact many Catholics are deeply offended if someone thinks they are not Christian. So I'm not sure if I'm mixing in a "different faith" with my own Presbyterian faith.

[Ivy]

For an analogy -

a white guy with dreadlocks can be simply expressing an admiration for the style - that's appreciation.

a white guy with dreadlocks who claims that dreadlocks were REALLY invented by the Vikings - that's appropriation.

The Vikings on that show look really good with those dreads. I'm just saying.

[Ivy]

Agri, I think I must be tending toward syncretism. Thankfully, from what you tell us, the Jews don't think I'm going to hell for it, since y'all don't believe in one, right?

[Cootie Brown]

I can see the cultural appropriation argument maybe if we assume the culture created the religion or was the source of the religion.

I believe many historians would say the evidence indicates that is exactly how religions were and are created. Therefore, I agree with you Sean, at least I agree with that particular statement in your referenced post. That is not to say that one cultures religion may not also influence other cultures religions. History indicates that is rather common. Judaism and Christianity being an obvious example. Mormonism and Christianity being another example.