Interfaith Means Defending the Other

Hello, friends.

A belated Happy Passover, Happy Easter, and Happy Everything to everybody. I hope all of those who celebrate had good spring holidays.

The past three weeks have been very eventful in a lot of ways. On the one hand, I had an excellent visit with my parents during my spring break, as we traveled all around Italy. We ate dinner overlooking Florence, visited the Jewish ghetto in Venice (from which the word "ghetto" actually originates), stayed directly on Lake Como, and went on a brilliant hike between two towns in Cinque Terre.

A photo of the town of Vernazza taken during our
(challenging, over-a-mountain, sunny) hike last week

But as excellent as our trip was, I could not help but feel worry and sadness as I read the news stories about the numerous, horrible antisemitic things that seemed to all be taking place over the past few weeks.

The worst of these antisemitic events took place on April 13th: a deadly shooting spree in Kansas at a Jewish community center and a Jewish retirement home by a white supremacist, with previous links to the KKK. The man, 72-year-old Frazier Glenn Cross, opened fire at the two locations, eventually killing a 14-year-old boy, the young man's grandfather, and another middle-aged woman. Apparently as he was arrested he shouted "Heil Hitler." While I've been living in Europe, I have heard non-Americans make hurtful jokes about the gross number of shootings in our country, and it is unfortunately a constant problem that has only gotten worse in the past few years. Often, though, the shootings seem to have more to do with the shooter having a mental illness--this time, it was specifically a hate crime (though perhaps combined with some mental illness). You can read more here. Ironically, none of the three individuals he murdered were Jewish; they were all Christian. Such a tragedy.

Also around the same date, it emerged that a teacher in a London school told a misbehaving teenage Jewish girl that if the girl didn't behave, the teacher was going to send her "to one of your gas chambers." This, in a supposedly progressive city, and in a school with a supposedly sizable Jewish student population. You can read a brief article on the incident here. According to the articles I've read, details on what, if any, disciplinary action has been taken against the teacher are not being released.

Another frightening thing that took place right around the same time happened as Jews in Donetsk, in Eastern Ukraine, were emerging from synagogue services on Passover, when they were met by masked individuals who handed them pamphlets explaining that they had to register with a government agency. Here is a USA Today article from April 17 explaining what went on. As Michael Salberg, director of the international affairs at the New York City-based Anti-Defamation League, is quoted in the article as saying, "Jews are the default scapegoat throughout history for despots to send a message to the general public: Don't step out of line." It was extremely frightening when the news first came out, as it harkens back to the way Nazis and their supporters gathered information about the Jewish people during World War II in order to more effectively persecute them. Not to mention the fact that the Ukraine is not too far from where I live here in Rome--this wasn't happening in some vague, far-off place I couldn't conceive of, it's happening here, in Europe. It has since emerged that this was some type of political hoax being used in the political upheaval in that region and not an actual requirement for the Jewish people of the city, though the fact that people would use antisemitic fear in order to wage political battles is disturbing at best.

I sometimes feel a bit uncomfortable and careful about how I defend Judaism in situations like these. It feels like, because I am defending my own group, it might come across as me overreacting, like I am too personally connected to the issue to see it clearly. But since I specifically research antisemitism in Europe, and keep track of it in the US, it is pretty clear that is has never gone away, and incidents like these are unfortunately not isolated but part of a larger trend. However, I do think it often comes across much more strongly when members of other groups defend groups that are being persecuted--like when my friends stick up for Judaism, or I for other groups. Here is a great quote by Eboo Patel, the founder and leader of the Interfaith Youth Core in the USA:

 

I feel a personal responsibility to defend people suffering persecution--whether that is in some big way by trying to fight discrimination on a larger scale, or in small ways by looking at my own failings. I have never cared very much what people think of me, which makes it significantly easier for me to speak up when I see something that comes across as wrong. It is not always easy, and I am not even saying that I always succeed--far from it--but I feel an absolute moral imperative to do so, whatever religious (or other) group is being abused in any way. Especially as a Jewish person, given our teachings and our history of discrimination and persecution, I rarely manage to stay quiet when someone makes comments about other groups.

Do you feel this moral responsibility? Would you speak up if someone said Muslims are horrible people? Or that Christians are filled with hatred? Or that gay people are going to hell? Or that Jews are going to hell? How would you respond? I know sometimes social protocol implies that we should hold our tongues, not raise an issue when someone says something casually that just rubs you the wrong way. But I, at least, think that their biases break social protocol and demand action on the part of others. I fear that if we let people get away with their hate speech without challenge, that these problems will just continue and escalate--as they did in Kansas and other places around the world. This is the heart of interfaith: speak up.

So please, think about what you would do if someone made a comment in front of you--because believe me, when someone from another groups defends me or anyone, it makes a big difference.

Now go out and love one another.

<3,

Allyson

 Our interfaith souvenir from Venice!

Feminism and the Bechdel Test

Hello, friends.

Over the past few months, it seems feminism has resurfaced in my life. Whether it's because many of my close girlfriends have graduated college, like me, and entered into the "real world" with all of its associated challenges (particularly for females), or because of other random coincidences in the universe, it has come to the forefront of more and more of my discussions lately. I regularly receive articles about feminism via text from different female friends, get e-mails with links to inspiring TED Talks about women from others, and have had a few exchanges about The Bechdel Test with a (very patient) male friend of mine. Since many (if not all?) religions treat men and women differently, sometimes in good ways and sometimes in bad, this topic is highly relevant in an interfaith context.

Let me establish right upfront that I am by no means what I would call a "militant" feminist. I am even almost loathe to describe myself as a "feminist" because of all the negative associations with the term because of people who take the cause too far. The exact definition of "feminism," according to Merriam-Webster, is "the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities." Not that women should dominate men...and not that men should dominate women. Equality, that's what it's supposed to all be about. There are numerous issues to discuss, so for now I will start with the Bechdel Test, and continue in later posts to look at other feminist issues and how we can use feminism in an interfaith context.

The Bechdel Test

I am a self-described lover of movies, and I love all different types--action, rom coms, mysteries, indies, etc. So when I was first introduced to the idea of the Bechdel Test, and started using this test to evaluate movies, I grew fairly disheartened about our supposedly "modern" society. This test, which grew out of one short comic strip from 1985, is a simple way to judge female presence in a film. The test in no way decides whether the film is a good one, or if it represents women in a positive light, or indeed anything beyond the simple fact of female presence in the story. The requirements for a movie to pass the Bechdel Test are: 1. That there are at least two [named] female characters 2. who talk to one another [for more than thirty seconds] 3. about something other than a man.* Easy, right? Nope.

How many romantic comedies have young women loved, cried, watched over and over again, as if the whirlwind romances will come true in real life if we just watch The Notebook one more time? If you look back at a lot of the rom coms, you might realize that the women only talk to one another about men. Superhero movies sometimes have a few "token" female characters--but they are all too often dressed in tight, revealing leather outfits, and they rarely have another female character to talk with about anything. Action films are pretty obviously male-dominated.

Here's Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow from The Avengers in extremely tight, low-cut leather. That movie has three named women, none of whom talk to one another.

 

It's distressing to think about how little representation women have in films as strong people, able to succeed in life, independently and sometimes in spite of men. Is it so much to ask that movies accurately represent the many aspects of female life, and not just the part about romantic relationships? I doubt that there are more than a handful of films that don't have men interacting with other men. Can you imagine? A film with only one guy, the movie is completely about the women, and he just talks to the women sometimes. I can tell you one thing: traditional wisdom and statistics indicate that men wouldn't go see a movie like that, but women are willing to watch films almost exclusively about men. But is that even the case? This article in The Guardian suggests that is no longer the case.

It's a sad commentary on our society if we are willing to accept this status quo as it is. Since many faiths also teach about the dignity of all human beings, shouldn't religious folks also feel the need to combat this obvious of an oversight? If Hollywood started producing more balanced films, people would see them--media plays a large role in social change. I wonder what would happen if A-list actors refused to be in movies that didn't pass the test, or if the public refused to see the movies. For those who are interested in checking out how different movies stack up, you can check out this fairly extensive Bechdel Test website (please note, the ratings are not perfect, since the website allows anyone to leave reviews, but it's a good starting point for looking at how our favorite movies fall). Fortunately enough, my favorite movie passes the test, so I will have to be content with that for now. :)

I was recently told by one of my priest-professors (who majored in performing and fine arts in college) that there is a type of unspoken rule in Hollywood that, unless the film is about religion specifically, they try to keep references to religion fairly general so that they do not inadvertently ostracize people who are not part of that particular faith. So I've been thinking about some movies with religious references, through this feminist lens.

One of the most obvious movies with a religious tilt and a favorite of mine is A Walk to Remember, a 2002 movie with Mandy Moore and Shane West. Without giving too much away, it shows how the pious daughter of a Christian minister grows close with a rebellious young man, and how he changes for the better as a result of their interactions. The Bechdel website gives this a positive rating, but really the only reason it passes is because twice, the "mean" girl in school, who is angry with Mandy Moore for "stealing" Shane West away, comments sarcastically on her modest clothing: "Nice sweater!" "Thanks." barely seems like it should count as "female interaction" to me, especially when the underlying meaning was, "You stole my boyfriend and you're too religious." So it's not even positive female interaction. That said, the film clearly shows Mandy Moore as an intelligent woman, sure of herself, who adheres to the tenets of her faith. But there are still more conversations between men than there are between women in this film.

Albeit briefly, the 2012 film The Avengers brings religion into the equation. As most people know, there are two "gods," Thor and Loki, in the film. One causes havoc, the other fights for peace. They are not discussed in any religious sense, until this exchange between the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Captain America (a positive figure, a stereotyped male from the '40s with a lot of American pride and honorable, old-fashioned values):

[Captain America puts on a parachute to go follow after Thor, Loki, and Iron Man]

Black Widow: I'd sit this one out, Cap.

Captain America: I don't see how I can.

Black Widow: These guys come from legend. They're basically gods.

Captain America: There's only one G-d, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure He doesn't dress like that.

[Captain America leaps out of the Quinjet]

The line made many of the religious girls in the audience instantly fall in love with Captain America (or was that just me?), but as mentioned above in the picture caption--this film doesn't pass, since none of the named women speak to one another. So we have film that offers a nod to mainstream American monotheism, ignores the polytheistic/Norse/pagan references to Thor and Loki as gods, and have very few women, all of whom are dressed in tight outfits. Not such a success for women.

Of course, the 1971 film Fiddler on the Roof deserves a mention. For those who haven't seen it, this film details the experience of Jews facing religious persecution in eastern Europe in the early 20th century. It's an excellent film, and one that presents an interesting perspective on Judaism and how it adapts to changing times. But does it pass the test? Though it is not on the Bechdel Test website, I suspect it might--if only because at the end two sisters say goodbye to one another. Literally, I think all other conversations by women are focused on finding husbands ("Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match..."), though perhaps there are brief mentions of the troubles facing the Jews in the town. It was a different time period...but still, much as I love the movie, it could use some discussion amongst the women about other issues. (Incidentally, I just watched Fiddler a few weeks ago one Saturday night with a group from one of my classes. Let's just say, hearing one of the priests sing along to "Matchmaker" makes my world a brighter place.)

There are numerous other religious films we could talk about, these were just some that came to mind. So even religious films, despite the fact that Christianity and Judaism (the two main faiths represented in the above three movies) emphasize the dignity of all, do not always give due representation to women. It's extremely unfortunate.

So the next time you head out to see a movie, take a minute to evaluate it. Does it even, at the bare minimum, have two named female characters, talking about something or somebody other than a man? I hope so. This is a problem for minority religious groups as well, which are grossly underrepresented in film, but the fact that women--who form half of the population--are considered for this a "minority" group is a sad thing in today's day and age. We need to change this. We need to make a conscious effort to get female presence in films.

Now go out and love one another.

<3,
Allyson

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*Please note, for a movie to pass the Bechdel Test, some do not require that the female characters have names, or that the conversations should last for at least thirty seconds. If the main Bechdel Test website listed above required the thirty-second thing, I imagine the number of movies that pass on their website would go down quite dramatically.

Updates on Living the Interfaith Life

Hello, friends!

I recently decided that if I had a hashtag for my life, it would be #interfaithallthetime.* And I love it.  So I figured I'd do a quick rundown of the latest happenings that prove this fact true:

1. The Pope (here's a cool article) is coming to visit my university on April 10th. No joke. Here's to hoping I manage to get a selfie with him.

2. I went to a Holocaust modern art exhibit in late February with a friend of mine who is in seminary here in Rome, after he saw a poster for it. It was small, but I very much appreciated some of the pieces for their colors and difficult deeper meanings.

3. I saw nuns hitting a piñata at a Mexican-themed party, about a half-hour before our hosts passed out tequila shots (and no, I did not witness nuns doing tequila shots, sadly enough).

4. On a short trip to Barcelona this past week with a Christian college friend, we had a lot of interfaith experiences: We went to a church that had geese walking around in the courtyard, a basilica called La Sagrada Familia which might be the coolest church ever, the oldest synagogue in Europe which is in a tiny underground room in the center of Barcelona, and Reform Jewish services. I have to say, after years of researching Judaism and antisemitism in Spain, which included doing a summer research project, writing a lengthy journalism article, and writing an undergraduate honors thesis, this trip (my first to Spain) was fulfilling on so many levels. Spanish Jews! They exist! And I got to go to services with Jews in Barcelona! Pretty incredible.

The incredible Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona

The gorgeous colors of some of the stained glass windows

5. My (Catholic) mother wrote in a Torah, something most Jews will never even do. Our Temple apparently is a guardian of a Holocaust scroll (news to me!), a Torah that was presumably part of a synagogue in Europe that was affected and perhaps destroyed under the horrifying conditions of the Holocaust. In an effort to restore the scroll, our temple held a fundraiser where, by sponsoring a letter or a word, you could help guide the sofer's (Torah scribe's) hand while he wrote out part of the scroll. With my father out of town on business, and me living across the pond this year, my mother decided to participate in honor of both of us. I've heard the comparison that the Torah in Judaism and the Qur'an in Islam play similar functions to the role of Jesus in Christianity (as the way to get closest to G-d, the most revered part of the faith, etc.), so this was truly a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience. I am so glad that not only was my mother touched by participating, but that our synagogue offered this opportunity for people to really experience a critical part of Judaism so closely.

Mama Z with the Sofer

6. On our weekly Monday-night outing to the quiz at our local Irish pub this week, my flatmate and I were joined by two of our seminarian friends. We had a lovely time, but had to stop the gentlemen from trying to cheat by looking up the answers on their smartphones (apparently that morality class they took didn't stick too well).

7. Friday night we're hosting a Purim party in our apartment, complete with a whole mix of friends of different faiths. Wish me luck on my first-ever attempt at making hamantaschen...

Life here is really #interfaithallthetime.

How about all of you? Any interesting interfaith/ecumenical/neat religious experiences to share? Feel free to post about them in the comments.

Now go out and love one another.

<3,
Allyson

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*A hashtag, for those who are unaware, is a phrase following the pound symbol [#] that sums up an idea and groups together other peoples' comments on the same idea. It's used on websites like Twitter and Facebook. For more info, you can read the Wikipedia page on the topic.

Individuality in Religion?

Hello, friends.

Everybody is unique, right? We have different personalities, different opinions, different perspectives, different paradigms through which we view the world. Not to say that there aren't similarities, but I doubt that it is even slightly close to possible to find somebody with the exact same views on everything (if you find that person, keep them forever). So I'm wondering to what degree individual opinion and choice does, or does not, play a role in religion.

Last week was the first week of classes for the new semester, which means I began a course called "The Teaching of Theology and Religious Communication." It is a required course for my program, so I did not really give it much thought before last Tuesday morning, but it turns out it's a class about how to teach (obvious enough once I read the title again). Considering the fact that I have always adamantly claimed that I do not want to be a teacher, this was surprisingly okay with me. When people ask me about what I do, what interfaith relations really means, it generally involves some element of knowing how to properly "teach" about religious topics, both that are a part of my own as well as a part of other religious traditions. I found the class, taught by a priest, extremely interesting--not least of all because he showed us a video called "The Butterfly Circus" without telling us anything about it in advance. So I leave it here similarly with no introduction, except to say that it deals with individual difference and choice, it's not about religion, I found it inspiring, and it is twenty minutes long (but worth it, if you have the time).* Even if you aren't able to watch that video right now, I think that individual opinion and agency is a topic that we can all ruminate on.

In terms of the importance of the individual and choice, it's important to remember that I'm certainly coming from a more liberal religious perspective. I can largely believe what I want to believe on modern issues like gay marriage and abortion. I do not keep kosher, so I am not limited in what I eat. I feel quite free in my religion to be who I want to be, and believe what I want to believe, but with the support of a worldwide progressive Jewish community. But what about those who are more strictly religious and so are meant to subscribe to a list of specific beliefs, whether that is in Judaism or another faith? I would like to discuss a case example to explain what I mean.

As a strong supporter of gay marriage myself, I would not feel comfortable attending a synagogue that preached against this. I often wonder how supporters of gay marriage, or gay individuals who are raised in the Catholic Church or any other group that somehow condemns homosexuality, deal with reconciling their feelings with their religion. I know many leave the Church.

But am I really free in Reform Judaism? What if, for example, I did not support gay marriage? Attending a liberal, Reform Jewish synagogue in New York State would not be out of the question, but I might be judged harshly for my opinion if it were to be made known. Plus, the Reform movement of Judaism does officially support gay marriage...so perhaps if I disagreed, I would similarly feel at odds with the establishment.

This case study aside, the idea of individuality in religion comes up because of my heavy involvement in Catholicism while I am here in Rome. I meet numerous priests, deacons, Catholic lay people, all of whom at least hypothetically agree with the Church's teaching on not only gay marriage, but also birth control, sex outside of marriage, the future salvation (or not) of people, proper times and frequency with which one should attend church, etc. And yet I have met many, many people throughout my life who consider themselves Catholic and yet do not agree with some of these lines of thinking. Sometimes people just ignore the conflicting views--they might continue to use birth control, for example, but still attend church regularly. Others feel ostracized for their beliefs and might not fully participate in the community. I once sat down for an interview with an Episcopal minister, and she said that she liked her part of Christianity because, "I don't have to check my brain at the door." It was an interesting, if blunt, statement, and I have given some thought to it since that interview, and how it relates to this question of individual opinion in a system like Catholicism.

I am not making an overall value judgment on the worth of individuality in religion. For many people, having this strict structure of a faith and associated beliefs is an important way in which to organize their world, and I can see the comfort in that. There is definitely some sense of stability in everyone believing the same things, doing the same things, being the same in at least this aspect of their lives. But for me, this strict form of telling me what to think would be untenable. I sometimes describe Reform as the "religion for secular people," with its generally liberal social opinions but the traditional community institutions of a religion. But if all of a sudden the movement started trying to tell me what to think about certain things, I would probably be extremely uncomfortable with it.

So what do you think? Does your religion or belief system encourage individual differences of opinions? Does it take a stance on contemporary political issues? Could you ever just ignore something coming out of your faith establishment that you felt so strongly was just wrong?

Now go out and love one another.

<3,
Allyson 

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*Regarding the short film above, I have to wonder: if the individual struggling was gay, would a priest be showing it in our class? I am not sure.

An Interfaith Visit to Israel

Hello, friends.

I recently returned from a very intense, extremely busy nine-day trip to Israel. This visit was part of my fellowship, so it was the first trip in a while where I barely had to think about logistics at all as we were shuttled from place to place and fed huge buffets of delicious food constantly. I imagine over the next few weeks I will reflect on the trip in more detail, but I wanted to share some of my initial thoughts here before I completely over-think everything (which will happen, trust me).

The first is that Israel felt like a dream. For years, in Hebrew School, in conversations, basically every conversation having to do with the non-political side of things has involved talking about the wonders of Israel. How they serve dried fruits and nuts and all fresh things for meals. How wonderful it is to be in a place where, for once, the Jewish people are not a minority. How the weather is amazing. Well...it was all kind of true. The first night, after our flight over from Rome, we had a huge meal with great wines and fresh cheeses and little bowls of nuts. We spent hours over the next few days walking through the old, limestone, cobblestone marketplaces of Jerusalem, seeing countless little stalls selling various religious chachkas (I have never seen so many hamsas in my life). Orthodox Jews and Arabs and others walked around the city, and mezzuzahs graced almost every doorway of every building (including our individual hotel rooms). My first few days there, I was convinced I was not actually in Israel, but in some kind of Jewish theme park that couldn't be real. It did not hurt that we had near-perfect weather for much of the trip (no rain!).

We also saw some of the reality of the difficulties in the country, though. Like on our last day, when we noticed a group of twenty-year-old girls, looking like mere children, walking around Tel Aviv in their army uniforms with huge black guns casually strapped across their backs. Or when we crossed through the wall to visit Bethlehem, which was a completely surreal experience. We also drove by some of the West Bank settlements that are causing so much controversy. All in all, we only had limited discussions about politics (this was by design--since our group is about religion and interreligious dialogue, politics was not meant to be a focus), but we still saw some of these things firsthand.

The interfaith and Jewish aspects of the trip were extremely interesting. We spent five half-days studying at the Shalom Hartman Institute, a Jewish pluralistic research center. Pluralism, of diversity within Judaism, is very important today. I often find that greater strife and judgment actually comes from people without our own faith traditions, and so specific places that bring together members of different strains of Judaism--Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist--are really exemplary. During our time there, we would hear lectures on different topics, such as one on feminism in Orthodox Judaism and another on the different Christian groups living in Israel. We would then spend the other half of those days touring around Jerusalem.

Personally, going to the Western Wall was very moving. For those who are unaware, the Western Wall is the most holy site on Earth for Jews because it is close to where the ancient Temple once stood. I have to say, though, I never expected my first time approaching it to be with a group of five practicing Christians--not a better or worse experience than I had expected, just different. Many Orthodox Jewish women prayed intently around us (genders are separated for prayer by the Western Wall, in accordance with Orthodox prayer practice, since Israel is run by Orthodox authorities). So I was not 100% like the Orthodox women, but nor was I 100% like my female Christian friends...I felt somewhat far away from my egalitarian, liberal, Reform Jewish community in New York at that moment. Also, in the main gender-separated area against the wall, I noticed that the women's section is smaller than the men's, even though there was open space against the wall in the men's section while women were two deep trying to just get close enough to touch the wall.

I felt I could've been more emotional, if I'd had more time than just a few rushed minutes at the wall. As it was, my group quickly shuffled off from the women's section to find the newly-opened mixed-gender prayer area. While I applaud the Orthodox governance for (finally) opening up a space for more liberal visitors, this section was difficult to find--outside of the security complex surrounding the main part of the Wall, around enormous construction works, through a gate that is not marked as the mixed prayer section in any way (we had to ask), down a long flight of stairs to what looks like an archaeological site and not a prayer site, to an empty platform, with no way to get close enough to touch the wall. Plus, there was no one there except for us. I can only hope that one day Jews of all types can pray in their own way--and properly--at the Western Wall. That said, cannot deny that I was moved at finally making it to the Western Wall. In a true example of interfaith relations at work, one of my Christian friends asked me to say a prayer, and so I sang the Shema while we were in the mixed-gender section.

After Jerusalem, our group ventured up to the Galilee, to Akko (right on the Mediterranean!), the Sea of Galilee (very peaceful), Capernaum, and Tel Aviv for the remaining three days of the trip. During these few days, we met with a gentleman at the main location for a fascinating, seemingly pro-interfaith branch of Islam known as Sufism, visited the center of the Baha'i faith just outside of Akko, and learned about the Peres Center for Peace (a grassroots organization working to improve relationships between Israelis and Palestinians) in Tel Aviv. All in all, a very interesting end to our trip.

So what will I take away from all of this? First of all, a strong desire to go back to Israel. I think going back with a Jewish group specifically, hopefully Birthright, will give me more time understand how I should feel as a Jewish person in Israel, and what it will mean for me as a Jewish person living elsewhere. Another shocking thing I have taken away from the trip was to realize that the stories of the Bible, of the Torah, they all happened in an actual place, and not some fantasy land as I guess I subconsciously thought. I mean, to be brought into the tiny basement of a church and told that Jesus was born there, was a pretty incredible thing, even for me as a Jew. I think I could not really believe Israel existed until I saw it, and I am fairly certain this will affect how I read Biblical stories in the future. I also feel inspired by the work that is going on to improve religious relations in Israel, and I pray that soon those efforts will be successful in bringing peace to this tiny nation.

So now, as the sun sets on a beautiful day back in my current city of Rome, as ever,

(Look! A present from a good friend!)

<3,

Allyson 

Namaste

Hello, friends!

Namaste: the Divine in me bows to the Divine in you. A common greeting on the India subcontinent, accompanied by flat palms, pressed together with fingers up, against the chest, accompanied by a small bow.

I love this greeting, and first had it explained to me last summer during an interfaith conference when I sat in on a short discussion of Hinduism (though members of different belief systems common to India also use it). I am writing about it now because of my impending doom exam tomorrow morning for a class I took this semester, Introduzione alle religioni orientali (Introduction to Oriental Religions). This course was in Italian, and ended up proving much more difficult for me than it should have (it certainly did not help that it was on a topic about which I am only marginally familiar, or the fact that we also have to learn vocabulary in Chinese and Sanskrit, or that it was at 8:30 a.m. on Monday mornings...). However, with a little help from the notes of a friend here who speaks infinitely better Italian than me (thank you!) and four straight days of solitary confinement in my apartment, I am slightly closer to understanding the four belief systems that I need to know about for my test tomorrow: Taoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

My primary interest in learning about religions is usually to better understand people I meet who practice these religions. This has also made it a bit hard for me to tackle the material for this course. Yes, I have met Hindu individuals in the past, and those that vaguely ascribe to Buddhism (and in 2012 I had the opportunity to hear the Dalai Lama answer a question I sent in about multifaith relations when he visited my university...check out his answer here, at 54:00--he even does the namaste-type bow!). But even so, these experiences have been few and far between, and I have never knowingly met a Taoist or someone who ascribes to Confucianism. So why learn about them?

Before, I could never understand why all people did not try to learn more about Judaism. "But it's such an ancient religion!," I'd think. "But we exist all over the globe! Plus, we're super cool!" And yet...I understand a little more now. I understand how it could not necessarily feel extremely important to everyone to learn about a religion that is a minority in their part of the world. Because I found it tough to study these Eastern religions, which seem so far away from me and with which I have never really interacted. I guess, though, I wanted to study them just in case I ever do meet someone who belongs to these groups. Additionally, a side benefit I did not expect is that learning about these systems has reminded me that the Judeo-Christian tradition that seems to envelop the whole planet...really only dominates part of the planet. Hinduism and Buddhism are some of the oldest religions on the planet (older than Judaism), and have many, many adherents. I see value in learning about them.

What do you think? Should we take the time to learn about minority religions (Judaism, Zoroastrianism, UU)? What about religions that have basically died out (ancient Greek belief systems)? Or those that some consider heretical today (paganism, Wicca)? Why, or why not?

So now, in response to my father asking me earlier today, "So what do I need to know about these belief systems?" and my previous inability to find an adequate answer immediately, I have decided to compile some interesting facts about the four systems I have been studying. Feel free to read or not as you like. This is meant simply as a brief introduction for those of you who, like me, could use some more information on Eastern traditions. Please comment if you think I am mistaken about something, or if you have something to add.

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Taoism (sometimes called "Daoism")
"Tao" means a variety of things, primarily "way," "journey," or "path." This belief system originated in China, and is generally divided into two types: Tao-Chia is philosophical Taoism, whereas Tao-Chiao is religious Taoism. The goal of the philosophical strain is the mystical union with this "Tao," which is vaguely some type of ineffable concept. Religious Tao-Chiao is instead more concerned with achieving immortality through this union with the Tao. Apparently adherents refrain from eating grains or legumes, and also try to eat meals with foods that are black, white, yellow, red, and green. They also will not undergo surgery, all in an effort to work towards immortality by maintaining the pure, natural state of the human. This also means meditating to forget all learning.
 

Yin-Yang; white yin representing the feminine/cool/passive elements in us all, black yang the male/hot/active

Confucianism 
This belief system was the state religion of China for a while (a long time ago). It also incorporates the idea of "tao" that comes forth in Taoism, but defines the ways to achieve union with Tao in different ways. For example, Confucianism emphasizes the importance of interacting with other people in certain ways. The five primary relationships are king-subject, parents-children, husband-wife, older brother-younger brother, the elderly-the young, and Confucianism defines the proper ways to act in all of these interpersonal relationships. It also identifies the Four Divine Seeds, which are innate dispositions of people (the compassionate heart, the shameful heart, the selfless heart, and the heart that discerns between good and evil). The idea is that people have different amounts of these dispositions, so you have to cultivate them to bring some out. Study is valued, as well as loyalty/sincerity to others, and being a person of your word (for example, showing up on time for a meeting that you agreed to attend). Also, believers do not donate organs, but they can apparently donate blood.

Hinduism 
With no single founder, Hinduism involves a collection of different belief systems from India. One interesting thing I learned was that Jains and Sikhs actually somehow fall under the umbrella of Hinduism. Hinduism often gets a bad name amongst monotheists because of its belief in multiple divinities, but if I am understanding it correctly, these are actually manifestations of the same general G-d in different forms. There are three main divinities I learned about: Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver (he's blue and has four arms and often has a lotus flower and a conch shell), and Shiva the Destroyer (he had a trident and a snake). They can have different names if they are represented in certain situations, or if they are represented as women. India has long had a caste system, so that also plays in to the religion somewhat (first class "Brahmani" is priests--the "mouth" of Brahma, second class "Kshatrya" would be men in politics--the arm of Brahma, third class "Vaishnya" would be normal people--the legs of Brahma, and the fourth class "Sudra" is servants--the feet of Brahma). Most Hindus believe in reincarnation. Hinduism also makes use of the Om sound/symbol:

The "3" part on the left represents birth, the curly on the bottom right is life, the little "U" with a diamond at the top is death

Buddhism
Buddhism is based upon the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha. Buddhists seek to escape a neverending path of rebirth until one can achieve nirvana, and remove all suffering. It is "nontheistic," which means some lack of a belief in G-d. This somehow means that many people that ascribe to Buddhism also follow another religion (a trendy term today in the United States is "Jewboo," a Jewish Buddhist). The Four Noble Truths are the truth of dukkha (suffering, anxiety), the origin of dukkha, the cessation of dukkha, and the path to the cessation of dukkha. The two main strains in Buddhism today are Theravada ("School of the Elders," the older and more conservative strain) and Mahayana (the more popular one today). Buddhists look to the Three Jewels for refuge and guidance, which are Buddha (as an example to imitate), dharma (teachings), and sangha (community). The Noble Eightfold Path are the eight tenets many Buddhists try to live by: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration.
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These religious and philosophical systems have a lot more to them than this, but I figure these brief descriptions will serve as a start for those interested in pursuing further study of Eastern religions.
 

Now go out and love one another.

Namaste.

<3,
Allyson

An Anniversary

Hello, friends! A very happy secular New Year to everyone.

Today happens to mark a personal anniversary for me: it has been one year to the day since I started this blog. Whoa! As someone who has never successfully managed to keep up a regular diary, this is a minor win for me, especially since there were 34 posts in 2013 (which means I wrote on a fairly regular basis). I figure I should look back and see what has changed--and what hasn't changed--over the past twelve months. Because it's been a pretty crazy year on my end.

Last January, I was at my parent's house on Long Island, home for winter break, just as I am now. My maternal grandmother had just passed away, I had just finished one of my most emotionally-trying semesters of college, and I was still in the throes of writing a senior honors thesis (which was something I seriously doubted I would be able to finish). It was not a hugely happy time, but it was a very thoughtful one for me. I did not know where I would be mentally over the final months of college while trying to finish the thesis, or where I would be heading after I graduated, but I knew that I was passionate about getting people to talk about religion, and so I started this blog.

What has happened since then? Well, I finished and successfully defended my thesis (thank G-d).* I had some good times during my last semester of college, published this (lengthy) article on the website of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, was invited to join the Medieval and Renaissance Honors Society (something I found endlessly hilarious, since my research really only focused on contemporary Europe, but I appreciated it nonetheless), was selected to give the student speech at my European Studies graduation ceremony, graduated from college, went backpacking through Europe for three weeks, interviewed a few religious leaders over the summer for Dan's Papers (including Rick Jacobs!), roadtripped up to Chicago with some of my closest friends, had this article about my Mama posted on the URJ blog, moved to Rome, began attending classes with mainly priests and nuns, took a few short trips around Europe in between those classes, and finally returned home to New York for a three-week vacation (during which time I've celebrated Christmas, been to Manhattan twice, threw a successful forty-person surprise party, and gotten together with a few friends). It's been a slightly busy year.

It has been a good year for this blog, too, which has only grown in the number of people reading it. According to Google Analytics, a website that tracks how many people visit websites, 2,805 unique people have visited this blog in the past year (a total of 4,326 visits). I hope that means that 2,805 people around the world are having more conversations about these topics! The highest number of visitors in a single day happened on June 30th, when I put up the blog post about my thoughts on gay marriage. Hopefully 2014 will see more people visiting, more people sharing the blog and commenting on the posts, and even more people starting to care about faith relations.

So that's a bunch of stuff that has changed for me over the past year. But what hasn't changed? Here is part of what I wrote last January in my first post, when I was just starting off on this blogging journey:

"I have had a lot of thought-provoking experiences with religion over my four years in college, and I wanted to talk about my life through the lens of interfaith relations in a more public space to encourage discussion about how we can all come together to create a stronger world."

Now, aside from adding in new locations where I have had thought-provoking religious experiences (Rome, Dachau concentration camp in Germany, Prague, Dublin...the list goes on and on), I still feel the way I did back then. We need to have these discussions. We need to consider that religion does not have to be a dividing force, but can instead bring people together in their mutual desires to improve the world and improve human relationships. But it takes every individual caring and speaking out about these things to make that dream a reality.

As some of you may know, by nature I am very futuristic, so it's time to look ahead. What do I think will happen in my life over the next year? I'm again in somewhat of the same place as I was last January, unsure of where I will be emotionally as I head back to Rome for six months (the longest span of time I've ever been out of the US). I finish in Rome in June, then I'll be back in the US next June-September working for an interfaith office in Manhattan. And after that...I am not sure. Back to Europe? Maybe. Working in the US? Maybe. Debating religion and the value of interfaith relations with everyone I meet? A very high probability. I hope you'll all join me on that last one.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to those who have shared this blog. Together, I know we can make this world a better place.

Now go out and love one another.

<3,
Allyson

*If for some reason you're interested in reading my 50-page thesis on Spain, the Jews, and Francisco Franco, here you go.
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