Writings from Rabbi Glickman

Having recently completed a survey of the American religious landscape, I have found that, believe it or not, Americans view religion in many different ways.  Religiously speaking, it turns out, each of us tends to fall into one of the following six categories: 

1. The Perfectly Pious are those for whom religion is the sole guiding force in life.  They love God, they worship God in accordance with their religion, and they are confident that they conceive of God correctly.  Therefore, everyone who disagrees with them is wrong.  Together, the Perfectly Pious are a font of religious fervor and energy.  Many are profoundly kind, decent people, but they tend not to be very fun at parties.  Among their ranks are Orthodox Jews, most televangelists, and a handful of terrorists, too.
    
2. To the Simply Religious,  religion is an important and cherished part of life, but it does not have sole authority over what they do.  They regularly attend their houses of worship, give generously to charity, and watch PBS.

The Simply Religious think their views are correct but, unlike the Perfectly Pious, they are never quite sure.  This makes them passionately religious and eternally anxious.  This group includes Reform Jews, liberal Christians, and some university professors. 

3. The Holy Hobbyists are those who are not actually “religious,” but “into religion,” instead. They think that religion is “cool” and that many religious leaders are “really neat.”  For Holy Hobbyists, religion is not a guiding force, but rather something to dabble in.  Philatelists collect stamps; Holy Hobbyists do religion.  Both have great fun.

The patron saint of the Holy Hobbyists is Madonna – not the one from Christian Scripture, but the one who used to wear a pointy bra.  Recently, she took time away from her fleshy videos and concerts to write a book about Jewish mysticism.  Enough said. 

4. The Seekers of the Sacred are the people who want religion to play a significant role in their lives, but they don’t quite know how.  So they seek, they shop for a house of worship, they try to find a way for religion to “work” for them. 

Rabbi Harold Schulweis once noted that his grandfather used to go to the synagogue because he was religious; his grandchildren go in order to become religious.  Such is the life of the Seeker of the Sacred.  They look at religion from the outside, sense that it has something good to offer, and strive to discover a way to embrace it. 

5. The Non-Religious are people who say, “I choose not to practice religion, thank you.”
    
6. The Anti-Religious are the same as the Non-Religious, only they emphasize the “I,” and say “goddammit” instead of “thank you.”

So far, so good.  The problem, however, is that this entire system tends to revolve around the Perfectly Pious, leaving the Simply Religious on the periphery.  The Perfectly Pious, themselves, of course, know that they are correct and have no need for anyone else except those they are trying to convert.  The Hobbyists and the Seekers share a fascination with religion, but the religions that attract them tend to be the exotic rather than the common.  They are drawn to the Dalai Lama rather than to their local pastor; to the ashram rather than to the neighborhood church; to leaders who wear turbans, black hats, or saffron rather than jackets and ties.

In short, much of the energy expended on American religion today is spent on condemnations or affirmations of the Perfectly Pious.  In the process, the Simply Religious get left out of the picture.  Alas, in America today being religious increasingly means being fundamentalist.  Not that there is anything wrong with being fundamentalist, of course, but fundamentalism is only part of the picture. 

To many of us in the Simply Religious camp, religion doesn’t involve a rejection of modernity, it doesn’t involve ceding our intellect or morality to the sole authority of ancient traditions, and it certainly does not insist that our own group is the world’s sole bearer of truth.  Instead, we see ourselves as living in the exciting vortex formed by the confluence of ancient wisdom and modern learning; we challenge religious teachings with contemporary insights, and vice versa; we feel blessed to live in an age when we can learn from people of differing religious backgrounds.

So look at us!  You Perfectly Pious probably aren’t reading this, but you Seekers, Hobbyists, Nons and Antis, remember that we, too, are religion in America.  We live uncloistered lives, we dress like you, and, though we may disagree with others, we can argue with them respectfully and constructively.  We know each and every person has something to teach, and we hope we can sit down with you to learn and grow together.

Yes, we too are America – we of soup kitchens and of interfaith dialogue and of the passionate embrace of God’s often ambiguous words.  Indeed, the religious landscape would be incomplete without us, for our contribution, like that of the others, adds richness and beauty to the great landscape of American religious life.

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