I know that this is a topic that can in no way be done justice in the space of just one blog post & I hope that John & our readers will continue the subject at hand in the future.
Cars
Continuing in the vein of WWJD, over at GetReligion, tmatt brings up the subject of “bumper sticker theology“, a subject that is on my mind everytime I’m stuck behind a xian in an SUV. One of Jesus’ parables comes to mind: the one where he’s talking about how two men were praying, one in public & the other in privacy before his God. Wearing a cross, a mala, hijab, or a turban may be a public display of one’s religion, but for the most part, I believe it is done for private reasons. It is done to remind themselves of their faith when they falter, not to publically display it to others. The bumpersticker, I feel (just like the sign in the policecar) is not in a place that the person who put it there would see it. I really feel like it’s a statement for the people behind them: just like a political bumpersticker is for other people to think about; they’ve already made their choice for Steven/Colbert in ’08. They’ve already made the choice.
I’m interested in this kind of passive proselytization. Do they think it counts (if God’s keeping score)? Do they think it works (Oh! Jesus is Lord, I get it now, I need to go to church!)? Or do they just want everyone to know that they’re of a certain faith (like, they’ll get fewer tickets if they’re Masons)? And what does this mean for religion in the car? I keep a mala around my stickshift & used to keep a buddha glued to my dash (both for roadrage). I often see rosaries around rearview mirrors and I assume it’s a similar thing. But what really is the motivation behind the religious who puts a proselytizing bumpersticker on their car?
TV
We get TBN and until we convinced TiVo that we didn’t, we got recorded Mass every Sunday. I’m in a heap of confusion about this form of religion. For Catholics, Mass is good, but the main reason that you’re going is for the Eucharist, which is physical and therefore cannot be transmitted through your television. In fact, if you’re unable to go to Mass, you can get the Eucharist delivered to you by just about anyone, since that’s the important bit. My guess is that TBN is not run by Catholics but by some other strain of Christianity but I’ve never cared enough to look into it. Perhaps seeing Mass is just as good at participating; but do viewers at home say the responses along with the congregation on the TV? Is the congregation real, a studio audience, or a bunch of actors? Does the blessing given by the priest extend to the viewers…in other time zones, watching it after the fact, or simply having it on in their living room while they read the paper? Is this just another form of proselytizing…? I don’t think it is, because I’m much more capable of changing the TV channel or turning it off (!!!) than I am of getting behind a different car (which is still possible). So, if it’s not proselytizing, it must be some form of genuine faith: the priest believes his flock is that much bigger, or the view believes they are being blessed. It still kind of confuses me, but I suppose of prayer and blessings work, they won’t be stopped by earthly technology.
The Internet: Facebook
The subject of religion on the internet is almost as broad as the topic of religion and technology at all, so I’m going to focus on one particular piece of the internet: Facebook. Facebook is like a metayearbook that is ever-changing: you and all your friends appear as pictures on a page, with a spot for them to “sign” it. You can change who your friends are, look at who their friends are, and send them “gifts” (like signing except with a dog.gif). You can also create groups (like clubs at school) that you can join, unjoin, and invite people to. The groups have their own spot for signatures. Many of the groups are religious (or political) in nature. So I could join the “Atheist” group or the “American Atheists” group or the “Atheists in LA” group. None of them are mutually exclusive (I could also join a Catholic group). I could also list things that I like, books that I like reading, &c. This feels to me like a way of professing your faith publically. I suppose, for smaller religions, it could also be a way to meet people like you (to feel that you’re less alone), but mostly it just feels preachy.
A friend recently told me that he & his friends (all, apparently, atheists) had jokingly said that they would not date “anyone whose favorite book is the Bible” on Facebook. Which serves nothing besides providing an anecdote about how some people use Facebook…
