Tapsearch Com EditorPublic display of (religious) affection
May 19th 2007 00:29
I'm not old enough to verify/argue with this, but Kathleen Parker says in her new column:
Is it really true that, in older times, people were less open about their religious practices? It goes against my perception of the conservative pre-'60s world, but again, I didn't live in that world. If you're an old fart, please give me some insights on the comments section.
By Robert VerBruggen
In another time, Falwell and other televangelists would have remained on society's fringes, preaching from street corners and, as Hitchens suggested, hawking pencils from cups. Not so long ago, polite people in America didn't wear their religion as raiment.
Educated Christians may have dressed up on Sundays and kept a Bible in the house, but otherwise they whispered prayers at bedside and wouldn't consider holding hands to bless food in a restaurant. It wasn't done.
But come the sexual revolution, abortion, same-sex marriage and the mainstreaming of porn -- along with a media that facilitates ``characters'' in the service of ratings -- and the street preacher got mainstreamed, too. The same forces that created pole-dancing moms and partial-birth abortion also created Jerry Falwell and the religious right.
Educated Christians may have dressed up on Sundays and kept a Bible in the house, but otherwise they whispered prayers at bedside and wouldn't consider holding hands to bless food in a restaurant. It wasn't done.
But come the sexual revolution, abortion, same-sex marriage and the mainstreaming of porn -- along with a media that facilitates ``characters'' in the service of ratings -- and the street preacher got mainstreamed, too. The same forces that created pole-dancing moms and partial-birth abortion also created Jerry Falwell and the religious right.
Is it really true that, in older times, people were less open about their religious practices? It goes against my perception of the conservative pre-'60s world, but again, I didn't live in that world. If you're an old fart, please give me some insights on the comments section.
By Robert VerBruggen
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Comment by Anonymous
I was raised in a Christian home whereas when we went out in the 80's it was expected for us to hold hands in prayer before we ate. Although it was normal to my religion, even in the 80's I felt like a publically humiliated freak. A conservative from a young age (I suppose) made me feel very out of the norm displaying such things in public. I think it is this very same generation of extreme public and outward displays of thier affectionate Christian ways that has made so many others feel uncomfortable with prayer in school. I do not think there were really too many stories of a young muslim child setting down a prayer mat which started the whole anti religion in school thing. Instead, I think exactly what you hit on is what caused the uproar and discomfort. I remember the pastor of the church once asking deacons to open the doors and everyone to sing as loud as possible for the neighbors and passers bye may here the good news. I would imagine to a mainstream person of any faith, it would be as irritating as a young rap enthusiast in his overly sounded, pimped out ride. Although you targeted your question towards older folks, I am merely 34 and I can tell you that, in fact, the public displays of religious charactoristics have made a huge difference in society today.
-Anthony
(Steel Resolve)