Wednesday, January 4, 2012

“SEPARATING CHURCH/MOSQUE/SYNAGOGUE AND STATE”

I often think about how religious practices affect our lives in our secular world. For example, we're just completing the season where we have seen the conflicts over displaying religious symbols on our public property; and arguments about why we should say "Happy Holidays" to one another rather than "Happy Hanukah" or "Merry Christmas." I think we're just seeing the to-be-expected frictions among our citizens in this multi-cultural society of ours. We're still learning that there are more views of the world, and of God (Allah, G-d, etc.), than those we heard about as children. Open your daily newspaper and read about these differences of opinion, and how they can intrude on your routine.

Here's another example. Many of us eat meat, and most of us meat-eaters consume beef. I had forgotten how important, to some segments of our society, is the method of slaughtering our cattle and other livestock. We're not talking here about performances of archaic rituals, but about day-to-day operations. How do you kill the cow that I'll eat?

Observant Jews and Muslims require that their foods be Kosher or Halal, according to their specific laws. In the Netherlands, the private sector's slaughter process has changed , while still accomodating those requirements. "...changing public attitudes towards animal welfare forced a rethink" of how religious slaughter is done for the Jewish and Muslim communities.

When can you work or shop? Can stores be open on Sunday, the Christian day of rest? In my home town, back in the day, and today as well, many stores close to observe the Sabbath. Nowadays, of course, most large stores are open according to market conditions rather than according to religious considerations. In observant Jewish communities, most work must be forsaken on the Sabbath. No cooking, no driving...

But in Israel, it's daily transportation that can be affected by beliefs. Some buses are gender-segregated.

According to one Rabbi, segregated buses are not required by Jewish law. Still, some ultra-Orthodox Jews are pushing for segregation in areas of Israel where they comprise a majority. (Some of us remember when, in the USA, conservative Christians in the south believed that races must be segregated, and only 50-some years ago did Rosa Parks disobey the rule, thereby fueling the civil rights movement.)

We've just witnessed what has been called the "Arab Spring." We're now learning about the possible coming to power in Egypt of a religion-based political party. In this article , the author, Sarah El Deeb, writes, "The Nour Party, a more hard-line Islamist group, captured 24.4 percent [of the votes in the recent Parlimentary election]...Its members say laws contradicting religion can't be passed.” Meanwhile, the (relatively more moderate) Muslim Brotherhood's party has won about 36.6% of the votes. And the liberal parties, to whom credit has been given for leading the revolts, have won only around 20%.

We'll have to see how it pans out in Egypt. But suffice to say the tensions between secular and religious values and practices are likely to continue in Egypt, and as certainly in all our societies.