The God We Bow To, the God We Need
Anthony R. Candela
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, age 88, died today. Pope Francis believe the role of the Catholic Church is to focus on those who live in the margins. Give him credit for trying to expand the Church’s reach in this regard. More quietly, he also forcefully cleaned up the Church from within it sometimes corrupt bureaucracy. Now it is time again, 12 years since the Convocation last took place, for the College of Cardinals to debate on what kind of person should be the next Pope, including if the Church will become more Eurocentric. Pushing the arguments one way or the other will be Trumpian hostility toward the EU and NATO, support of the Ukraine and global concerns about spreading autocracy , Russian aggression and Chinese economic dominance.
With two major holy events coming to a close it is time to assess just exactly how much American politics and religion are mixing together. On April 20, Christians celebrated Easter Sunday, the most solemn day on their religious calendar being Good Friday, two days prior. The Jewish faith has Yom Kippur, their most solemn day of atonement and purification. Islam’s Day of Ashura is a day of fasting, remembrance, and mourning for a historical martyr, Imam Hussein. According to journalist Lauren Jackson, although most people are wary of the government, the future and even each other, Americans have been moving back to religion for nearly a decade. They want something beyond this life. They also want the support and companionship slowly withdrawn from them by government and the pandemic. The secularization trend of the early 21st century appears to have paused, giving way to an increased longing for spirituality. According to Jackson, “Many Americans are dissatisfied with the alternatives to religion. They feel an existential malaise, and they’re looking for help. People want stronger communities, more meaningful rituals and spaces to express their spirituality. They’re also longing to have richer, more nuanced conversations about belief.”
Several studies show that people have begun to cling to the comforts and support offered by visiting houses of worship, replete with rituals and companionship. While much attention is paid to evangelical Christianity today, many Americans simply yearn for confession, atonement, forgiveness and sacrifice for answers.
Many appear to have an increasing need for a higher power. Since pre-history, we have reach to something more powerful than ourselves to help deal with the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” What have we reached for? Beyond shaman and “medicine men,” we’ve reached for gods.
Nordic gods had qualities such as strength, a quest for knowledge, and sacrifice; Greek gods showed human characteristics like love, anger, kindness, jealousy and envy as well as justice, loyalty, love of music and the changing of the seasons. Roman gods were more militaristic than their Greek counterparts, exhibiting less individualistic and more utilitarian purposes, serving and protecting family and state. Hindu gods had immense power, some benevolent and some destructive. After a while, the Judeo-Christian-Islamic God (upper case) became a powerful and all-encompassing being, replete with the binding force of the universe as well as love and redemption. Although promising never to inflict on humanity again something as disastrous as the Flood, in the minds of many, God appears to have kept in reserve at least the threat of occasional bouts of wrath. Remember what many said about the pandemic or even global warming? Belief in a higher power combines with perceived human inefficacy to fuel many anti-vaxxers, not to mention climate “deniers.”
Is it our destiny to yield the collective responsibility for our own welfare to higher powers, be they gods or powerful politicians? Deference to authority has its advantages. Life is easier if we march in lockstep, individually or as a society under the guidance or force of a powerful leader. On the other hand, when we give up self-assertion and critique of leadership, we lose something of ourselves that we often never recoup. The livelier the debate, the more intense the intermix of ideas and ways of looking at things, and the harder we work to arrive at consensus, the richer, more developed, and happier we will be. We should be afraid of our tendencies to bow to the wrong gods (lower case). Ultimately, the right one is the one within ourselves. The coercion and fear caused by autocrats, the mixing of the fantastical aspects of religion with everyday reality, and the squelching of self-expression eventually lead to a dulled social order, one I suspect is exactly what autocrats desire. We are all equal, but in George Orwell’s famous quip about the hypocrisy of autocrats, “some are more equal than others.” This above all else is what we must avoid.
Saying aloud what should not remain silent.
Books by Tony…
Stand Up Or Sit Out: Memories and Musings Of a Blind Wrestler, Runner, and All-around Regular Guy
A memoir about life lessons learned, especially through sports
Vision Dreams: A Parable
A sci-fi novella about how a dysfunctional society forces people to go to extremes, including four blind people who seek out artificial vision.
What Should Not Remain Silent
A sampling of moments in the author’s life between June 2021 and April 2024 and the essays he felt compelled to write about them. The pieces in this book illustrate his reactions to a wide variety of issues, from disability to diversity and inclusion to war, peace, and politics.
https://www.dldbooks.com/anthonyrcandela/
Or go to Amazon, then Books, then Anthony R. Candela to purchase it.
The book is available in paperback, hardcover, and e–book formats.
Tony Candela has worked as a Rehabilitation Counselor, supervisor, manager consultant and administrator for more than 45 years in the field of blindness and visual impairment. His work currently includes the development of blindness professionals. He is a “retired” athlete, loves movies, sports, reading, writing, and music, including dabbling in guitar.
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