From Paris with love

France's burqa troubles represents a coming issue in American politics. Sure, there's an ocean between that political nightmare and our domestic dreams. But there's a day when the French burqa-ban legislation will not just be a French issue.

It's hard to say exactly what will happen in the French government over what to do with the muslim headcovering cunundrum. A complete ban could create resentment and possibly even rebellion. Any prorated limitation might create said problems. The French government is in a sticky place to say the least. They have a substantial group of very-religious people living amongst a hyper-secularized government that values freedom. In the case of Islam, women and freedom are up for debate. Whatever the government decides to do, it could have very negative consequences.

By the book

If you were going to have a showdown in Lodi, CA it might as well be over God. According the NY times, Lodi has taken accustom to praying before city council meetings. As one might imagine, not everyone is pleased. Legal blows are ready to fire. Here is a very loose quote of the pro-side, "It's not big deal." And the opposing side, "it's a very big deal." In any case, this battle is headed to the courts very soon.

While the pro-prayer folks have a good point that the prayer is non-sectarian, non-divisive, and pre-gavel smash, I think there is an interesting issue to consider. Let's say for a moment that the prayer of the Lodi Councilmen does happen to work like they want it to. God, if He is there, listening, and willing, happens to grant all of the requests. How will that effect the meetings? It will be such that the proceedings have a heavy religious undertone, nay, an entirely religious undertone--hey, it's from God, remember. If that happens, then the charge of Church connected with State will uphold true--the policy will be divine.

Perhaps that example slights to the mythological blend, but a similar example could provide insight. It could turn out that when those parishioners ask for wisdom from the Almighty that they in fact devote themselves to acting according to some religious standard. Maybe this is just good wisdom, but maybe its a slippery slope.

ad absurdum

A recent Princeton study suggests people become more religious as they get older. The study confirms predictions of Mill, Weber, etc. and anyone who has ever been to a church. Here are some inferences I will make about the next 30 years if this and other trends hold true.

The baby boomers are turning 70, 80, and 90 in the next 30 years. The resulting geriatric phenomenon will render churches full and conservative on the rise. The Religious Right will triple in size, giving a 85% advantage to the Republican party in the 2020 election. The divine dictator that the group will elect will institute mosaic law, enact prohibition, and mandate the compulsory reading of The Purpose Drive Life. .

Hasidic Molestation

Molestation is endemic not just to the Catholic Church. While the priesthood's celibacy may be a contributing factor to the problem, sex abuse occurs in most sections of society. In some ways it should make perfect sense to hear that the realm of Hasidic Jews is not immune, but it is still surprising.

This case provides, I think, an interesting point to the human experience. While the Hasidic order did offer somewhat of a cover-up, sex abuse seems to be prevalent everywhere there are humans. Religiosity seems to give a shield from the media, but does not provide a vaccine to the crime.

Kid's movie not for Kids

Christianity Today's reviews may have a slight bias towards conservative morals, but it seems they got it right on the review of Where the Wild Things Are. The reviewer makes the case that the movie expresses themes that might be a little too stark for the virgin minds. Their motives however are hard to pin down. Could it be that the Bible or other moral code floating around has made a statement that kids should not watch certain movies? Perhaps the sacred texts mention a general rule that guides the reviewer's pen? Or could it be that it's just good judgment?

Though it might seem that the goal here is to disregard the review due to a biased jury, it's not the case. The review is plain good judgment. But my question is whether good judgment has to be clothed in spirituality for it to be powerful. Can things be bad for kids just because they are unhealthy, or does there have to be a divine decree?

trading Apples for Apples

Why are those religious folks so against gay-marriage anyhow? Slate magazine published an article several years ago answering the question of why gay marriage doesn't fly with orthodoxy. And you guessed it: either it's going to undermine the very fabric of our society or it's just plain wrong. Two hefty charges against love between the same-sex.

Steven Waldman, the article's author, goes ahead to slay these accusations. But he could have taken a different route to tearing down the arguments. The first one is especially interesting. Gay marriage, the religious people suppose, will destroy the structure of our society by cheapening the faithful bond between a man and a woman that apparently is society's base support. Waldman argues that gay marriage will not cause said calamity. I say, not only will gay marriage not lead to the downfall of the race, it wouldn't be replacing a natural structure anyhow. Though the research could turn out to be limited, marriage is arguably an artificial fix for societal problems that arise with populations over that of small-band societies. If marriage is somewhat symbolic now, then it has hard to say that it is living up to its solutonesque origination. And if marriage is merely symbolic, letting homesexuals marry would simply be replacing a symbolism for a symbolism. Society might thus be saved from doom.

a sucker for chaplains

Last week the Washington Post published an article on a preacher that has caught President Obama's eye. The guy is an ex-military type, broad-shouldered and all. And apparently he delivers sermons that the President finds "powerful." Perhaps, it figures considering the views that the preacher carries on his hip that are by no means pacifist. But this doesn't mean Rev. Carey Cash has a slight to militarism; in fact, that's not the issue. The issue is whether it's good that every so often Rev. Cash spiritually pumps up Obama to be some better person, or Christian, or leader, or whatever.(Most of these sermons happen at Camp David by the way). Should we want our Pres. to be given a spiritual pep rally even at all? What if he were to change his mind on a policy issue because some Rev. provoked a heartfelt transformation? Yeah, the Church might be separate from State but too close to Obama's ear, if even for a short time.