Curiosity, God & The Social Age
By Susanne Goldstein on May 22, 2007 in Susanne's Favs, Cultural Trends, Global Community, The Social Age
I was in Nashville recently, and it was a great time. I went with my pal Michael, who works for the Danish Mission to the United Nations and is heading back to Denmark at the end of the summer. Michael is a curious guy. He cares about the world, people and what makes them tick. As a diplomat he works hard to understand different cultures, values and needs and help devise solutions that are winning for all parties involved. As part of Michael’s curious nature, he decided to spend his summer weekends exploring parts of the US he hasn’t seen yet in his 4 year stay here. When I heard Nashville was on his hit list, I gladly signed up to be his travel companion.
Nashville is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It goes without saying that the music was amazing — we saw Tim McGraw, Dolly Parton, John Ford Coley and many, many more perform live — but I was even more struck by a presence that was more pervasive than even the music. That presence was God.
Everywhere we went in Nashville, people were extolling the virtues of God to us. At a gig at the famous Bluebird Café, Alex Harvey (he of “Delta Dawn”) stopped his set to tell us stories of his salvation and ended his set with what he called “Jesus songs”. Waiting in line for tickets to the show, 12 Southern Baptist seminary students cracked jokes and entertained us as they tried to get us to join their flock. The Luis Palau City Fest, advertised as “two full days of fun, awesome Christian bands, world-class skateboarding demos, and opportunities to see your friends and family come to Jesus Christ”, was going on all weekend. The ladies we shared a table with at Rippy’s BBQ had driven hours to come hear an evangelist speak at the Nashville Arena (they were sneaking a drink in before the show). I could go on. It was pretty stunning.
Especially for someone like me, who is more secular-do-gooder-market-economy-fruit-and-vegetable-eating-centrist than God-praising-church-going-biscuit-and-gravy-eating-conservative.
Curiosity piqued, Michael and I talked to everyone we could to better understand. These were good, hard-working people. They were kind and friendly and eager to credit Christ for their successes. Their dedication to church, God and religion were admirable, but so prevalent that there wasn’t much talk of anything else. And they were convinced that if we took Christ into our lives, everything would be better.
Honestly, I didn’t know things needed to get better. My friend Stephen, the best computer coder I’ve ever met and a local Nashvillian, helped us understand. Stephen grew up eating, drinking and breathing religion. It wasn’t until he attended college that he realized that there was an entire world that he had been missing. He discovered Nietzsche, talked with friends from other parts of the country, participated in cultural debates. He realized that his intellectual curiosity had been stifled by his community’s constant focus on God. He decided to make a change. More committed now to the church of learning than the southern Baptist church he grew up in, Stephen is thriving. He’s still a good person, is still committed to family and friends, but his horizons have broadened, and now he has become much more aware of the world around him and the needs of the global society as a whole. Stephen had entered The Social Age. Which of course, got me thinking about religion — not religion in Nashville — but religion in general.
Religion, whether you are a believer or not, is one of the most powerful forces on the planet. It is the source of much fighting as well as much healing. It has the power to educate as well as the power to repress. But perhaps most significantly, it seems that in SOME cases, religion has the power to limit minds and strangle curiosity. Because many religions are based on “blind faith” questioning the elders or the holy books is a sin and the pathway straight to damnation. Which makes moving into The Social Age pretty hard.
The Social Age, if nothing else, is predicated on two things: curiosity and awareness. In order to be aware of the world around you, and make change in the world around you, you have to be curious and care what makes the world around you tick. If I care about ending child labor, I have to be curious about how and where my Nike sneakers are made. If I want to help slow global warming, I have to be aware of my own contribution to it, and look for ways to reduce my own carbon emissions (start by changing out your light bulbs!). If I care about ending sectarian violence, I have to be curious about the needs and desires of each party, and help devise solutions that are winning for all. And this is pretty hard to do, when believers are exposed to only a very narrow set of teachings. So I contend that the church (or temple or mosque) can play an incredibly influential role in our ability or failure to move into The Social Age.
The key is going to be in cultivating curiosity that can expose believers to different views, perspectives and faiths and broaden their horizons as they pertain to our global society. Imagine what could happen if some of the good works that religious organizations do were focused on changing the world as well as saving souls. There are legions of people that could be mobilized and millions of lives that could be changed.
Let me make one thing clear. I’m not saying that religion is bad and the reason that many people in the world aren’t curious. There are plenty of uninterested people who aren’t religious at all. What I am saying is that the church has the ability to take its enormous influence, and impact change amongst people who might not have cared otherwise.
As you can probably tell, I am fascinated by the influence and impact of religion on our society. Though I am secular, I have studied and compared religions for years, attempting to understand the beliefs, uses and misuse of God’s will on our culture. I am always open and interested in debate on this topic. Feel free to comment here, or write me privately at susanne (at) the social age dot com.
Ah, a great post on a topic right in my wheelhouse. Kudos, as always….
My view is that religion doesn’t have to be about stifling curiosity or limiting oneself ro teaching. The name Israel, for example, translates to “wrestles with God,” a great metaphor if there is any for curiosity and quest for knowing the unknowable.
Interestingly enough, the very place that nurture curiosity and questioning the best in our modern era, colleges and universities, started as religious institutions that nurtured the quest for knowledge. The Jesuits at Georgetown have always struck me as the most interesting of those who enjoy learning for learnings sake. Generally, I think the real tension is between, change versus more of the same and how society integrates them. Some religious institution
(far too few in my opinion) embrace change, while other reject it.
But one of the most interesting thoughts that comes to my mind is that religion is not the only place this applies. Harvey Cox of the Harvard Divinity School wrote a piece in the late 90′S called “The Market as God” which applies the tools of theology to understanding the underpinnings of capitalist economic philosophy. Since “invisible hand” philosophy underpins both the Industrial and the Information Age, and you are arguing for a Social Age, aren’t you perhaps engaging in a Heresy, a schism, a reform?
Comment by Dennis -- May 22, 2007 @ 10:47 pm
Dennis, your comment is spot on. Having grown up in a home filled with both religion and inquiry, I believe that they can, in fact, co-exist. The challenge becomes when religious dogma overpowers any chance for inquiry. I was brought up to “question everything”, which I believe was a result of the melding of my parents’ intellect and cultural traditions. I feel like I was very lucky.
As for your comment on the “invisible hand”, I’m going to do some thinking and get back to you. For those of you who are interested in joining the discussion, you can find out more about “invisible hand theory” at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invisible_hand
Comment by Susanne Goldstein -- May 22, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
In the spirit of curiosity, I would be interested to learn more about religions that have a tradition of curiosity, exploration, and challenge (of the self, and the institution). Some religions, it seems, ask for submission and unquestioning obeyance, whereas others have different degrees of flexibility towards debate, questioning, or even defiance. We are, of course, talking about something rather subjective — one follower of a faith may feel that his or her religion is open and flexible while another may feel different. But it would still be interesting to have a more meta perspective across many religions on this subject.
Comment by StevieD -- May 24, 2007 @ 12:40 am
Frankly, i’m disappointed you seem to feel a need to rush to offer a judgement and evaluation of something (southern religion) that you so clearly find beyond your experience. as a former southern baptist seminary student, twice, i think it’s a little premature.
Comment by kevin doyle jones -- Jun 12, 2007 @ 9:43 pm
Kevin - No offense meant at all. Please accept my apology if this did indeed offend you. I tried to make it amply clear that I am not judging religion. I am simply observing my 4 day experience immersed in a culture very foreign to my own.
I think there is evidence of both the power of religion to teach and the power of religion to supress. And as I said in my post, my commentary is not about religion in Nashville (or Southern Baptism for that matter) but about religion (of all kinds) in general (see the end of the 6th paragraph).
My line of inquiry is simply about how religion can play a role in moving us into The Social Age. There is so much that could be done if the power of Church (or Temple or Mosque) communities were harnessed to help break down barriers instead of (in some cases) building them up. The sectarian violence in Iraq is just one very current example.
Religion is a touchy subject to be writing about, but I think that religion is also probably the most influential power that humankind has to offer. I’m happy that it is sparking some interesting debate and hope you continue to engage in the conversation, either here online, or in private.
Best,
Susanne
Comment by Susanne Goldstein -- Jun 12, 2007 @ 10:01 pm
Suzanne, I’m not offended….. I guess I was just hoping for more questions and fewer conclusions after just four days in a foreign culture… it’s a curious thing about religion; people don’t typically apply the same kind of sensitivity and filters to their observations that they would, say, in a multi ethnic or multicultural situation. if you look back at your description of Steven, he has left religion behind and entered the social age; a clear evolutionary leap forward.
I am very much a former southern baptist and think the rigidity of the southern fried religion is something i could no longer live with. but i think after four days, its more appropriate to be looking for more people who have different explanations.
Comment by kevin doyle jones -- Jun 13, 2007 @ 12:32 am
Point taken. And as I mentioned, my “study” of religion and its impact has been a lifelong pursuit — I can’t tell you how many books I have. But books are not experience. And for me, Nashville was an interesting catalyst for thought. Stephen’s presumed “move” into The Social Age was instructive in that his focus became in learning about other people, their motivations and desires, not in trying to convert them or tell them they are bad or broken. And admittedly, of the dozens of people we sought out and met in Nashville, he was the only person who actually asked back “what do you believe?” So yes, my focus group was small, but I did try to engage as many people as possible and get as much information as I could in 4 days.
However, and I feel I’m repeating myself here, the story of Nashville is simply a set-up for the bigger issue: What role can religion and religious organizations play as we move into The Social Age? My contention is that they can play an enormous role. The questions: How can we encourage them to do so: Will there be resistance since for some religions, curiosity and question are frowned upon. I have no answers, but am constantly seeking options.
Susanne
Comment by Susanne Goldstein -- Jun 13, 2007 @ 7:40 am
that’s interesting, and not surprising, that he was the only one who asked what you believe; presumption of Christian belief is the default in the south. how you get religious organizations and people to move into the Social Age is an interesting question. Sometimes religion can be a haven for fear and divisiveness. My wife is an Episcopal priest in San Francisco, though she grew up a Southern Baptist in Mississippi, and many people back home would not opely welcome her gay clergy ministry partner… I’ve worked with United Rellgious Initiative, a pretty amazing grass roots group focused on eliminating religiously motivated violence to tease out some of the things that work for that transformation you’re talking about. The report on that project is here: http://artbeam.net/uri/now.html
Comment by kevin doyle jones -- Jun 13, 2007 @ 9:39 am
As a Nashvillian and Southern Baptist raised and reformed thinker, could the “Social Age” bring about a movement toward spirituality apart from the rigidity of traditional religion? The organization that is religion is simply a meeting place. The true church/temple/mosque is the heart of soul of the spiritual person. That is where genuine acts of goodness exercised and implemented.
Comment by Adam -- Jul 12, 2007 @ 9:59 pm