High Holy Days -- An Introduction
With Greater Cincinnati becoming more and more diverse in the religious traditions its residents adhere to, how do we adopt practices that respect each other’s holy days and take them into account when we plan our work, school and civic schedules?
That’s a question raised here recently with events that conflicted with the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, but it applies equally to other religions at other times of the year.
Members of the Enquirer Editorial Board decided to tackle the issue on this blog. Our individual perspectives appear below, and appear in our print edition of Monday, Oct. 9. We’re inviting you to join the discussion. Add your comments, explain your viewpoints and advance your own solutions.
posted by Ray Cooklis at 6:59 PM
8 Comments:
at 1:53 PM, October 07, 2006 
John in Cincinnati said...
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at 9:00 AM, October 09, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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at 9:05 AM, October 09, 2006 
David Wells said...
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at 9:08 AM, October 09, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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at 12:26 PM, October 09, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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at 7:05 AM, October 10, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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at 1:34 PM, October 10, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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at 7:43 AM, October 11, 2006 
Anonymous said...
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Post a Comment*We used to worry about being politically correct (PC). I rarely hear that term anymore.
The emphasis shifted to cultural diversity, and more recently the trend is to take an explicitly religious view.
It *can* get to the point where you're walking on eggshells so much you significantly limit all activities. Counter-productive!
Best bet is to respect others' beliefs and practices. Do your best not to schedule when it may create a problem. Apologize when necessary and go on with your life.
I'm trying to figure out how to post my comments. I won't write those comments until I know that what I am doing works.
You seem to have figured it out. Welcome to the conversation.
The Enquirer's biased (and nasty in some cases) editorial board attempts to assume the moral high ground in its preface to the blog discussion about "sensitivity" to "diverse" religious traditions in our community. Let me take a somewhat more rational approach. I happen to be a practicing, traditional Catholic. There are many different religions in our world (including thousands of non-Catholic Christian sects). Virtually all those who follow a particular religion are certain their beliefs are "right." But they can't all be right, especially when their beliefs conflict. No one has been able to provide scientific proof of the existence of anything "supernatural", let alone the existence or nature of God. And you ought not try to force people to be "nice" when it comes to their opinion of variouis religious beliefs, especially when they seem ridiculous on the surface. You can force them to obey certain laws against acts like murder, theft, assault, etc. under penalty of fine or punishment, but you can't make them be "nice." If I want to be a curmudgeon, that is my prerogative. If somewhat wants to worship an empty ketchup bottle as "deity", that is their right. But such a one has NO right to force others to accept their belief, nor do they have a right to intimidate others into "respecting" their beliefs. It is my right to scorn any religious belief that appears stupid to me. I try not to do that, but it is my right if I so choose. The Egyptians worshipped the sun and certain insects. I don't need to respect that, and you can't make me. Observe all the holidays you like, including Christmas, Ramadan, the vernal equinox, Kwaanza, and the rest. But do not expect society to walk on eggshells and schedule their activities so as not to "offend" you. We would have to virtually shut society down to full respect all of the different religious beliefs in the world. Such a thing would be futile, and irrational.
‘I happen to be a practicing, traditional Catholic . . . You can force them to obey certain laws against acts like murder, theft, assault, etc.’ I guess on the day that the law of the land would permit to do the latter, you would gladly join the crusade. . . .
To Kalman Kivkovich
You said "I guess on the day that the law of the land would permit to do the latter, you would gladly join the crusade." I would like very much to evaluate your opinion, because I try to keep an open mind. But I have no idea what in the heck you were trying to say when you said this. Please explain. Are you implying that I would embrace murder, robbery, assault, etc. if it were "legal?" I honestly don't understand your point.
John in Cincinnati thinks "PC" has moved on. However, the PC mentality has several components which are, unfortunately, alive and well: "cultural diversity," "tolerance," and "inclusion." None of these deceptive terms means what you think they mean - they are ruses to facilitate the deconstruction of Western, Judeo-Christian civilization and the American national identity. What these terms have done is to help create a public square in which everyone is supposedly offended by everyone who is different. In fact, if you claim to be offended, you are rewarded with new civil "rights" - though of course this does not apply to those who affirm civilized values, whose rights always shrink as other acquire new ones.
This universal state of offense is a by-product of Pope Benedict's "dictatorship of relativism," in which there is no right or wrong, good or evil, majority or minority. In other words, there is only anarchy.
Can anyone explain to me the problem with having a cultural/religious norm, which Christianity has always been in America, while at the same time respecting and being aware of other legitimate cultural/religious traditions? In such an environment, Christians need not worry about "offending" anyone, but they also have the responsibility of informing themselves about other traditions, and evaluating them. But they evaluate from a position of strength, not of weakness.
Respect is always a personal choice, no matter what Stalinist PC policies and procedures are enacted in the workplace or the public square. Being informed is also a choice - one that is my duty as a citizen, in order to be able to distinguish between right and wrong. If I am grounded in the knowledge of right and wrong, good and evil, then I can determine that anarchy, and the narcissism which proposes a system of universal offense, is utterly wrong.
That is to say, if you worship an empty ketchup bottle, as Ferren Balanced points out, you have no sane right to demand the respect of the culture in which you find yourself, no matter how "offended" you might be by that.
My congratulations to Michael Brandenburg for an articulate and civil explanation of his particular religious affiliation and some of its more important faith tenets. It is a real pleasure to participate in a discussion with someone who doesn't rant with steam coming out of his ears, and who doesn't project a belligerent attitude that threatens to obliterate anyone who doesn't agree with him.
Having said that, allow me to disagree with some of Mr. Brandenburg's conclusions with regard to societal accommodation of their particular belief system, and the demands that it makes on them.
It is the absolute right of this group to observe their combined Feast of Tabernacles and Last Great Day ritual. However (and I say this with no animosity), the rest of society is under no obligation to adhere to the beliefs which motivate this group to observe the customs that they follow. True, a civilized society would not deliberate insult such beliefs (e.g., Madonna, Kanye West, Joseph Serrano, etc.), but they are not obliged to "respect" (as in "see the wisdom of") them.
Mr. Brandenburg is disappointed that employers and school officials have not been willing to "reasonably" accommodate his group's religious beliefs. I maintain that there are other ways in which this group can make sure it doesn't suffer unreasonably because of devotion to a particular custom.
Data from religioustolerance.org (2002) suggests that the total Church of God membership in the U.S. (including the United Church of God, which I assume is a subset of the main organization) totals about 257,000 people. Assuming that all Church of God members hold the same beliefs as Mr. Brandenburg's group, this number represents less than 1/10th of one percent of the U.S. population. Is it "reasonable" to expect our school system to grant a sabbatical of an entire week to students whose families attend a religious event such as he describes? I honestly don't think so. It is already difficult for school officials to accommodate the various wants and needsd of our diverse population. Imagine the chaos that would result if we allowed everyone to miss school for reasons like this, with no penalty. I might also suggest that the members of this church consider scheduling the event during the summer months, when it would not conflict with school. Other religious denominations with rigid requirements differing from the general population have found that private school systems (like those of the Amish and Catholics) provide a good solution, in which their customs can be easily accommodated. The world is vastly different from what it was in the first century A.D.
With respect to employers and the prospect of jobs lost because of unexcused absences, I would only say that almost all working people have vacation time which can be used for such purposes. Even if an individual has no vacation time available, I would guess that most employers would be willing to give time off without pay to someone who feels an obligation to attend such an event. If one's beliefs are as strong as Mr. Brandenburg's seem to be, sacrificing a week's pay would not be an undue hardship.
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