According to an article by Michelle Boorstein in The Washington Post, "Prayer has become more common at presidential appearances under the Obama administration, including at nonreligious events such as stimulus rallies. The White House is acting in a deliberately inclusive, interfaith way that seems to limit opposition." People pursuing a nonsectarian spiritual path sometimes find themselves conflicted about the role they feel organized religion should play in everyday life, especially in the political arena. And the policies of President Obama, arguably the most progressive candidate elected to this office in recent memory, may be challenging to many of his supporters. But I disagree.
Candidate Barack Obama receives a blessing during the African Methodist Episcopal Church's 48th Quadrennial Session General Conference, July 5, 2008, St. Louis, Mo.I have long believed, contrary to some of my most liberal friends, that religion ought to be taught in school, beginning with elementary and middle schools. Unlike most Christian advocates of prayer in schools, however, I think the context needs to be comparative religion. We should be teaching our children the differences and similarities among all faiths, not just Christianity and Judaism but also Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Wicca, the Bahai Faith, the so-called New Age, and, yes, atheism, agnosticism, and secular humanism.
President Obama's policy "appears to continue a new White House approach to religion: invite piety and spirituality at every opportunity, but with a new emphasis on interfaith participants and atheists," Boorstein continues, noting that the new president mentioned "non-believers" in his inauguration speech and has said that he does not consider faith-based social service programs inherently superior to secular ones.
"To me, it's entirely a new frontier of religious politics," said University of Washington communications professor David Domke, who has written about presidential rhetoric and religion. "Prayer will be different than what we've experienced since Reagan, with a much more substantial interfaith element."
My good friend and fellow Woodstock author Clark Srand has just published a book entitled How to Believe in God, Whether You Believe in Religion or Not (Doubleday, $25), in which he argues that we are at the beginning of a post-sectarian world. "Today you can practice yoga without having to become a Hindu, and you don't have to be a Taoist to benefit from qigong. You can believe in God without belonging to a church. For that matter, you can do all three at the same time, downloading whatever you need onto your individual spiritual playlist. It's an age of iReligion, where the old rules no longer apply." I've just started reading Clark's book and will have more to say on it in future blog posts. For now you can find more about it at his new site, wholeearthgod.com
I not only share Clark Strand's understanding of the new age of religion, but have been teaching it myself for years. Among other things, I've produced an 8-CD set called Creating a Personal Spiritual Practice.
In the CDs, recorded at the Omega Institute with my good friend Lench Archuleta, a Yacqui teacher who lives near the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, we discuss how to build a spiritual practice of great personal significnce based on teachings and practices from Eastern, Western, and Native traditions.
As to the following, I say: "AMEN, Peter!"
Peter writes: "I have long believed, contrary to some of my most liberal friends, that religion ought to be taught in school, beginning with elementary and middle schools. Unlike most Christian advocates of prayer in schools, however, I think the context needs to be comparative religion. We should be teaching our children the differences and similarities among all faiths, not just Christianity and Judaism but also Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Wicca, the Bahai Faith, the so-called New Age, and, yes, atheism, agnosticism, and secular humanism."
Prayer seems to be occupying not only a different style but a much more universal, all-encompassing place in this administration as well as in the nation. It is about time and I look forward to finally be able to enJOY the rich diversity as well as the depth many faiths share. What a gorgeous tapestry!!
Thanks Peter for creating this space!
Eternally,
The -60s/boomer generation shared high idealism with radical scepticism, a volatile combination, and I mean that in a positive sense. But in the process, we threw out several babies with the bathwater. Many of us have since rediscovered the personal and social value of prayer and spirituality without feeling that we have to belong to a particular religion, sect, or group. One reason the Obamas are proving so subtly radical is their ability to invite us to re-examine some of our existing preconceptions, and to invite the rest of the country to re-examine theirs. Michelle just planted an organic garden at the White House, much to the consternation of the Monsantos of the world, as she will be using no chemical pesticides. It sounds like a small thing, but it's huge. In this era of the divine feminine, she is helping reassert the Mother Goddess role in subtle but telling ways.