I read an interesting book a couple of years ago - it was called "The Catholic Imagination".
The premise was that when Catholics fall into heretic beliefs and practices they tend to fall in the direction of superstition. When Protestants fall into heresy they tend to fall towards Deism.
The reason Catholics fall into superstition is because their religious practice tends to involve all the senses (incense, stain glass, holy water, homilies, etc) and the mind and is often tactile - crossing yourself, blessing with holy water. Also, for Catholics, God's influence is everywhere we look - holy water, the Eucharist - St. Francis viewed animals and plants as saints because they were acting exactly how God created them to act. Even Catholics that fall away from the church completely still cross themselves - you cannot easily take the catholic out of a person
Protestants tend to limit religious practice to their minds - right doctrine is paramount, reading the word is emphasized. God is often viewed as far away by pew-sitters - The Watchmaker god, the man upstairs, or simply a concept.
The book really made a lot of sense to me - and it taught me why we tend to judge each other so harshly. Protestants are afraid of magic and superstition - it rubs the Western Enlightened mind the wrong way. Catholics are afraid of God being seen as distant - we want to be involved in our faith - that is why the liturgy is so important to us - it connects us to God in a rich and meaningful way.
Catholics tolerate superstition from their pew-sitters - which frightens Protestants when they see it. Protestants tolerate Deism from their pew-sitters - as long as they have right doctrine and claim to follow the same Christ they are tolerated. Catholics are not as worried about about right doctrine as they are about an unwillingness to join the community in participating in Mass.
Although these are all generalizations, I thought the book had a point. It reminded me that I am apart of a church that holds different standards for religious practice then my old Protestant tradition. And even though I can see the value of both traditions it helps me to be more likely to judge each tradition by it's own standards, rather than each others.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
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The topic sounds so interesting...makes sense. Did the author explore the possibility of Protestants moving toward Deism and then Agnosticism? Seems to be a precedent Protestantism really created by insisting on reason (of a sort) in their religion.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was falling off the bandwagon of Protestantism, I sort of turned toward mysticism for some reason. It always seemed like Protestantism lacked the flavor of real religion to me.
Even now, with Zen as my path, the use of incense, chants, ritual, Buddhas, etc. add a lot of meaning to me that mere thinking could not. Things like Tai Chi and Yoga feel that way to me as well because they involve the body, not the intellect.
An interesting point that some may not know is that despite the preponderance of Deists that flocked to Freemasonry during the Enlightenment, there's considerable mystical ritual involved in it. Little verbal explanation is given for the symbolism, and it is likely to be taken personally in the way it fits best in each one's own religion. It's sort or a peculiar feature considering it's roots.
The author never carried Protestantism as far as agnosticism, however I think it the next step. On the Catholic side, I think Voodoo and other hands on religious movements are the next step.
ReplyDeleteYou ideas about Freemasonry are very interesting - I think it offered what Protestants and Catholic were lacking + a safe place to express ideas.