Religious Wrap Up

Regardless of what subject a class is in, I feel that any type of 17 week affair deserves some sort of retrospective look back. 

I began this class understanding that America had a unique relationship with religion. I knew what most people who went through high school here knew about the colonization of America by religious groups seeking religious freedom. I knew that from this sprouted the colonies and then the United States, and then I knew that due to the 1st amendment and because of Thomas Jefferson's writings, the definition of the where each of the spheres of religion, politics and personal life intersected became a uniquely American struggle. 

However, I discovered much of what I believed to be a gross simplification. Religion is a tangled mess in the present day, but that's always been the case. Comparatively speaking, we are living in a time of relatively unified ideas, especially when you think about the early 1800s. We live in a society that thinks, on some degree at least, that religions are usually private affairs, but that idea has only recently began to be mainstream. 

I found the personally challenging traditions of Mormonism and Spiritualism particularly interesting to study, and in the readings, discussions, and videos, I found that these philosophies are distinctly American ideas that only could have taken root and flourished in places like the United States; each of these traditions, in their own ways, represent the American experience. Religions that are much maligned, like Scientology, are truly American enterprises, and whether an American will admit it or not, Mormons, Scientologists, Spiritualists, New-Agers and Neo-Pagans all have a special place in this country's philosophical debate. 

Also, I learned how important the influence of vastly different religions have been in the culture of other faiths. It seems as if a common story in the American religious landscape is that one tradition travels to America and soon after, questions of legitimacy, schisms, and disputes eventually arise. Take Hinduism and Buddhism, for example, two traditions that in America have been lumped into identities that they did not have in their home countries. However, because of this new identity, are those who say they are Hindu or Buddhist in America not entitled to the same traditions as those back in the native countries? 

The fact that religions are not monolithic entities, while it shouldn't be surprising, was an interesting rediscovery for me this semester. Hinduism, especially, has such a particular meaning that I hesitate to use the word to describe the tradition. There are as many versions of a religion as there are people who practice it, and time after time I've found myself realizing that while there are some main tenets one can believe in within a faith, the actual application of that working definition is constantly challenged. 

Overall, the class this semester was intellectually provoking in its refusal to be so easily defined and put aside. Our class discussions were wonderful viewpoints into what our amazingly intelligent classmates were thinking, and for the first time I found myself excited to hear what people had to say about a subject (That totally sounds like I'm a jerk now that I re-read it, but hey, it's the truth!). 

Overall, I would say this class was rewarding, challenging, and interesting in the fullest meaning of those words.

10/10 would take again. 

Jerusalem Syndrome and Joseph Smith

After our class discussions and my recent SSRP, it should come as no surprise that my feelings toward Joseph Smith are not exactly the most scholastically friendly. However, after thinking about the particulars of his early life, I wonder if perhaps there might be something explainable about his visions. Let me just be clear: I do not think Joseph Smith was a charlatan or a knowing manipulator, but I do think there is some semblance of Joseph Smith knowing that he may have been embellishing or purposefully rewriting histories or sections in order to fit better into a "divine" narrative. Like John Milton writing Paradise Lost as a fan fiction of great Greek epic poetry that strives to hit every single cliche in order to be desperately counted among them, much of the story of Joseph Smith, from an outsider's perspective, reads like a laundry list of revelatory requirements in order to "legitimize" a prophet and, therefore, his related religious interpretations.

But there is something called Jerusalem Syndrome, and I wonder if perhaps a similar effect happened to a young Joseph Smith.

Jerusalem Syndrome, besides being an awesome name for a heavy metal album, is a hotly contested experience that is labeled psychotic episode. From wikipedia, it pretty much states that a person, who had no prior major religious adherence, during a visit to Jerusalem, is struck with a sudden religious zealotry, even going so far as to believe himself or herself to be Jesus or some other major prophet. It is similar to the Stendhal Syndrome for Florence, Italy, which is a series of dizzy, rapturous thoughts after viewing major works of art.

Having never been to Jerusalem but having been to Florence a few times, I can understand what these syndromes might be like. I remember going to Dante's house in Florence and feeling a strange feeling of awe as I walked up the stairways Dante did. Having read the Divine Comedy, and appreciating the history of the work, there is a weird sense knowing that another human was able to accomplish such a great feat and still had to do human things like go to the bathroom and walk up stairs. Perhaps it's just the fact that something you've built up your whole life into something huge is finally in front of you and is tangible that causes this feeling... But I think, since Joseph Smith lived in "The Burned Over District" and in a time that our documentary in class stated "Many people were prophets telling their truths about God," is it such a surprise that a young teenager from a sensitive family would have such a strong vision in the woods?

The main difference between Joseph Smith's experience and Jerusalem Syndrome, if such a thing exists, is that the latter subsides after a few weeks. The former lasted for the rest of his life. But could such a strong vision and feeling persist even after those euphoric or psychotic episodes leave? Is "psychotic" even a good term for it? That term implies that something isn't real, but could those visions truly be real? Are those places holy because they are divine, or are those places holy because we've just said divine things happened there over the course of our histories?

Anyway, one thing I do know is that "Upstate New York Syndrome" doesn't sound nearly as cool as Jerusalem Syndrome.