Tag: Religion

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Extraordinary Religion

What does extraordinary religion and religious practice mean?

Before I delve into the subject, it is probably a simplistic understatement to say that each of us believe our religious practice to be an extraordinary one.  As I mentioned in a previous post, to even ask this question might come off as offensive because few see their religious life as ‘normal.’  But, as I think you will agree, there is a difference between ordinary and extraordinary religious practice.

As before, the term extraordinary religion comes from America Religions and Religion, by Catherine L. Albanese. In particular, it comes from her introduction titled The Elephant in the Dark. In that piece, Albanese breaks the two aspects of religion, ordinary and extraordinary, as elements of boundary building between the regular cultural practice of a faith tradition and the more esoteric or transcendent aspect by which we connect to our particular aspect of a higher power.

I use the term higher power because we are dealing with all aspects of faith and not just a particular brand of spirituality which might instead use the term God.

In her book, she defines extraordinary religion as:

the religion that helps people to transcend, or move beyond, their everyday culture and concerns. Extraordinary religion grows at the borders of life as we know it and seeks to over into another country and another form of life. In the West, extraordinary religion helps us to contact God.

Let us look briefly at each of these two kinds of religion.”  That “…In the West, extraordinary religion helps us to contact God…” which is, I believe at the heart of all religious practice.

But, for most the process of this contact varies, and depending on how one defines it, could be subjective to the contactee and not easily definable to those outside of that individuals particular circle of society.

Albanese says, “…extraordinary religion is, as the term literally announces, extra ordinary, the ordinary circle society. Indeed, extraordinary religion involves an encounter with some form of otherness, whether natural or supernatural” which perhaps puts off those who are not readily willing to say that they desire just that sort of supernatural experience.

And, this experience is not necessarily widespread, as Albanese believes, “if ordinary religion is diffused throughout culture, extraordinary religion is condensed” meaning that it occurs individually or within in smaller circles of believers of similar mind or inclination. That Extraordinary religion includes special language, symbols, iconography, and other aspects of delineation of belief. In essence, I believe that it includes the symbolism of the belief group or individual so as to facilitate the same or similar aspect of practice.

In many ways, this is an expression of spirituality which seems to pervade through all religious traditions in some manner of extraordinary connectivity to the creative force of their particular religion.

To see how this interlaces with ordinary religion, we need to consider that this practice of extraordinary religion occurs within communities or ordinary practice. While this is true for the most part, I am increasingly convinced that the idea of extraordinary religious practice is increasingly taking place outside of faith communities as more and more spiritual seekers are not turning to a particular branch of church, but rather looking in what would have been previously considered alternative religions. The numbers from the Pew study of religion seems to confirm this, at least in so far as the trends of church attendance are on the decline across the board while the individual interest in spirituality is on the climb.

So, what can you take away from this? My take is that what has here-to-for been looked at as an esoteric pursuit of religious expression is rather in fact the pursuit of extraordinary religious practice in seeking for a more meaningful takeaway from the experience. By participating at some level with the hopes of having a supernatural experience with some divine or Godly overtones has been, and will continue to be, a natural part of our human nature and human experience. Whether we look at indigenous peoples or the most devout of western religious practice, at some level there is a desire for some spiritual connection to the unseen force behind the devotion and normative practice of worship.

I believe, that it is in this transcendence that the boundaries between religions can be traversed and a common space achieved within which a mutual expression of religion takes place.

This was originally published on Sacred Space Los Angeles in 2012.

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Ordinary Religion

What is Ordinary Religious practice?

This is not a question one would ever generally consider and perhaps the question comes off to someone as an affront to their own religious practice which they consider being extraordinary because of elements within it that they believe to be beyond the normal object of practice.

The exploration of the term ordinary religion comes from the book by Catherine Albanses, America Religions and Religion. In essence, the idea behind Ordinary Religion is the day to day practice of a particular faith tradition not encompassing a dynamic encounter with the divine, in other words an otherwise mystical or super-spiritual experience.

Examples of ordinary religion include attending church, participation in church activities that are not directly linked to mystical experience and social interactions from a religious context which again does not include some degree of ecstatic experience. Albanese describes Ordinary Religion as “the religion that is more or less synonymous with culture. Ordinary religion shoes people how to live well within boundaries.”

This has a tinge of hostility behind it as to suggest that a religion rests within a boundary suggests a clear demarcation of us and them. Albanese says, “Ordinary religion puts its premium on the things that are deeply present and (mostly) unconsciously revered within everyday culture,” in essence the everyday practice of that religion.

These boundaries exits within the spectrum of practice and, as artificial as they may be, are in fact a reality between different denominations and between different religions. This can be clearly seen in the disparate theologies that populate the landscape in the many churches that exist within most high density urban communities.

To understand this idea more fully, we can look back to Albanese when she says’

“ordinary religion can reveal itself in the many customs and folkways that are part of a culture: expected ways of greeting people; wedding etiquette concerning clothes, manners, and obligations; habits of diet; and holiday behavior.”

It is precisely these ideas that create the artificial boundaries between other faith traditions.

So, how can you tell if your religious practice is an ordinary one?

I don’t think the question is as relevant as it may seem. Nor do I think that it is something unique and wholly an element of religion. Any system of system of customs and practice can be an ordinary practice and create boundaries so long as it embraces elements unique to its conduct. Association with like minded sports fans, attendance to only similar performances of a genre of music, or even celebration of holidays that others may not have any inclination of, all of these are aspects of participatory ordinary practice. The creation of boundaries comes in the very practice or group association.

Ultimately, Ordinary Religion can be defined as living within your boundaries – doing what you think you should. It is your day by day routine that represents your values evident in communal celebrations and activities, essentially synonymous with culture.

The counter point to Ordinary Religion comes when we look at the practice Extraordinary Religion which exists beyond the “normal” culture, and transcends both boundaries and beliefs to explore more explanations of your culture or religion.  In essence, the encounter space between boundaries otherwise known as Extraordinary Religion.

This was originally published on Sacred Space Los Angeles in 2012.

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Hermetica as a Religious Philosophy

Something I’ve been giving a lot thought to lately is the idea of Hermetica, or maybe better phrased the Hermetic philosophy, as a religious practice. Does this foundation of the western mystery tradition hold-up as a practice of religious devotion or in some ritual practice?

On the outside, i think I’ve wanted to think it does. That, at it’s core, one could utilize the ideas of the mysterious emerald tablet as a set of ideals that promote some kind of philosophical religious ideation. And, like the Christian Bible, the Hermetic texts could offer some degree of direction or ethos to inform and guide religious decision making. But, the more and more I’ve considered this, the more often I’ve come back to the decision that it doesn’t, or that it can’t.

As a teaching, Hermetica offers an interesting philosophical take on approaching the world. That it offers a syncretic zest to elevating above the fray of dogmatism, while itself establishing it’s own set of dogmas and thou shalt and shalt-nots.

It’s in these dogmas that, perhaps, the religion exists.

So then, should hermetic be re-imagined? Take the good, reject the bad and construct a new ethic of what it means to be Hermetic? It could keep the teachings of the Kybalion, and still layer in with the Rosicrucian or masonic ideas (it is, after all about initiation and seeing things from a different perspective not considered before). And why can’t it retain the syncretism of a trans polytheism as being adoptable under all faiths constructing a new layer or dynamic to understanding the god of Judaism, the god of Islam and the path if the Buddha.

It’s under this key aspect that always bring me back to the conclusion that Hermetica is, itself, the religion of religions. That it is the underlying philosophical bones of modernism itself in that while it’s teachings come from great antiquity, the ideas themselves find newer relevance the smaller the world gets — a condition we find the further along we get in the path of history. Hermeticism, then, is that closed loop of time, without beginning or end, looping back upon itself in a way that seems to be without beginning or end. It simply is.

And yet, all things start and stop, and start again as the forward motion of the universe continues. It is all and nothing at the same time. This is where my head is at in considering the place of Hermetica in the grand cosmic scheme of things. This is how I find validation in my ideas of it having fingers and thought in all aspects of religion, all aspects of life. Hermetic isn’t this, or that, it just is.And by being, it continues on to be re-imagined, changed and evolved into some other construct of it’s former self.

Which brings me back around full circle.