Christianity (Roman Catholic)\u2014Peggy Thompson <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Peggy spoke mostly about symbols as they relate to nuns\nbecause, she said, \u201cNuns, by what they traditionally wore and by their very\npersona, are to some extent symbols themselves.\u201d Peggy said that in the early\n20th<\/sup> century, the wearing of nuns\u2019 habits was banned in certain\nplaces in this country and on this continent. Peggy passed around a book that\nshowed many different habits. She pointed out that there is a fascination in\nthis country with nuns\u2019 habits. For Halloween you can buy a nun\u2019s-habit costume,\nand several male rock groups dress as nuns. Peggy held up a T-shirt that she\nhad been given showing a group called \u201cRage Against the Machine,\u201d a heavy-metal\nall-male rock band, all dressed in traditional nuns\u2019 habits and carrying\nrifles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As another example of a fascination with nuns and their garb,\nPeggy passed around a catalogue from a company called Blessings, which she\ncharacterized as \u201csome nostalgic men in Michigan who like to make nun dolls and\nCatholic schoolgirl dolls.\u201d She showed us one of these dolls; it was clothed in\na blue habit, depicting a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters, a\nMichigan order that Peggy had studied, who were called \u201cthe blue nuns\u201d because\nof the color of their habit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fascination with nuns\u2019 habits lends itself to\ncaricatures, Peggy said. One of the most popular traditional outfits in\npornographic movies and strip joints is the nun\u2019s habit or the Catholic\nschoolgirl uniform because this clothing is supposed to signify women who have taken\nvows of chastity. A number of studies have been done of the image of the nun in\npornography going back to the Middle Ages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The identification between what nuns were and what nuns wore\nwas so tight that the ceremony by which women entered into a religious order\nwas called the \u201cclothing ceremony.\u201d Each part of the habit of every order had\ngreat symbolic meaning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Habits originally were worn to make sisters unnoticeable.\nThey represented the garb of a poor widow; in other words, a woman who was\nunavailable to men. They became very expensive over time, however, because as\nclothing changed, the materials and components of these habits stayed the same\nand became less readily available. Often the habits had to be imported, thereby\nbecoming symbols not of poverty, but of distinction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Peggy says that it is important to understand where religious\ngarb comes from and why people wear it. Otherwise, we can become offensively\nfascinated with the externals rather than focusing on the internal values that\nthe garb symbolizes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buddhism\u2014Bonnie Shoultz <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Bonnie Shoultz, who was ordained as a Buddhist nun in July, said that, in her view, if our government were able to dictate or prohibit expressions of our faith traditions, then the separation between church and state would not be as complete as it is set out to be in the Constitution. When there is separation, the government does not have the right to prohibit religious practices, unless done through a vehicle of the state (school, courtroom, etc.). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Bonnie wore her Buddhist robe. There is no distinction\nbetween the robes worn by males or by females. For lay Buddhists, there are a\nnumber of items that might be worn in public as well as in the temple. Each\nperson makes a rakusu <\/em>(a garment\nworn around the neck) <\/em>as he or she decides\nto explore further, and make a stronger commitment to, the practice of\nBuddhism. The rakusu is patched, because it is said that when Buddha left his\nhome where he had been raised as a prince, he left all his clothing. He went\ninto a cemetery and made his robe from pieces taken from the shrouds of\ncorpses. The rakusu is traditional and very precious to a Buddhist and takes 60\nto 100 hours to make. One creates it as one works with a teacher on\nunderstanding the Buddhist path and exploring where one is going in his or her\nlife. Bonnie then showed us a mala, a string of 108 beads used to count the\nchants or prostrations one does. Malas can also be one-quarter as long: 27\nbeads. Being prohibited from wearing either a mala or rakusu in public would be\nseen as a discriminatory act or interference by government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buddhists who are ordained, like clergy in many other\ntraditions, have other items of religious dress and symbols that they might\nwear in public. Her shaved head, Bonnie said, is a sign of renunciation. In\nFrance, some Buddhist nuns or monks might hide a shaved head because it could\nremind people of the concentration camps of the Holocaust. Her friend, Shonen,\na Buddhist nun from California who was at our meeting, had visited France and\nsuggested to her hosts that she felt that she should not cover her shaved head,\nin order to allow those seeing her to come to another view of what the shaved\nhead can mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another reminder of the Holocaust is the swastika. Many\nancient traditions use the swastika symbolically, Bonnie said. In Buddhism, the\nswastika signifies the foot or footprints of the Buddha and is often used to\nmark the beginning of texts. Because Hitler appropriated the symbol, people may\nbe reluctant to use it; but re-visioning the symbol would be a better option, Bonnie\nsuggested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In response to a question regarding the belt worn wrapped\naround her robe, Shonen said that because the belt goes over the midsection of\nher body, it symbolizes both protection and a \u201cgetting out of the head,\u201d which\nis what Buddhists strive for when they meditate. The belt is made as a circle,\nso that it has no end, thereby symbolizing infinity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Judaism\u2014Joan Burstyn <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Joan reminded us that the Jewish community is not a\nmonolithic community. She was speaking to us as an observant, non-Orthodox,\nConservative Jew. She emphasized that the French ruling applies not only to the\nclothing of Muslims but also to the yarmulkes and Stars of David worn by Jewish\nchildren and to the crosses worn by Christians. She read from an article\nentitled, \u201cJews Weigh In as French Muslims Challenge Law on Church and State,\u201d\nprinted in JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People<\/em>.\nThe Chief Rabbi of France, speaking for the Orthodox community, recently wrote to\nPresident Chirac expressing his continued support for the secular values of the\nFrench Republic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When the law restricting religion to the private domain was\nenacted in France in 1905, it was opposed by the French Catholic clergy and the\nPope. It was, however, welcomed by the minority Jewish and Protestant\ncommunities, who saw it as a way to protect their freedom of conscience and\ntheir religious practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The law is now being challenged by religious groups that have\ncome to France more recently. Many French Muslims, for example, feel that the\nlaw does not meet their needs. Protestant and Jewish schools are funded\nprivately. Muslims, however, are now asking for state funding for their\nreligious institutions. Many in French society feel that such funding would\nstrike at the heart of the 1905 law separating church and state. (This is an\nissue in the United States as well, with the president\u2019s initiative for the funding\nof religious institutions.) Some French politicians, however, want to find a\nway to assist the Muslim community, in part because a large proportion of the\nMuslim leaders in France come from outside the country and do not speak French;\nhence there is a fear that they might be spreading extremist views. Joan said\nshe is not passing this on as fact, but only because this is what the fear is.\nSome in French society want to assist in the funding of Muslim schools and\nseminaries as a way to encourage an indigenous clergy which, they feel, would\nlead to a reduction in the threat of potential extremism. A prominent Jewish\nrabbi in Paris sees a danger in state financing of religious schools, because it\nwould be difficult to keep the state from influencing what is taught in these\nschools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Joan believes that the issue about whether religious symbols\nare allowed in public schools is not a question for only one society or one\nculture or one religion. It raises deeper issues about the freedom of religion\nand the role of the government at all levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n One has to examine the current controversies in any\nparticular country in the light of what has happened there in the past. We\ncannot close our eyes to the reasons why current laws exist in France or in the\nUnited States or elsewhere. Throughout the centuries, many bloody religious\nwars have been waged all over the world, resulting in the emigration of many\nreligious groups, many of whom came to our own country. At the same time, many\nof those who were persecuted but remained in their homelands were actively involved\nin bringing about the separation of church and state. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Many people in the United States believe that it is important\nto be able to display symbols of their religious affiliation publicly. However,\nthere are others who have been forced by the state to do so, such as the Jews\nduring the Nazi regime being forced to wear the Star of David. Jews have\nstruggled for centuries to be accorded all the same rights as other citizens of\ntheir countries. While their religion was different from the majority, it in no\nway affected their patriotism or their willingness to serve their country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In joining the wider society, Jews often face problems\nfulfilling their religious obligations. Even societies that consider themselves\nsecular may assume a common Sabbath, for example, that is different from the\nJewish Sabbath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Freedom to wear certain symbols, if one makes that personal\ndecision, is fine. However, if wearing or not wearing certain symbols is forced\non some people by others, that is a different issue. Even within some\nreligions, certain people wish to dictate to other members what they ought to\nwear. There are people within Orthodox Judaism who are uncomfortable around\npeople like Joan who dress more informally. If they had control over the local\nor national authority, they might try to impose their control on others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Islam\u2014Danya Wellmon <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Danya told us that hijab<\/em> comes from the Arabic word that means \u201cto curtain\u201d or \u201cto hide from view.\u201d Muslims see hijab not as something oppressive, but as the hiding of something that you value and want to keep safe. People have associated hijab with just the scarf, but the word actually refers to keeping the whole body covered. Muslim women who choose to wear hijab do so out of obedience to God. Danya read a passage from the Qur\u0384an that commands women to cover themselves. Hijab is an outward symbol of \u201cthe light of Islam that glows in the heart of a Muslim.\u201d For her, Danya stated, hijab helps her reflect on whether she is being the person that she should try to be. \u201cWhen I go out in public \u2026 I reflect my religion. \u2026 It tries to keep you in remembrance of God and who you are.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some civilizations, Danya said, chastity, piety and\nmodesty are unfortunately marketed deceptively as shackles on personal freedom.\nIt never ceases to amaze her that in this country, we tend to equate freedom in\nhow much clothing one does not <\/em>wear!\nMuslim men also have to dress modestly. They are supposed to wear their clothing\nloose and not show their body shapes. Muslim men are ordered in the Qur\u0384an to\nlower their gaze because they are not to look at women other than their wives.\nIn this country we are conditioned to look directly at people, and we tend to\nthink that if a person looks down, there must be something \u201cfishy\u201d about him. Danya\ntold us that if we see a Muslim man do this to us, we should not consider it a\nsign of disrespect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another aspect that is often overlooked is that hijab is a\nsymbol of Muslim identity. A woman who covers herself is making a statement\nthat she is a member of the Muslim community and follows a particular code of\nmoral conduct. She is saying to you, \u201cDeal with me intellectually, not\nphysically.\u201d Women start wearing hijab at the age of puberty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A woman is still a Muslim even if she does not wear hijab. According\nto the tenets of Islam, no one has the right to force a woman to wear hijab; it\nis between her and God. Unfortunately, however, there are countries where women\nare forced, by men or culture, to wear hijab. In the US, women choose if they\nwant to wear hijab; Danya has found that those who do so feel very good about their\ndecision. She said it is ironic that the headscarf, which is seen as a sign of\nrighteousness when worn by a nun or an Amish woman, is seen as a sign of\noppression when worn for the purpose of obedience to God by a Muslim woman. Successful\nwomen in many different professions wear hijab. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Danya, who converted to Islam, finds wearing hijab very\nliberating, although it has also been \u201ceye opening.\u201d She has faced some\ninsults, but mostly she has experienced respect from others. She related some\nfunny stories about people\u2019s reactions to her wearing hijab. She also told us\nthat President Chirac of France is considering legislation that gives employers\nthe power to prohibit some forms of religious dress and symbols. Four women discussed symbols and dress important to their religions and, in some cases, their faith\u2019s response to legislation in Europe restricting the wearing of religious garments or symbols.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3707,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[21,15,16,17,41],"class_list":["post-7761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-programs","tag-buddhism","tag-christianity","tag-islam","tag-judaism","tag-spiritual-practices",""],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7761"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8957,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7761\/revisions\/8957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtb.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wtb.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/xBonniepick34.jpg\")
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