Mara Edgerton
Troubadour
Someone commenting on a New York Times article today referred to Judaism as a 'creed'--and I cringed. Whatever we are, we're not a creed.
This is a common mistake among people raised with Christianity as the dominant religion--this idea that what you believe makes you a member of a particular religion. And that fact is worth some consideration when we build a religion for our stories.
Neil Gillman, a Jewish theologian, says in Sacred Fragments that there are three parts to being religious, and that each religion emphasizes them differently: belonging (what defines you as being a part of your religion?), doing (what do you do as part of your religion?) and believing (what sort of creed, if any, does your religion demand?)
(There are no right or wrong ratios here. I'm going to use two real life religions to get the ideas across, but I'm not saying one religion or ratio is better than another.)
Believing is a big deal in Christianity. Accepting certain doctrines is what makes you a Christian. In fact, C.S. Lewis argued in Mere Christianity that your acceptance of said doctrines is more important in defining you as a Christian than your morals: "When a man who accepts the Christian doctrine lives unworthily of it, it is much clearer to say he is a bad Christian than to say he is not a Christian."
But believing is much less important in Judaism--and it doesn't define you as a Jew. Unlike Christians, we don't conflate believing and belonging. There are only two ways of becoming a Jew: be born of a Jewish parent (usually the mother, but some branches accept patrilineal descent) or convert to Judaism. As a Jew, you might deny any of the thirteen tenets Maimonides thought Jews should believe. To some, that might make you a bad Jew, but not a non-Jew. Heck, you can deny the existence of G-d all you want. Chris Hitchens was still a Jew, one of my personal favorites in a long line of Jewish atheists.
What you do is important to all religions, but again the emphasis is different. Most religions expect each member to be a mensch: to do good deeds. The theology behind those good deeds might vary, but the result is often the same. But how important is doing apart from that?
In Judaism, crazy important. How we interpret the law, and consequently what commandments we keep, generally separates one branch of Judaism from another. That mostly comes down to doing--perhaps with a side of believing when it comes to the interpretations. Do we need to keep the Sabbath or keep kosher? Do we have to dress a certain way? Do we need to live in a Jewish community?
In Christianity, on the other hand, doctrine (and consequently organization) usually separates one denomination from another. So that mostly comes down to believing, with a side of doing--going to confession or not, for example--depending on the beliefs.
So how do these apply to the religions you've created? How does someone become a member of the religion? Does your religion conflate believing and belonging as Christianity does, or are these two separate issues, as in Judaism? What doctrine, if any, must members accept? What sort of things specific to your religions are members expected to do, and how important are they?
Should I give an example of my own? Ok, you twisted my arm. In my WIP Death of a Diviner, what you do marks you as part of the dominant religion. If you go to a priest or turn up at a shrine periodically, you're considered a devotee. There are popular beliefs, and priests like to argue about them, but no one will ask you to confirm them. There's no official way to be born into or convert to the religion--you either worship or you don't. So this religious system conflates belonging and doing.
You might not be sincere--you might be a regular at a shrine for social or political reasons. If anyone found out, you would still be considered religious, but not particularly devout.
Your turn!
This is a common mistake among people raised with Christianity as the dominant religion--this idea that what you believe makes you a member of a particular religion. And that fact is worth some consideration when we build a religion for our stories.
Neil Gillman, a Jewish theologian, says in Sacred Fragments that there are three parts to being religious, and that each religion emphasizes them differently: belonging (what defines you as being a part of your religion?), doing (what do you do as part of your religion?) and believing (what sort of creed, if any, does your religion demand?)
(There are no right or wrong ratios here. I'm going to use two real life religions to get the ideas across, but I'm not saying one religion or ratio is better than another.)
Believing is a big deal in Christianity. Accepting certain doctrines is what makes you a Christian. In fact, C.S. Lewis argued in Mere Christianity that your acceptance of said doctrines is more important in defining you as a Christian than your morals: "When a man who accepts the Christian doctrine lives unworthily of it, it is much clearer to say he is a bad Christian than to say he is not a Christian."
But believing is much less important in Judaism--and it doesn't define you as a Jew. Unlike Christians, we don't conflate believing and belonging. There are only two ways of becoming a Jew: be born of a Jewish parent (usually the mother, but some branches accept patrilineal descent) or convert to Judaism. As a Jew, you might deny any of the thirteen tenets Maimonides thought Jews should believe. To some, that might make you a bad Jew, but not a non-Jew. Heck, you can deny the existence of G-d all you want. Chris Hitchens was still a Jew, one of my personal favorites in a long line of Jewish atheists.
What you do is important to all religions, but again the emphasis is different. Most religions expect each member to be a mensch: to do good deeds. The theology behind those good deeds might vary, but the result is often the same. But how important is doing apart from that?
In Judaism, crazy important. How we interpret the law, and consequently what commandments we keep, generally separates one branch of Judaism from another. That mostly comes down to doing--perhaps with a side of believing when it comes to the interpretations. Do we need to keep the Sabbath or keep kosher? Do we have to dress a certain way? Do we need to live in a Jewish community?
In Christianity, on the other hand, doctrine (and consequently organization) usually separates one denomination from another. So that mostly comes down to believing, with a side of doing--going to confession or not, for example--depending on the beliefs.
So how do these apply to the religions you've created? How does someone become a member of the religion? Does your religion conflate believing and belonging as Christianity does, or are these two separate issues, as in Judaism? What doctrine, if any, must members accept? What sort of things specific to your religions are members expected to do, and how important are they?
Should I give an example of my own? Ok, you twisted my arm. In my WIP Death of a Diviner, what you do marks you as part of the dominant religion. If you go to a priest or turn up at a shrine periodically, you're considered a devotee. There are popular beliefs, and priests like to argue about them, but no one will ask you to confirm them. There's no official way to be born into or convert to the religion--you either worship or you don't. So this religious system conflates belonging and doing.
You might not be sincere--you might be a regular at a shrine for social or political reasons. If anyone found out, you would still be considered religious, but not particularly devout.
Your turn!
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