It is wrong to mention religion in public? I’m just skimming through a careers advice book called ‘What Color is your Parachute: A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers’ by Richard Nelson Bolles. (I’m not in a crisis; I just bought it for a friend. Really!) It’s a secular book, aimed at the secular market, recommended to me by a management consultant. It’s obviously one of the leaders in its field (9 million copies sold by the time of my 2008 edition). And here is the final paragraph of the author’s preface:
In closing, I must not fail to mention my profound thanks to The Great Lord God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who all my life has been as real to me as breathing, and Who has been my Rock through every trial, tragedy, and misfortune in my life, including the assassination of my only brother, Don Bolles. I thank God for giving me strength, and carrying me through — everything. I am grateful beyond measure for such a life, and such a mission as ‘He’ has given me: to help people find meaning for their lives. He is the source of whatever grace, wisdom, or compassion I have ever found, or shared with others.
This really took me aback. And it’s my own reactions that I find interesting. I thought, quite spontaneously: This is a bit over the top! Why is he telling me about his faith? Is this really the place for a sermon? Isn’t this going to put people off? Isn’t this a little bit inappropriate?
And then I thought: But why not? Where do I get this idea that ordinary people can’t talk about their everyday faith in the normal circumstances of daily life? Is it because I’m English and my culture has persuaded me to censor my conversation and avoid the topics of religion and politics? Or is it because I have been fooled into thinking that religion is purely a ‘private’ affair and must therefore remain hidden from the gaze of normal society — like an embarrassing secret we share only with intimate friends or our doctor.
Richard Bolles could have thanked anyone else (or anything else) and I wouldn’t have batted an eyelid. In a standard author’s preface you can honour your parents, your publisher, your agent, your neighbours, your cat, your therapist, your muse, your guru. You can acknowledge the inspiration brought to you by a shower of leaves on an autumn day, or by the inaudible voices of your ancestors. But if you thank God in such a public manner, it makes someone like me feel just slightly uncomfortable. As I said, it’s my own reactions that I am questioning…
Yes, that is a surprise that this kind of acknowledgement should come in such a publication. Ten years ago, as a rather ‘box ticking’, pre-Vatican II, conservative Catholic I would have been excrutiatingly embarrassed to become involved in any public discussion of God in any terms. Yes, and I think it probably is very ‘un-British’ to engage openly in such religious conversations. (However, given the chance, what Brit will happily and vociferously launch into a political harangue, given the slightest opportunity?) Yes, religion for me at that time was a ‘private affair’ – but a device, I suspect, to avoid such declaration or debate!
However, since then, the Holy Spirit has been to work on me (longish story!) and now, given the chance I will happily extoll the loving God in just about any situation – given an appropriate cue, however slender! Got to be careful though, that you are not perceived as a fundamentalist, push-it-down-yer-throat evangelical (nothing against evangelicals by the way!) – God- for-everyone-at-all-costs! No, gently, gently!
Yes – ‘normal society’ is currently very bereft of God – He has just been drowned out by the relentless encouragement in the pursuit of ‘self’ mainly through the advertising and general media – and Satan is loving it! (now is that thought going to generate severe discomfort?).
To what degree this ascent of ‘God’s anonymity’ is the Church’s ‘fault’ is of course another debate?
I have generally found that in North America people are far more openly religious and people don’t bat an eyelid about using religious language in everyday talk- it is Britain that has become so secular… In the on the way to life document produced by James Hanvey it says that the Church has been secularised by the culture, rather than evangelizing it.
http://loveundefiled.blogspot.com/2009/10/summary-of-on-way-to-life.html
Hope that you are well! God bless (no pun intended) from robert.
If I continually piped up about my religion I would loose my friends. There are many ways to give witness to God. All good acts praise God. I suggest the queues of people waiting to see St Therese spoke more than allot of homilies. Small acts! That might be possible…
I agree – but I wonder how much we would help our friends if we (the shy and reserved English) piped up just a tiny bit more.
This is a really interesting question.
I think we have to be careful. This relates to freewill, i think. God gives us the freewill to believe in Him or not, of course. Part of that freewill involves God having to hide His full presence from us. He gives us clues / signs (sometimes more) about His presence. If He gave too much, then He would be taking something away from our freewill. Too little, and we would just be believing in Him through blind chance. Of course, we can pray to God for Him to reveal more of Himself to us (but, perhaps, God doesn’t reveal more of His presence after a particular petition because He feels we’re not ready yet to know about His presence at that particular point in time – but building us up so that we will be ready to meet, and join Him in His full presence, one day, please God).
For me the greatest external sign of God’s presence in the world is love in other people. An unselfconscious, spontaneous, generous, kind, compassionate (and so on ..) kind of love with personality, humour, joi de vivre, sweetness (and so on ..), forgiving, non-judgmental, encouraging (and so on) kind of love.
I think if one is not in a good mood, it’s better not to talk about God at all. But when one is in a good mood, and is just able to make others feel good about themselves – then talking about religion is a good thing (but not pushing it .. going along with what the other person wants – for fear of being dogmatic – which God NEVER is, He never takes away from our gift of free will).
A simple “God bless” goes along way. When you’ve had a great time with a bunch of people or with just one person – lots of humour, warmth and so on – “God Bless” at the end of the night, just wraps it all up nicely. This is just one, small example, of how and when it seems appropriate to mention religion (it’s an important start at least ..).
Lastly, nearly finished … I find in life that when you’re in good form (thanks to God), you can sound really witty and so on, and people pay you attention. It’s really important to divert most of this attention to God in some way. Not just as an act of genuine humility. But, also, because you’re only really witty (resulting in these peopel giving you all this attention) because of God. We all love being valued by others. But we need, in some way, to remind people that we are who we are, we’re happy and so on, and at ease with ourselves, and so on – because of God.
I think ..
“I think if one is not in a good mood, it’s better not to talk about God at all.” – I meant in everyday life situations, where there may be non-believers present.