Monthly Archives: March 2011

Spring Breaking

Update – out of town!

Dear readers,

I am currently in New York City until this Sunday, visiting Union Theological seminary and enjoying time with friends. I have little time to update this blog until I return. Thanks for checking in, and I’ll have some new posts ready by next week!

-Ken

Gaga for God!

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“It doesn’t matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M. Just put your paws up, ’cause you were born this way, baby” – Lady Gaga

She’s on her way to becoming one of the biggest pop stars of all time. Her music is played on radio stations and in clubs across the globe. She’s one of the most recognizable icons of secular culture. And in her new #1 hit, “Born This Way,” Lady Gaga sings about… God???

Did you notice? Perhaps not. If you did, you may not have taken this aspect of her song seriously. What could someone we remember for wearing a meat dress have to say about God? Critics have interpreted the song to be about self-acceptance, and they say it goes no further than the territory covered by Cher, Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, or Katy Perry. But to say the song is simply about self-acceptance is to ignore its repeated religious references and allusions. Religion is a serious, controversial topic, and no artist would place such references casually. What is Lady Gaga doing?

Gaga is conscious of the artist’s ability to direct people’s attention where she wants it to go. Out of respect for the fans who launched her career, Gaga often brings their concerns into the national spotlight. Many of Gaga’s fans are gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender young people, and they struggle to accept themselves in face bullying, discrimination, and hate from mainstream society. They struggle particularly against the predominant religious message they hear, which says that their sexual feelings or gender identity is an abomination before God.

While there are many religious communities that affirm queer sexuality, groups on the far right, including the Moral Majority and Focus on the Family, have defined a narrative for all religion through skillful use of the media. They thrive on controversy, utilizing conflict to gain attention to promote their message.

Rather than fight this branding of religious faith, the mainstream gay-rights movement has walked around religion, appealing to growing scientific consensus in its favor. Unknowingly, they reinforce the message that religious faith condemns queer sexuality. The religious right does not abandon science. Many of their leaders are, in fact, medical professionals, including Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, a psychologist. But for whatever reason, the LGBT community largely leaves religion alone. The religious authority of the conservative movement continues unchallenged, and they retain their power over the religious message.

“Born This Way” marks an important shift in public discourse. Gaga, icon of the gay rights movement, has come out! She believes in God, and she believes God has made lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people the way they are. She exposes the conflict between faith and sexuality as false. She promotes a new religious narrative, taking away the power of the previous narrative to condemn and exclude. For those who know that exclusion firsthand, Gaga’s message is more than a nice message about acceptance – it’s liberating.

Each time “Born This Way” is played, it challenges an oppressive narrative that has dominated for decades. It will take time establish the new religious narrative, but Gaga has started what progressive religious communities have been unable to do – command public attention and get the message out. Let’s help her out! Let’s establish the new narrative, here and now. Join me in her refrain:

“I’m beautiful in my way
‘Cause God makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track baby
I was born this way!”

Links:

If you haven’t heard “Born This Way,” check out the song’s debut at the Grammys here:

\”Born This Way\” at the Grammys

If you’re curious about Gaga’s religious views, she offers a glimpse in this 2010 interview with Larry King:

Lady Gaga on Larry King Live

The Power of Art

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“Music can get at a part of us that is hard to open up to.” -Will Schuester, Glee (“Comeback,” 2/15/11)

Since the beginning of human history, artists have played a vital role in nurturing the human spirit. Whether in the concert hall, the dance hall, the gallery, or the sanctuary, art holds power far beyond words to reach people at their deepest level. Art comes in many forms. Music gives us permission to feel emotions buried deeply beneath the surface. Visual art allows us to see the world through another’s eyes. Works of art can feel sacred, touching our most vulnerable and intimate spots, or they can feel hostile, challenging our basic perceptions and understanding.

Art is inherently relational. It arises in the interaction between artist, environment, and audience. As the world shapes and forms the artist, the artist shapes and forms her work, and her work creates a response in others. The artist is most creative when she acts without fear of judgment. The artist who seeks to please or meet expectations loses her expressive capabilities.

Since the advent of recorded music, art has been made accessible to larger audiences than ever before. An expanded market has also led to more competition among artists. Artists are rewarded with commercial success when they can hold the attention of the media or when they can find a niche market of dedicated fans. The artist whose popularity spans across the masses is rare. (NPR has done an interesting series on this)

In my next post, I will examine the newest song by one of my favorite artists, Lady Gaga! Gaga is a rare performer who knows how to operate within a celebrity-obsessed, commercially-driven culture without being beholden to it. Just like any pop star, she knows how to keep the attention of the news media, but unlike others, it does not determine her success. She owes her success instead to old-fashioned work ethic and the niche-like support of dedicated fans.

Gaga is a free woman and a true artist who continues to break new ground. What artists do you admire and respect? Whose work has inspired you across the decades?

American Grace

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Every ten years, the United States Constitution mandates a count of every resident of the United States. This count, known as the U.S. Census, collects information essential to the functioning of American democracy, determining legislative districts and the allocation of government funds. For urban planners and sociologists, it provides an important historical record to study changes in the way people live over time.

This week, data from the 2010 U.S. Census was released for the state Ohio. Having recently graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a degree in urban studies, I was disappointed to see a 10.4% decline in the city of Cincinnati’s population. I was not terribly surprised, however, as it continues a powerful trend that has been going on for decades. Since 1950, federal housing and transportation policy has funded suburban sprawl at the expense of the urban core. Cincinnati’s population loss parallels population loss in the cities of Cleveland, Dayton, Akron, and Toledo. Columbus, a municipality that incorporates growing suburban areas into its boundaries, would have posted a similar decline in population if its suburban neighborhoods were excluded. City leaders may talk about making their cities more liveable and attractive for business, but they don’t stand a chance in the face of large-scale policy that is working against them.

Just as cities gain and lose population, religious movements gain and lose followers. Fifty years ago, denominationally-based Christian churches dominated the American religious scene, whether they be Roman Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, or other. Today, these denominations are all in decline. Leaders of struggling churches may change music styles, program offerings, and marketing techniques, but they don’t stand a chance in the face of larger-scale forces working against them.

Authors Robert Putnam and David Campbell track valuable data in their 2010 book, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. They describe an American religious scene that has shifted in two directions. On the one side, Christian conservatives are moving away from mainline churches to evangelical, nondenominational churches. On the other side, people who are not conservative Christian evangelicals are leaving religion altogether. I frequently hear debate about why my own denomination, the United Methodist Church, is in decline. On the one side, I hear that the church is not enough like the growing evangelical, nondenominational churches. On the other side, I hear that over-emphasis on conservative, evangelical growth is the reason for the church’s decline. In a polarized culture, both sides are right.

This blog is still new, but I’d like to conduct a census of my readers. How do you identify yourself religiously (or non-religiously)? In a changing religious landscape, has your religious identity changed? Share as you will in the comment section below!

Inextricably Bound

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“…they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.” – The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “I Have a Dream,” speaking about white Americans supporting the Civil Rights movement.

After a long search for a title for this blog, I found my inspiration in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King’s life and values lie at the heart of the message of this blog. Though he was a preacher firmly grounded in the American black church, his message of justice, equality, and the inherent worth of all humankind speaks to people of all races and religions across the world. Though his primary calling was to Christian ministry, he led a movement that transformed the most secular institutions of the United States – the government and the workplace – for the benefit of religious and non-religious alike.

In this quote from his most famous speech, “I Have A Dream,” Dr. King reminds his followers that they cannot be successful alone. Their struggle for dignity and freedom is inextricably bound with the struggle of others, including white Americans, for dignity and freedom. His people need all the friends and allies they can get.

This is an interesting paradox. We often confuse our quest for freedom with a quest for self-sufficiency. To be free of the forces that control us, we think we need to supply all of our own needs. But we cannot become free by ourselves. We face powerful forces, and alone, we stand no chance.

Becoming truly free requires making friends – friends who will recognize the freedom we ask for and stand with us in our struggle. Strength lies in numbers. We are most powerful not as self-sufficient individuals but as interdependent people who value companionship and care. We are inextricably bound.

Think for a moment about all of the people in your life. What relationships give you strength and courage? Where do you experience companionship and care? If you feel so moved, share with us below!

Welcome!

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Hello, reader! My name is Ken. Welcome to my new blog, Inextricably Bound, where I seek to share a new narrative about spirituality and religion for people who live in an increasingly secular world. The idea for this blog comes from conversations I have had with friends and acquaintances curious about my decision to pursue a vocation in Christian ministry.

What is the need for this blog? In the last forty years, religion has been defined in the public eye through a series of high-profile religious conflicts. You can name these conflicts well. They include the fight over prayer in schools, the fight over public displays of the Ten Commandments, the fight over abortion rights, the fight over gay marriage, and the fight to assign blame for acts of terrorism.

High profile religious conflict has had two effects. First, it has mobilized the devout and marginalized the uncertain. With so many religious leaders tied up in conflict, there have been few left to answer the burning questions of an increasingly secular generation. I hope that this blog helps fill the gap that has been created in their absence.

Second, religious conflict has polarized our society between the religious and the non-religious. Issues of great moral concern to both the religious and the non-religious person have gone unsolved, including disease and famine, environmental destruction, and growing poverty. Now, more than ever, the world needs leaders who can inspire greatness across the religious/secular divide.

This blog seeks to tear down the wall separating the sacred and the secular. I will examine scholarship, literature, politics, culture, and entertainment for issues of relevance to the religious and non-religious reader. Are there religious messages today that resonate with a secular culture? Are there secular ideals today that relate to the ancient wisdom of our religious traditions? Can any of these ideas make us better as individuals and society?

This blog is meant to be interactive, and I am eager to hear your comments, questions, suggestions, and experiences. I aim to create at least two posts per week. Keep checking in, and thanks for being here!