8.03.2007
Update on Hindu Prayer Controversy
Rather than going away, the incident involving the first Hindu to give the opening prayer before the Senate seems to be picking up stream. US Hindu groups have demanded that Presidential candidates respond to the incident (none have at this point), and that demand is now being echoed by the Baptist Join Committee for Religious Liberty and by professor of religion Melissa Rogers.
"Let me also say that the presidential candidates should address this issue for reasons that go beyond the notion of common decency. They should address this situation because it gets at a fundamental constitutional and ethical matter -- whether we believe that the government must treat all religions equally."
The Washinton Post's "On Faith" blog has posed a question on the issue to its panel of religious leaders, academics, and experts. From these panelists I'm particularly fond of Chester Gillis' answer.
"Granted that the vast majority of Americans believe in God, we have only officially been "One Nation under God" since June 14, 1954, when President Eisenhower signed the law adding these words to the Pledge of Allegiance (which itself was written in 1892), so the notion of a nation of believers is relatively recent in our history. If we are going to give religion a place in public life, then it should not just be one religion. We are a nation of many religions. Just as the military employs chaplains from a variety of religions, so, too, representatives of these religions should have equal opportunities to offer public prayer. Those Americans who say "give me that old time religion" simply need to recall that Hinduism - truly an old time religion - predates Judaism and Christianity."
Rajan Zed also gives his take on this subject as a guest On Faith panelist.
"All of us are looking for the truth. Dialogue brings us mutual enrichment. We may learn from each other as we are headed in the same direction. We should at least cooperate in the common causes of peace, human development, love, and respect for others."
Finally, the Indian press (which has been reporting this story with great interest) notes that the Rev. Rajan Zed was given a heroes welcome upon return to his home in Nevada.
"Rajan Zed, whose historic first Hindu prayer in the American Senate early this month faced protests from the visitors' gallery, was honoured in Nevada. Various religious and community leaders came together on Wednesday and honoured Zed for his "selfless service" in bringing different communities together ... Zed, who is the director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple in Reno, Nevada, was garlanded by Reverend Gene Savoy Jr., president of Nevada Clergy Association. He was presented with a plaque by Rabbi Myra on behalf of the interfaith community of northern Nevada, which said, 'The interfaith clergy and leaders of northern Nevada proudly recognise and honour this unprecedented achievement.'"
Will any of the candidates speak up on this issue? Which future leader (if any) will present themselves as concerned about the rights of minority religions in America? Millions of "other" voters await a sign.
Labels: Hinduism, On Faith, politics, Polytheism, prayer, Presidential election, Religion, Senate
7.28.2007
Which Candidate Will Step Up?
Remember the controversy last week over a small group of Christian protesters interrupting the first Hindu to give the opening prayer in the US Senate? Well it seems that American Hindu groups aren't satisfied with Harry Reid's defense of the religion, and are asking all the presidential hopefuls to denounce the Christians involved in calling chaplain Rajan Zed an "abomination".
"U.S. Hindu organizations are urging presidential candidates to denounce the protesters who disrupted the Senate as the first-ever Hindu opening prayer was being delivered this month ... Although the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington issued a statement July 17 saying its members were "deeply saddened" by the interruption, no senators present spoke out against it publicly, according to the Hindu American Foundation and the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). Both organizations said they are disappointed with the legislators, and they sent letters this week to presidential candidates and senators, asking them to condemn the incident."
So if you were wondering which candidate (from either party) is going to be the most receptive to the rights of minority faiths, here is the moment of truth. With the three Democratic front-runners embracing their Christian allegiance as hard as they can, will any of them dare to defend conceptions of the divine that go beyond the Abrahamic norms? Will Republican candidates stay utterly silent for fear of further offending the already dissatisfied conservative Christian voting bloc that are especially influential during the primaries? I'll be watching the news to see where those of who check "other"
* There are over eight million "others" in American now, including a million modern Pagans, approximately two million Hindus, close to four million Buddhists, hundreds of thousands of Native American practitioners, 60,000 Taoists, and close to a million Santerians.
Labels: Hinduism, politics, Polytheism, Presidential election, Religion, Senate
7.13.2007
The Limits of Christian Tolerance
Yesterday in the Senate chambers, three Christian protesters shouted down a Hindu chaplain before being forcibly removed by the Capitol police. This was the first time the daily prayer that opens Senate proceedings was said by a Hindu (the House of Representatives had a Hindu chaplain open their session in 2000).
"...two women and one man were arrested and charged with causing a disruption in the public gallery of the Senate. The three started shouting when guest Chaplain Rajan Zed, a Hindu from Nevada, began his prayer. They shouted 'No Lord but Jesus Christ' and 'There's only one true God,' and used the term 'abomination.'"
The protesters, who are members of Operation Save America (apparently there were no fetal Americans in peril at that particular moment), have the full backing of their organizations director the Rev. Flip Benham who chastised the Senators for not imitating Christ by acting like rude jerks.
"Not one Senator had the backbone to stand as our Founding Fathers stood. They stood on the Gospel of Jesus Christ! There were three in the audience with the courage to stand and proclaim, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' They were immediately removed from the chambers, arrested, and are in jail now. God bless those who stand for Jesus as we know that He stands for them."
One can only wonder which Founding Fathers he means, the Deists? The Freemasons? Thomas Jefferson certainly stood by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but only after he edited out all the supernatural elements and "errors". But that doesn't stop certain conservative Christian "historians" from putting forth anti-polytheist interpretations of religious freedom in America.
"The Hindu prayer was also questioned by a Christian historian who maintained that since Hindus worship multiple gods, the prayer will be completely outside the American paradigm, flying in the face of the American motto 'One Nation Under God.' ... 'In Hindu (sic), you have not one God, but many, many, many, many, many gods,' the Christian historian David Barton maintained. 'And certainly that was never in the minds of those who did the Constitution, did the Declaration [of Independence] when they talked about Creator - that's not one that fits here because we don't know which creator we're talking about within the Hindu religion.'"
Sadly, instead of stepping up and blasting these religious bigots, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (who had invited Chaplain Rajan Zed) gave some flat platitudes about Hinduism and peace.
"I think it speaks well of our country that someone representing the faith of about a billion people comes here and can speak in communication with our heavenly father regarding peace,"
Which I think proves a point that politicians today are more concerned with not alienating Christian voters (even Christians voters who would never vote Democratic), than they are with standing up for the principles our country was founded on. You can be sure that any of our Presidential candidates running for office now will be more than willing to throw non-Christian faiths under the bus the minute they risk losing a bit of popularity in the polls. Sadly it looks like we aren't ready to fully welcome non-monotheist expressions of faith into our political system.
Labels: Hinduism, Operation Save America, politics, Polytheism, prayer, Senate
