When discussing virtues and vices, particularly on a comparative level, there are a number of approaches one can take. It can be a difficult task for a writer to discuss these topics since many of our feelings on matters such as greed and loyalty are matters of personal opinion. One especially effective way to write about these issues is to make one’s point clear and come across in a way that clearly indicates that a personal opinion is being expressed as opposed to a universally accepted truth.

For this reason, the essay by Marilyn Baker entitled, “Greed Works” itself works because she immediately makes it clear that she is merely stating her own opinion as opposed to a list of supposed truths that everyone should automatically recognize as such. In this sense, the article by Bob Harvey on the subject of loyalty fails. Instead of presenting readers with a more clear sense that this is simply an opinion being expressed, he attempts to gloss his essay with many quotes from credible historical and cultural figures. While this is convincing in some ways, it does not have the same down-to-earth style that is so convincing to the reader in Baker’s comparison of greed and envy.

Instead of presenting her comparative argument in a way that insinuates that what she is saying is a matter of complete fact, Baker opens her article with the blunt assertion of what she will be arguing as well as the explicit fact that this is personal opinion. In the opening lines, she says “If I had to choose between seven deadly sins, I would pick greed.” This is a very clear and direct approach and instead of making the reader feel as though he or she must be on the defensive if there is no agreement on this matter, she at least makes it obvious that this is but one opinion that she will go on to defend.

This is quite a break from the way Bob Harvey begins his article. Instead of offering readers the sense that they reading an opinion, he uses several tactics to appear as though what he was saying was an absolute and universal truth. He begins with a factual and accurate definition of loyalty in an attempt to make his points credible and then immediately begins to back up his claims (which aren’t even made for several sentences) with quotes from ancient Roman senators and sports figures. In his essay entitled, “Loyalty: A Last Virtue; Me-First Attitude is Stripping Away Our Sense of Community” the author, Bob Harvey discusses the way the importance of loyalty is being reduced in our everyday lives. In order to highlight his points, he uses the quotes from famous people in both the modern and ancient world. While this has the ultimate effect of making the reader aware of the significant value that has been placed on loyalty throughout the course of human history, in many ways the author is not as effective as he could be because his ultimate message is lost within the abundance of quotes—other people’s thoughts which, in this essay, do not highlight his point, but rather bog it down because of excess quoting. Unlike the clear and unbroken tit for tat (and clearly opinion-based) work by Baker, this essay by Bob Harvey attempts to mask bias and opinion in actual fact and credibility.

Although this may seem to be a harsh attack on the essay by Harvey, it should be stated that there is nothing wrong with his opinion. Interestingly, unlike Baker, Harvey makes a point that is almost impossible to argue with. After all, who could argue that loyalty is a bad thing that should be banished? No one, of course. On that level, there is something about Harvey’s essay that is pointless. He is going to great lengths to convince (through the excessive use of “fact” and credible quotes) readers of something they already know—that loyalty is good. Baker, on the other hand, offers readers a challenge. By her bold, clipped sentence at the beginning that is unmistakable personal opinion, she is offering the chance for a duel. She offers rapid-fire support for how greed is better than envy and does not allow to stop to take a moment to think deeply. Instead, she almost lists reasons rather than ties them together in a prose-rich essay like Harvey tries to do. In short, although Harvey does have a more complex style, there is something deceitful about his essay because it is opinion cloaked in fact and furthermore, because it is stating an opinion that almost no one can argue with. Baker, on the other hand, challenges her readers and makes no bones about the fact that this is her opinion that she will defend to the end.

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In this regard, North Americans might be anomalous when compared to the majority of the world’s inhabitants. As I traveled around the globe with the military, I was exposed to other societies and cultures in which religious consciousness is infused into almost every aspect of people’s daily lives and is even embedded deeply in their social and political structures. Through this unique opportunity of learning about other people’s religious beliefs and practices firsthand, I not only developed an appreciation and tolerance for religious diversity, but I also became more conscious about my own spiritual beliefs and religious practices, ultimately resulting in making a renewed commitment to the Christian faith within which I was raised. In this sense, I believe that I have fulfilled the cycle of learning as described by Kolb, moving through the phases of concrete experience and reflective observation to abstract conceptualization and active experimentation (Kolb, Boyatzis, & Mainemelis, 2001).

As a member of the American armed forces, I was fortunate to be stationed at military bases in countries where I might not otherwise have had the opportunity or motivation to travel independently. My career with the military took me to countries as far away as Japan and as unknown and seemingly mysterious to me as the Middle Eastern nations of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Egypt. When I arrived in each country, I, like many of my military colleagues, tended to view each nation and its people monolithically, based only on my limited knowledge of the country, knowledge which was largely formulated based on reports I had heard in the mainstream media. I exhibited a tendency to view everyone in the host country globally, rather than to recognize the diversity that existed among people. It was only as I was exposed to people from each culture through my concrete experiences with them, whether through work contacts or during leisure time, that I began to notice more subtle nuances that affirmed the complexity of each country, its people, and their variety of beliefs and practices. In this stage of concrete experience, I was simply gathering information based on direct contact with people in the host cultures. Later, I would begin to compare this information against my existing fund of knowledge through the process of reflection, often arriving at new conclusions.

Through the accumulation of diverse experiences in different countries and upon active reflection in each nation and about each experience, however, I also began to understand that there is, in general, a stronger sense of religious identity in many other nations when compared to the United States. Perhaps it is because the United States is a country of immigrants that there is the tendency for religious identity tends to exhibit greater diversity, more diffusiveness, and less overt expression in most Americans’ daily lives. Although there are notable exceptions to this observation, one can argue that, in general, the citizens of many other countries in the world, especially in Asia and in the Middle East, demonstrate an integration of religious beliefs, values, and practices into their daily lives and even into their social customs and observations, as well as their political cultures.

For instance, in Japan, Buddhism is one of the predominant and traditional religions that are practiced. Buddhism, which was introduced to Japan from Korea, which, in turn had inherited the religious tradition from China, in A.D. 522, was initially resisted by Japan’s imperial officials (Eliot, 1993). Over time, however, the philosophical tenets and religious practices of Buddhism were not merely adopted by the majority of Japanese people, but also came to influence modern Japanese culture and values considerably (Eliot, 1993). Buddhism calls upon its adherents to exercise a certain degree of restraint with respect to the pursuit of individual desires, and emphasizes the importance of choosing a life path that is cognizant and respectful of the larger community and the world within which it is located (Eliot, 1993). Other core beliefs of Buddhism that have influenced modern Japanese culture include the exercise of empathy and compassion towards others and an effort to remain present in each moment. If one looks carefully at Japanese culture, it becomes increasingly apparent that the spirit of Buddhism, if not its very practice, influence Japanese society and Japanese people’s ways of being significantly.

Perhaps the influences of Buddhism on Japanese culture that are visible to the attentive observer are far more subtle than the influences of Islam on the majority of Middle Eastern cultures, at least the ones to which I was exposed during my term of military service. In the Middle East, religion truly seems to pervade daily life and is inculcated and embodied in the institutions and infrastructure of these countries. For me, seeing this fact in person—rather than merely hearing about it and trying to understand it intellectually through news reports—was both fascinating and frustrating. In the United States, the founding fathers of the country attempted to introduce and implement provisions that would clearly define a line of demarcation between the church and the state. Laws and a sophisticated system of checks and balances are just two ways that the constant vigilance regarding the separation between the church and the state is accomplished.

In Middle Eastern countries, however, the very notion of separation and church and state seems to be a non-issue. In fact, the contrary is true; to the outside observer, it appears that the state and the church are closely linked in the Middle East, that they are, possibly, totally indistinguishable entities in many ways. As in Japan, religious beliefs and spiritual practices exert a strong influence over daily life in the Middle East; unlike Japan, however, religious beliefs and practices seem to be institutionalized throughout these countries. One example of the way in which religious beliefs are institutionalized on a social level is the enforcement of sharia law (Moghadam, 2005).

Critics of sharia law, including Moghadam (2005), condemn the degree to which religion and social life have become intertwined, seemingly inextricable. Specifically, feminist critics and human rights activists, including Moghadam (2005), question the legitimacy of interpretations of ancient Islamic texts that have led to the creation and maintenance of rigid and restrictive social roles, especially those roles that have been instituted in the form of unquestionable gender norms. Moghadam (2005) observed that the strict interpretations and applications of Islamic beliefs have resulted in circumstances that “have not been kind to the women of the Middle East” in particular (p. 425). As an example, Moghadam (2005) cites the use of the burqa, the full body and full facial covering that many Muslim women are compelled to wear in public, as just one of the numerous social expectations and laws that are enforced by some Middle Eastern governments as a means of supporting and perpetuating the Islamic faith. As a result, Moghadam (2005) observed, women are forced by these circumstances to devise subaltern strategies for contesting the perceptions (and realities) that they are “victimized, passive, and traditional” (p. 425). Unfortunately, the Western world has largely perceived adherents of the Islamic faith either as extremist zealots or, in the case of many women, oppressed individuals living in a society where the line between church and state is non-existent.

Although these daily expressions of faith throughout Islamic cultures are often portrayed by Western media as bizarre and even pathological (Haddad & Smith, 2002), they are normative for the members of other societies. In fact, in many cases these daily expressions of faith are, at their core, a continuation of centuries-old traditions that have defined the most ancient nations and societies (Haddad & Smith, 2002). It is important to remember this fact and to avoid imposing Western values and opinions upon other cultures. Seen within this light, the spiritual beliefs and religious practices as expressed in other countries became less aberrant or strange in my point of view. In fact, the longer I lived in these countries, especially Japan, the pervasiveness of religious ideologies became normative.

I attended a Muslim Friday prayer service outside of a traditional mosque and realized how many of the Muslim faith are in my area of the United States. It is traditional during these mandatory services for men to attend and although sometimes some men cannot due to work obligations, most do. This was a less formal setting that took place among several university students in a room that was out of the way in a campus building.

For this service, there were about 15 people present, all of whom were male. Women are allowed to attend these services on Fridays but for them, this is not seen as essential as it is for men. There is little explanation for why there were no women present, it might be either due to the fact that these are men who knew one another to begin with or that women simply chose not to attend. These vital Friday prayer services are open to those who are non-Muslims and wish to learn more or become part of the faith, which made this an optimal setting in which to view this observance. The friend who I am accompanying and who will translate what is said to me explains that Friday is the most important day of prayer for him and that even outside of the service itself, he spends as much time as possible throughout the day in praise so that he can experience the rewards of Allah.

Upon entering, I took off my shoes and left them outside of the door with the shoes of the others, which were lined up neatly against the wall. No one had removed socks, thus when I entered I noticed that most men had clean, bright white socks on and no one was barefoot or wearing any kind of covering on their feet aside from socks. I got the distinct impression that most of the men present in the room had been preparing for this service for the morning as they looked focused and freshly showered, shaved, and well-groomed, especially for being students. Before I entered, the person who was serving as my guide for this Friday prayer service told me that I must set foot in the room with only my right foot before the left was permitted. I was told that if I was a woman, it would be necessary for me to go to the far left side of the room, away from the men and presumably out of sight.

I noticed that the men were not loud, did not speak much, and waited with solemn patience until the observance began at noon. They all seemed highly focused and introspective; there was little looking around from one to another and it appeared they were preparing themselves for the prayer service ahead. The men, with the exception of the leader, were all dressed in everyday clothes but they looked immaculately clean and can be best described as “business casual.” I imagine that most of them are students, perhaps some of them are graduate students, and it seems that they likely prepared themselves that morning and dressed nicely due to the service in the afternoon. Most of them were wearing white or light blue collared shirts and none were wearing any clothing that one might deem as “loud” or trendy but on the other hand, none aside from the imam were wearing traditional clothing either.

As the service begins the men say a set of prayers to begin, which are not formal and seem to be part of the introduction into the more rigorous prayers and sermon. When these initial prayers have been said, all of them gather together on the floor in two equal rows, which becomes three rows when one man enters, looking a little ashamed and keeping his head bowed, and takes his place behind the two rows at the same time the adhan is given, which means that the formal service has begun. I was struck by the sheer beauty of the adhan which was sung in a deep voice with great emotion and feeling. While it was not sung incredibly loudly, it was nonetheless moving to hear. The words of the adhan or call to prayer were “God is Most Great” which was song roughly 8 times over and over again, with different variations in tone. I had not expected this kind of musical element to Friday prayers and this same man sang again later.

It is difficult to understand exactly what is being said as these beginning sections are in Arabic. I understand parts of what is being said but the group of congregants all seem to understand perfectly and are likely native Arabic speakers. At this beginning part of the Friday prayer service, the imam does take out an elaborate copy of the Qur-an and opens it, looking at it for a moment. Although I am told later that he used elements of the sacred text, it was from memory as my guide at this service tells me this imam is known as someone who has memorized the Qua-ran from beginning to end, which is rather amazing. After this point, the actual sermon begins and continues for several minutes before a break is taken for private, silent prayers in which the men focus on their own thoughts before a man calls them to attention again for the next half of the sermon, which is far shorter than the first.

The first part of the sermon, which lasted for about fifteen minutes, was aimed at reminding the congregants what it takes to be a good Muslim and how to find strength within themselves through both ritual and their everyday actions. My translator explained that these initial opening parts of the sermons are usually longer but more general and often revolve around the same subjects with the second, shorter part being reserved for more contemporary matters that concerned the present time. The subject of the sermon’s second half, which was revealed to me later via a short translation was quite fascinating and involved the push and pull forces of two cultures and what they mean for Muslims as they seek to live their lives according to the traditional mandates of Islam. The imam discussed the importance for Friday prayer and commented upon the need for a fresh awakening of their minds to this need. Without such Friday prayers, he argued, they would begin to become stagnant in their faith and the force of the dual cultures would tear them apart and weaken them. The imam continued with this idea, suggesting that Friday prayers and all other forms of worship must be pure in intent and practiced with full devotion.

In short, I attended a Friday prayer service where the main topic itself was the importance of such a service. My translator also informed me that there were references made to family and parents who were not living in the United States and how this act of worship and turning towards Mecca should be their source of strength and a source of pride, even when they are alone within the two cultures they exist between. Although I was unable to understand what the imam was saying, I listened for inflections so I could try to get a sense of the feelings he was trying to communicate. While he was generally rather stone-faced and not prone to large variations in tone, I noticed at the end he had a look of desperate plea to his congregants on his face and actually, he looked deeply saddened for a moment. From what I am able to gather, this is the part where he was talking about distant families and the importance of tradition in maintaining strength and doing honor to one’s self and family through such prayer, praise, and ritual.

All in all, the sermon itself lasted for about 20 minutes with the imam opening with prayer and the break. Following the break is when I believe he began discussing a more personal side of the meaning and importance of these Friday rituals, especially as the imam seemed to believe there was a cultural tug of war taking place and that the congregants, all of whom were younger men (none could have been over the age of 25 or so) needed to remain firm in their faith and offer Friday services all they had. Following this, another call is made following this and the men all stand up from their positions and stand directly next to one another, some of them actually touching one another they are so close, and make a line that stretches across the room. They all turn and face Mecca and the imam leads them in two sets of prayers. The salat begins, and in union the men all place their hands on the ground, and then stretch forward and again to touch their heads to the floor throughout the length of the prayer.

Following this, there is a hush before the men to look to one another and begin to smile and shake hands and show signs of friendliness. They do not talk much outside of saying their praises for Allah and expressing hope to the other person that Allah would hear their prayers and they move toward the door, still not talking for the most part. At the door is a small beautifully-decorated box where offerings can be made and all of the men present do these. It is only upon exiting that the men begin to talk and laugh; they seem to know one another quite well and this appears to be a time that is not only dedicated to worship, but to strengthening these men’s ties. I thought about it later, especially in the context of what the imam said, and I see how he would want to reinforce the value of Friday prayers to these younger men, especially since they face difficulties between two cultures. I see that what he was suggesting is that, by coming together for this mandatory service, these men by proxy are relating to any of their family members who are far away and are building and maintaining ties with fellow Muslim men. The reminder offered in the sermon was more than a call to religious action for these men, it was a reminder of the social value of coming together as well.

As a concluding note, the subject of the sermon and the way I noticed the connection of these men following it reinforced what we talked about in class about the relationships between belief, ritual observance, and social behavior. Through these three interconnected aspects of Islam, a model for living in society is presented through belief and reinforced through ritual.

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Relationship with God/Torah

The Jewish people have a relationship with God that is based on a covenant. A covenant is a relationship based on certain principles and ideas that provide the terms of a relationship. In the case of Judaism, God has set forth a plan that his followers become part of that started with God’s covenant with Abraham, whom he told to multiply and with Moses, whom he issued the commandments to on Mount Sinai.
In the Jewish faith all believers share in the covenant with God and receive guidance from their rabbis, who are interpreters of sacred texts. In the Jewish tradition there are numerous sacred texts that define many aspects of life, including special traditions, holidays, and daily customs.

History of Key Sacred Texts

The Torah and the Talmud are two of the most important sacred texts in the Jewish tradition, although the Torah is one of the most used texts for everyday practice. The Torah is the founding text of the Jewish religion and is considered to be the most sacred. The Torah is comprised on five books, which when translated, are called: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Do these ring a bell? That’s right; these sound like the non-Jewish bible because they are first texts in the Christian bible. Many other works, such as the Talmud, for instance, deal with more specific matters of Jewish law, for instance and are used by rabbis.

Ten Commandments

In the Jewish and Christian traditions (this is often called the Judeo-Christian tradition) the Ten Commandments were given to a man named Moses as he sat atop Mount Sinai. The commandments were given to Moses directly by God and while there are actually more than ten when one looks throughout more books in the Torah, there are ten main commandments that are recognized in the Judeo-Christian tradition. How many do you think you can name? Let’s see before we move on to the next slide…
TEN COMMANDMENTS PICTURE on the next slide for review.

Jerusalem
Jerusalem is not only the modern capital of Israel within one of the oldest cities in the entire world, it is the holy city of the Jewish faith. It is in Jerusalem that one can find many of the important sites depicted in the Torah and in Jewish tradition. Even in the United States, many synagogues (which are the sacred places of worship in the Jewish faith) face toward Jerusalem.

The Nation of Israel
As mentioned, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel—a nation that has an ancient and complex history with great achievements and struggles that continue today just as they have for centuries. The ancient people of Israel were called the Israelites and these people would eventually become the first people to adhere to the religion we know as Judaism. The Israelites in the Torah were told by God that Jerusalem would be their home city and that they should erect a temple there. The twelve tribes of Israel joined together, as depicted in Exodus, and made their way from Egypt to Jerusalem.
Now you can see why Jerusalem was so important to begin with. This was a homeland that God told them was their own. This might help you understand part of a much more complex issue that is occurring today as Jerusalem tries to keep its capital intact instead of breaking it up due to Palestinian demands.

Different Sects of Judaism
There are many sects of Judaism but the two main types are Sepharic and Ashkenazic. While most of them are Ashkenazic, there are other more distinct groups, including Orthodox, Reform, and Liberal. While the lines between these sects are complex, you should understand that the differences between these sects is often based on relatively minor differences in interpretation of religious texts. To help you put this in perspective, think about Christianity. On the one hand there are many Christians who just go to church on Sundays and do not live their lives any particularly different way than most of society. Another “sect” of Christianity—the Amish—believe many of the same core things but their interpretation of the right way to live based on the same texts is different. Again, these are same religions but with vastly different outcomes based on interpretations of sacred texts.

Sacred Practices
There are many sacred practices in Judaism for ordinary practicing Jewish people. Many Jewish children between the ages of 12 and 13, for instance, take part in a coming of age ceremony called a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah. Another important practice is that of selecting kosher food. These are foods that are prepared specially according to Jewish customs and traditions. Some orthodox and traditional sects have numerous dress regulations and codes.

Holidays
Like many other religious traditions, Judaism has many of its own special holidays. Most of you will recognize the word Hanukkah because it comes close to Christmas. This is called “the festival of lights” and each night for 8 nights families light their homes. The roots of this tradition are in a sacred oil which was a miracle as it burned for eight nights. Even though many people think of this holiday first, it is not one of the most important for Jewish people. Purim, Rosh Hashanah (which is the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (The day of fasting and prayer) are the most important.

The Holocaust
Many current estimates predict that 6 million Jewish people died in the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. As a result of intensely racially and ethnically motivated propaganda, political and social action, and massive brutality, Jewish people throughout Europe were rounded up and forced to live in “ghettos” which were communities of all Jewish people. The people who lived in these ghettos were eventually led to concentration camps where many died.

Judaism Today
The Jewish faith is expanding and the Jewish community is still healing from the wounds of the Holocaust. In Jerusalem, against the backdrop of the Israel and Palestinian struggle there is a great deal of tension but this ancient religion is continuing to thrive, just as it has done for centuries

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The holy book in the Islamic faith, which is the Qur’an, was a series of revelations to the prophet Muhammad is much like the New Testament in the bible as God’s wishes and hopes for his people are reflected in the actions of Jesus, just like Muhammad. While the religions are quite different in many respects, their foundations as messiahs or prophets is an important similarity. The deaths of both of these men marked critical turning points in the histories of the regions where the religions that sprang from their teachings were. Furthermore, following the deaths of both of these historical figures, the religions they help found began to flourish and take new shape, even in the absence of their leaders.

In the Islamic faith, Allah is God and is the supreme authority—not Muhammad, but the teachings of this prophet form the core of the faith and its literature, including the Qur’an and the Hadith, which is a series of writings about the life of Muhammad. He was discovered to be a prophet when a monk saw that markings on his body were parallel to the marks of a prophet. He worked with caravans of beautiful rich woman and one of them found Muhammad and supported him through the trials of his position. Allowed to take time away from his life and work, Muhammad began taking retreats and during one of these, which would later be known as the holy month of Ramadan, the angel Gabriel came to him and compelled him to began reciting something. At first, he did not know what he was supposed to say but soon he came to speak in verses that would later form the Qur’an. He began to experience some ridicule about the voice that spoke to him but his wife encouraged him and it continued and eventually, he was told to begin sharing what he had been told with the people. This infuriated a class of people with great power and some of his followers, such as Bilal, were forced to endure torture before Muhammad and his followers were finally banished for three years. His visions grew more intense and he ascended into the cosmos and met leaders like Jesus and others. He began to prove himself as a worthy prophet in his pilgrimages but in one year lost his uncle and wife—the strength both in terms of his position in his society and spiritually. The threats in Mecca were still dire and he led some of his followers to Yathrib/Medina and later led a preemptive attack on the Meccans that many believe was successful because God was helping him fight.

Eventually there was a truce, but the Jewish people, despite Muhammad’s suggestion that all religions were unified, would not accept the prophet. With Mecca and Medina believing in him, he made a final pilgrimage to Ka’bah, but became ill and advised his followers but left no successor. He died, with one of his closest friends becoming the caliph, and his life is still the model for emulation.

The life of Jesus follows some of the same path and there are many fundamental aspects of the two men’s lives that are intertwined. They are both men from humble birth who lived simply and were recognized by some as being closely connected to God. This closeness was accepted quickly by some but also created a fair number of enemies—those who saw their power threatened. Both men received guidance from God and were told to speak publicly about what they had been told and both died with many followers. Jesus was born in Nazareth to the Virgin Mother, thus his birth itself was the subject of mystery, whereas Muhammad’s associations with the divine were not manifest until later in his life. Jesus, like Muhammad, lived a relatively ordinary life until he was an adult and met John the Baptist, who saw that he was the Messiah. Jesus and others did not accept this quite at first but Jesus began to perform acts that were miraculous and he developed a large following. Like Muhammad, there were leaders in his city who were frustrated at this new figure of attention and he was persecuted. The people of Jerusalem saw them as his leader but the political forces there were strong. He conducted a last supper with those who followed him and soon after, he was arrested after being betrayed by Pontius Pilate and then crucified. Following his crucifixion, there were a number of ominous signs such as a great earthquake and on the warning of some of his followers, Jews were posted at his tomb so that he would not arise as the prophecy foretold. Eventually, Mary Magdalene, who was one of Jesus’ ardent followers, went to his tomb and saw angels and Jesus and this continued with some of the other disciples and they knew then that Jesus was the Lord and continued to worship him.

Upon their deaths, the divide between how Jesus and Muhammad are seen as spiritual/transcendent versus human beings becomes more defined. The impact of the deaths of these two important figures is different because of the differing context. For instance, as the son of God who was resurrected and proven to be a supernatural being, Jesus, once he had passed away, was not necessarily dead but was revered more as a supernatural being and related to God himself. Muhammad, on the other hand, never purported (or was claimed by others) to be a son of God or a supernatural being at all and always made it clear to his people that he was simply a prophet. He considered Jesus to be a prophet as well but when he died, he was looked at more as a spiritual leader and figure for emulation rather than a figure to worship or give thanks and praise to. Jesus was crucified so that everyone’s sins could be forgiven—an act that in itself communicates his status as a transcendent being. When Muhammad died, it was from a simple human illness and there were not any spiritual purposes behind his death, nor did he rise again or come back in spirit form to communicate with his followers. While their lives were alike in many ways, especially their early years during the time they were gaining followers, the two diverge significantly in their deaths and what such deaths meant for their disciples. Jesus is a figure to be worshipped and idealized by his followers whereas Muhammad is a figure who shows the ideal path for a practicing Muslim.

The death of both men reflects on how they are worshipped today, although depending on which man one is speaking of, the word “worship” means slightly different things. In the case of Muhammad, the term worship is more associated with emulation—good Muslims want to live a life that is as closely aligned with Muhammad’s life as possible and worship the way he lived his life and who he was a man—a human being-as opposed to worshipping him in the sense that they give praise and bestow him with supernatural or transcendent powers. In the case of Jesus, the term worship does mean that he is worshipped as a figure deserving of thanks and praise after he provided human beings with salvation through his death. He was a martyr, although not in a political sense like one might have considered Muhammad if he died during a battle with those from Mecca (which is another hypothetical situation worth considering another time). Jesus was a spiritual martyr and the son of God, thus he is worshipped as a figure with transcendent powers of healing, forgiveness, and other miracles. Muhammad always claimed to be a man only and thus has only been “worshipped” in this sense whereas Jesus is seen as being directly responsible for people in a transcendent, spiritual way.

The messages of both of these leaders are being spread in the same way they have been for centuries—through scripture and readings and interpretations of it. People pray to keep in contact with God and have their religious traditions that are aimed at giving thanks to God, who was revealed to them through the prophets discussed here.

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Many Muslims found refuge in the United States and it is a thriving, growing religion to date and many African-Americans converted to the religion like Noble Drew Ali (an early convert), Malcolm X, and black activist Louis Farrakhan in rejection of the American Christian tradition of oppression. While Americans were beamed footage of extremist Muslims abroad (Khomenini, Saddam Hussein, and Bin Laden for instance) other challenges lay ahead.

Unfortunately, the most critical events that has shaped the way Islam is perceived in the United States are the deadly attacks of September 11, 2001. The terrorists were jihadists and had a distinctly pro-Islamic message, although in all of the fervor following the tragedy, it was often overlooked that extremist Muslims such as those who committed these acts are by far the minority. The “War on Terror” that followed after the attacks also seemed to be a war on Islam as so often in the media the two (terrorism and Islam) were almost interchangeable, even if people knew they were not the same thing at all. While suicide bombers, Islamist extremists, nuclear threats from Iran, and other pro-Muslim militia groups throughout the Middle East and living in the West will always receive press attention, the religion itself is peace-loving in its non-extreme form but the impact of the events of the last decade in the West have not provided an easy path to see that far.

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Five Pillars of Islam

In other words, Carylye’s well-intentioned and poetic sentiments about labor makes wonderful upper-crust dinner conversation (especially given the historical period and class situation present when he wrote this piece) and toss-about theory, but it makes very poor rational sense due to its limited scope and glossing-over real issues surrounding labor—especially manual labor. To its credit, the theory does actually hold more credence in modern times, especially as more people are branching out to follow their dreams and make their passions into professions. It is only these people—those who succeed in doing what they love most while managing to make a living doing it—that this really applies to, at least in any meaningful way.

When applying modern terminology and thought to Carlyle’s piece “Labour” one can make the argument that he makes a rather bullet-proof case for being a workaholic. He sees work as the ultimate escape from daily woes—one that actually achieves some objective as well. While on the surface his arguments are logical and rational in that they offer a reasonable way of considering one’s occupation, there are issues that lie just under the surface and make this argument about the perfect, holy nature of work less convincing, if not altogether flawed. The reason why it is impossible to agree with Carlyle is simply because he is applying this theory of the power of labor far too broadly, all the while coming from a limited perspective. This might be an incredibly appealing notion to those who are not acquainted with difficult daily manual toil but to those who are actually performing the mind-numbing work, this might seem like an incredibly silly notion. It seems then that this theory can only “work” when applied to those who actually love their work because they perform it by choice, not because of circumstances such as, say for example, fear of dire poverty.

When taking such a historical view, one of the most contentious aspects of Carlyle’s suggestion about the sacred nature of work and manual labor is the way it glosses over the daily “grind” and instead bestows some universal and religious significance on such toil. One cannot help but feel that Carlyle might be from the upper class where it would have been quite easy to romanticize the grueling labor of peasants and see their work as being “a kind of real harmony” rather than what it most likely was—difficult, relentless manual labor for low wages. The meaning of what the author writes is dependent on several different contexts then—the historical and the personal.

Putting those historical considerations aside for a moment, it seems that Carlyle might have been ahead of his time in seeing a shift in the number of people who chose an occupation out of interest as opposed to being born into a labor-related circumstance. More likely, however, is the assumption that it is much easier to agree wholeheartedly with his assessment if you are reading this piece as a modern being—someone who is “living one’s dream” and is able to combine hard work with genuine interest, thus never feeling like one is working at all but pursuing a passion. I know that when I am being forced to work on something that I am not interested in, I tend to dawdle and pine away for the time coming when I am doing what I like. There is no sense of “harmony” or peace about it—I would simply prefer to do what I enjoy and only then can I achieve the sort of strange nirvana Carlyle describes. I think most people are like this and have been since the beginning of history and peasants of yore would have felt no different and likely would have scoffed at Carlyle’s suggestions.

In modern times where we are often inclined to choose a vocation that genuinely interests us rather than being born into a trade or craft as one would have been when Carlyle was writing. Because of this it is easier to find meaning in what he is suggesting about how working can constitute a communion with nature and the world and can drown out sorrow and other self-based concerns. However, it is impossible to entirely extract this statement from its historical circumstances—even if some of it involves historical speculation. The truth of the matter is, it is easy to find a religious type of solace and feeling of harmony when one is pursuing one’s own choice of occupation.

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When Buddhism took root in China, differences in spiritual emphasis and practice emerged between northern China and southern China. Both schools strived toward the achievement of enlightenment, which is defined as the process of becoming “fully conscious of the Buddha Mind of compassion and undivided wisdom that has always been present in the individual’s own mind but has been obscured by the illusions and clingings of ordinary life” (Wills, 1994, p. 117). Nonetheless, each school of Buddhism conceptualized the approaches leading to enlightenment in different ways. The northern school of Buddhism favored a view of enlightenment that was gradual; enlightenment could only be attained through a devoted meditation practice sustained over time (Gregory, 1987). The southern school of Buddhism, in contrast, fully believed that the attainment of “sudden enlightenment” was entirely possible (McRae, 2003, p. 57). In fact, one of the southern school’s most important figures, Hui-neng, was himself enlightened unexpectedly. In short, however, despite the fact that these two subsets developed into and remained part of one religion, these fundamental differences between them are key to a complex understanding of this multifarious religion.

Almost everything about Hui-neng and his precepts, it seems, was distinct from the traditional practice of Buddhism that supported the paradigm of “progressive development toward complete understanding” (McRae, 2003, p. 57). In a way, Hui-neng was a religious radical, though not so much by his intent as by his experience, much of which was seemingly beyond his own control. Hui-neng was born to a family that experienced a fair share of trials and tribulations (Wills, 1994). Hui-neng’s father had been a government official, but was relieved of his position in the north and sent into exile in the south (Wills, 1994). Once there, Hui-neng’s father died almost immediately, leaving his wife to raise Hui-neng (Wills, 1994). The mother and son lived in abject poverty and tried to make a living by selling firewood. It is unclear whether Hui-neng was formally educated; various scholars indicate that he was, at the very least, functionally illiterate (Wills, 1994). One day, when Hui-neng was making a delivery of firewood to an official residence, he happened upon a man who was chanting the Diamond Sutra, and listening to the sutra, Hui-neng described the experience of becoming enlightened immediately (Wills, 1994).

After this occurred, Hui-neng was brought before Hong Ren, the Fifth Patriarch of Chan, the line of Chinese Buddhist patriarchs, to describe his experience. As is often the case in the beginning phases of a master-student relationship, Hong Ren asked Hui-neng a question that seemed intended to test Hui-neng’s grace and temper, and that was “how a ‘barbarian’ from the far south could expect to become enlightened” (Wills, 1994, p. 121). Hong Ren was suitably impressed with Hui-neng’s response, which was that while their bodies differed, their Buddha nature was the same. Quietly and unobtrusively, Hong Ren began grooming Hui-neng to become the next Patriarch, though he did not indicate as much either to Hui-neng nor to his other students and followers, who he feared would be jealous and would seek to undermine Hui-neng’s succession. Instead, Hong Ren sent Hui-neng to “work in the monastery’s threshing room for the next eight months” (Wills, 1994, p. 121), and held poem writing and declaration contests to study the wisdom and comprehension of the other young monks. Although Hui-neng could not write, he was able to have a colleague pen his poetic wisdom, which was conveyed to Hong Ren. In secret, Hong Ren conferred the transmission of the “Teaching and Bodhidharma’s robe,” the symbol of the Chan patriarch, (Heine, 2000; Wills, 1994, p. 122) upon Hui-neng, who was not even ordained as a monk. This act made him the Sixth Patriarch (Heine, 2000; Heine & Wright, 2004; Wills, 1994). In fact, as Wills (1994) points out, it would be many more years before he would be formally ordained, and when this did occur, it too was almost by accident, or at least, without intention. This fact underscores Hui-neng’s unusual ascension and enlightenment processes, which only foreshadowed the ways in which he would transform Chan Buddhism.

As many scholars have noted, Hui-neng was hardly the paragon of spiritual enlightenment. He has been described as “the brilliant but uneducated sixth patriarch” (Heine & Wright, 2004, p. 118), and as “total[ly] lack[ing] the conventional accoutrements of [a] spiritually gifted person” (Heine, 2000, p. 68). Nonetheless, Heine (2000) also suggests that Hui-neng had a certain “intuitive genius” (p. 68) that led both to his enlightenment and to his designation as the sixth patriarch. This intuitive genius also shaped his teachings, which were presented and summarized in the Platform Sutra, and because they were delivered by an unusual messenger, their impact may have been greater than would have been the case with a more traditional Buddhist master and teacher. The teachings of the Platform Sutra were significant for a number of reasons. First, they served to assertively distinguish the mode of enlightenment viewed by the southern school as an equally likely and legitimate path as that espoused by the northern school. In fact, Wills (1994) contends that Hui-neng’s most significant contribution to Chan Buddhism was the insistence that sudden enlightenment was possible and valid. Yet Hui-neng went a step farther and suggested something even more radical, changing the very notion of enlightenment altogether. Wills (1994) explains that Hui-neng taught that contrary to traditional views of enlightenment, which purported that enlightenment was a “state of complete blankness, of annihilation of thought and personality,” he believed in a breakthrough in consciousness that resulted in greater self-awareness and control, “a state in which one no longer was swept along helplessly and automatically from one thought to another, clinging to thoughts and the illusory objects of desires” (p. 122).

The first of the Five Pillars involves simply believing in God and offering “witness” to these beliefs through expressions of faith, such as telling people they meet about the religion and their beliefs. The second of the Pillars stresses the importance of daily prayers. These prayers involve some of the core ideas in the First Pillar about the importance of belief and this daily act of prayer makes Muslims interact with their beliefs on a daily basis. The prayer at the same time of the day unites Muslims around the world and is part of the idea of the oneness of the faith—that through faith in one God all of humanity is connected.

The Third Pillar of Islam is zakat, which involves spiritual giving of alms, although their money goes not to a central church figure or institution, it goes to help needy Muslims and is equivalent to 2.5% of a Muslim’s income (or more). This idea also emphasizes the idea of oneness and decreases personal ambition. Another one of the Five Pillars of Islam is fasting, which means that a Muslim will not partake of food, drink, sex, smoking or anything else for the entire month of Ramadan (assuming the person is in good enough health and over a certain age). While there are other fasts common in the religion, Ramadan is the only required fast. This fasting allows purification of the soul and helps develop self-control. The final of the Five Pillars of Islam is hajj, which is a religious pilgrimage to Mecca. This is a trip comprised of many rituals that are supposed to bring the travelers closer to God. One part of the ritual is that all of the men wear exactly the same clothes so that there are no class divisions among them, thus re-emphasizing the oneness of humanity in God’s eyes. It is a time of prayer and ritual and embodies through all of its rituals all of the core beliefs of the faith.

The most difficult of the Five Pillars to follow would be the fasting for an entire month. It is difficult enough to go without eating for one day and would take an enormous amount of self-control and willpower to get through this period. However, if one was looking at the fasting process as an expression of religious commitment and undertook it as a spiritual quest it might be significantly easier and far more meaningful. It is easy to see how it would become a process of purification and might develop greater self-control for future fasts. With all of the Five Pillars in mind though, it is conceivable to see how all of them might come with some of challenges as they are very present in everyday life. While fasting is the most challenging of the Pillars, stopping each day to pray, making a long trip with many rituals, and giving away a part of one’s income—even if you poor your own self—might seem like a challenge. However, when one has faith in something these acts do not seem so much like hurdles to jump over to attain God’s favor or a pure spirit, but as acts of worship and belief.

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In 1979, Reverend Falwell was the pastor of a Baptist church in Lynchburg, Virginia, a town that was traditionally conservative and which would eventually become what it remains today: the axis around which religious conservativism spins.[7] As was the case with many other religious figures during this time and into the present, while Falwell’s physical pulpit may have limited his sphere of influence in Virginia, that domain was expanded exponentially by his nationally broadcast television show, which brought home viewers into the Thomas Road Baptist Church through their TV screen every Sunday.[8] The TV show, titled “Old Time Gospel Hour,” was not only an opportunity for Falwell to unite viewers around the entire country in the practice of Baptist worship, but also to disseminate his concerns about what he viewed as the decline of morality in America, thus offering him an opportunity to comment extensively on the social and political aspects of America, not just the religious. In so doing, he was able to test the waters of conservative religious interest in and concern about America’s moral compass, and the response to his passionate rhetoric was overwhelming.[9] Reverend Falwell understood that many Americans felt a need to recuperate and instill again the values that they considered to have been lost by corrupt and Godless politicians, and he used the momentum of the enthusiastic response to his televised sermons to found the group the Moral Majority. As he himself reflected, the country was tired of “seventeen years of liberal insensitivity to promoral concerns.”[10] Reverend Falwell also foreshadowed what qualities would come to characterize the Moral Majority and how it would be different from other organizations that had preceded it: We will not just “cry ‘Enough,’” he explained, “but also to stop crying and organize and do something about it.”[11] From the beginning it was clear that rhetoric was aimed at infusing religion back into politics with the ultimate hope that this religious influence would eventually reawaken the American public to the moral concerns that had assumedly been drifting.

With the rising popularity of the television broadcast of the sermons of the Reverend Jerry Falwell, the Moral Majority grew quickly, expanding its membership by appealing to those individuals and communities who had traditionally been overlooked by other conservative social movements.[12] Many other conservative social actions groups organized themselves along clearly demarcated lines according to denominational affiliations rather than a more loosely-based assimilation of people who were, quite literally, first joined together through similar viewing of the speeches and sermons offered by Falwell on his nationally-televised program. With this in mind, it is also important to note that although Reverend Falwell and his most ardent supporters had extreme views, he was also extreme in his membership strategy. What was particularly remarkable and compelling about the Moral Majority was that although the Reverend Falwell represented the extreme right of religious-political thought, he succeeded in appealing to a broad swath of American conservatives of every denomination—including those from the Jewish community—by appealing over and over again to his single primary complaint and the broad goal of his organization, namely, to “restore a religious and moral order to the United States.”[13] In short, it was this wide and for many, inarguable thesis that there was a moral lack in the United States that was, due to its very broad and wide appeal, the true formula for the success of the Moral Majority, particularly during its formative stages.

In a pamphlet in which Reverend Falwell answered the question, “What is the Moral Majority?” he noted that the organization was, at its height, “made up of millions of Americans,” and that among the Moral Majority’s membership were 72,000 ministers, [Catholic] priests, and rabbis,” all of whom were united in their “concern about the moral decline of our nation.”[14] Through the very language of this mission statement and answer, Falwell was making sure to include the fact that this was almost non-denominational and that membership into this entity required only an agreement with the founding ideas about the correction of moral decay in America. By including the fact that there were those of Jewish, Catholic, and other faiths, he did not alienate any groups and his message was so broad that nearly anyone, regardless of his or her religious affiliation could not necessarily agree with the organization, simply because of its vague call to action. More specifically, through his answer about what the Moral Majority was, the task that Falwell set forth for himself and the organization was “to serve as a special interest group providing a voice for a return to moral sanity in these United States of America.”[15] He united these formerly disparate groups through media that had never before been used for quite the same purpose, nor quite so effectively.[16] This combination of an all-inclusive action based on moral decline that went beyond traditional modes of gaining followers and against the idea of religious or affiliation exclusivity was hugely successful. More importantly, because Reverend Falwell’s supporters were so committed to his cause, he had attracted a large donor base that helped the organization raise funds, promoting not only its concerns, but also sounding the call for concerned Americans to join them. Advertisements, direct media mail campaigns, and the use of other media purchased with donor funds allowed the Moral Majority to attract a solid base of support early on in its beginning phases.

Without a doubt, even the early aims of the Moral Majority were present in many political and social arenas and the group had many focuses on several issues that seemed to be continuing or perpetuating what the group and Falwell saw as pre-existing conditions of moral decline in America. The specific concerns that the Moral Majority intended to tackle were numerous, and included, among many others, abortion; rights for homosexuals; the problems of divorce and bearing children out of wedlock, both of which seemed to signal the erosion of the nuclear family; the expanding influence and glorification of violence, drugs, pornography and greed in movies and other media; sex before marriage; and the supposed removal of God from America’s classrooms.[17] All problems were defined in moral terms, and all were linked together as the causes for the supposed decline of the country, its alienation from its religious roots, and a host of other domestic and foreign social problems. The strategy that the Moral Majority applied to realize its goals was one that was both simple and consistent.[18] First, it was persistent in asserting its perspective, offering up its opinion about every issue within its agenda of concerns at every opportunity that it was given. Second, Reverend Falwell appointed himself as the principal mouthpiece of the organization, and reiterated the Moral Majority’s platform each time he spoke, and he did, in fact, speak often, appearing frequently on news and opinion programs as the representative of the extreme right’s conservative perspective. Third, the Moral Majority always found a way to link their concerns to a single scapegoat, and liberal politicians were their favored targets. If the Moral Majority could select one individual, look at his or her record, and make a connection between that record and specific observed social problems, so much the better. The public would have one person to blame for the nation’s ills.

While the simplicity and consistency of the strategy was nothing short of brilliant, it was the strategy itself and the insistence that its pattern be followed and adhered to unfailingly that would eventually precipitate the decline of the Moral Majority as an organization, as well as the influence of its most visible members, including Reverend Falwell. First, although the Moral Majority’s agenda was broad enough to appeal to many other special interest groups that had previously tackled these items singly, thus uniting disparate groups under a single special interest umbrella, a multiple-item action agenda would ultimately prove ineffective for the organization; quite simply, the agenda was too diffuse it was too diffuse to be managed easily or effectively.[19] Second, the use of a single spokesperson, the extremist Reverend Falwell, undermined the organization’s credibility among liberals and even, eventually, among some of the Moral Majority’s own members. Reverend Falwell’s personality was larger than life, and his complete and unwavering dedication to the cause of rescuing America from the clutches of moral evils so infused him with a charisma that was infectious for his followers but repellent for those who viewed him as suspect. Critics noted that he spoke in broad, generalist terms, and relied more upon rhetoric than on reason. The diversity of his organization was not, they argued, reflected in Reverend Falwell’s public presentations, which were frequent.[20] Finally, the use of a scapegoat, while a rather common tactic in politics, was viewed by many as a poor strategy to use because it failed to reflect the exact kinds of moral values that Reverend Falwell and the Moral Majority hoped to promote.[21] Critics contended that the Moral Majority could have been much more effective had it chosen to take a more thoughtful and respectful strategy, one that promoted dialogue rather than one that promulgated a monologue, and one that could hardly be interrupted at that.[22]

Just seven years after its founding, the Moral Majority had already entered the phase of its decline.[23] In fact, perhaps Reverend Falwell recognized that his strategy was not sustainable if he hoped to achieve long-term change, as it was he himself who decided to shutter the Moral Majority as an organization, subsuming its membership and its mission within a new organization that he spearheaded, the Liberty Federation. Reverend Falwell himself would no longer enjoy the public prominence he had once commanded, but would leave behind a legacy of extreme Christian right institutions and ideologies that carried on the battle against moral decline in the United States. When Reverend Falwell died earlier this year, he was celebrated by the Christian right for the network of services he created to advance the agenda that he had first established through the Moral Majority. Although the lifespan of the Moral Majority itself was short-lived, its ideology and the inspiration that it evoked in followers continue, even after the deaths of the organization and its leader.

Works Cited

[1] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 31.

[2] David Domke and Kevin Coe, “The God Strategy: The Rise of Religious Politics in America.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 42.1 (2007): 53.

[3] Derek H. Davis, The Separation of Church and State Defended: Selected Writings of James E. Wood (Waco, TX: J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies, 1995) 28.

[4] Ted G. Jelen, To Serve God and Mammon: Church-State Relations in American Politics (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000) 3.

[5] Ted G. Jelen, To Serve God and Mammon: Church-State Relations in American Politics (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000) 3.

[6] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 2.

[7] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 2.

[8] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 2.

[9] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 2.

[10] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 2.

[11] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 2.

[12] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 13.

[13] Ted G. Jelen, To Serve God and Mammon: Church-State Relations in American Politics (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2000) xiii.

[14] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 13.

[15]  David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 13.

[16] Robert C. Liebman and Robert Wuthnow, The New Christian Right: Mobilization and Legitimation (New York: Adilene Publishing, 1983) 153.

[17] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 13-15.

[18] David Domke and Kevin Coe, “The God Strategy: The Rise of Religious Politics in America.” Journal of Ecumenical Studies 42.1 (2007): 53.

[19] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 181.

[20] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 181.

[21] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 181.

[22] David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 181.

[23]David Snowball, Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1991) 2.