So at this point Dan sounds very Camus-like that people only come together in hard times. I certainly agree with that, but it seems too simplistic. I think it is the only thing that consistently brings people together into community. But there are other things...What about holidays, celebrations, etc. Communities can bond at the fourth of July, through fraternal organizations, etc.
Rowan and I were having an interesting discussion last night that gave me a realization why I'm bummed about St. Pauls. We realized that the community I am looking for is more what existed at Marquette High. It wasn't necessarily our religion that bonded us together. We had other things. We were students, we shared the Jesuit values (even if we didn't share the faith), etc. At St. Pauls it seems that the community is built on people's faith, not on something greater. A community has to be multi-dimensional. We thought about the neighborhood where my dad grew up in Milwaukee. The neighborhood was tightly bounded. Kids played together at a closely accessible community park, people attended a close Church, people discussed things and knew their neighbors. That made Church meaningful because you did things as a community, and came together with people you already felt strongly about on a different level. Something else has to form a community and the faith is more an expression of that bonding, it shouldn't necessarily be the formation of the bonds.
As for my faith, I am on shaky ground right now, but I think Rory and Rowan will keep me in the loop. More than that though I feel like it is an important way to identify myself and be part of a community. People of the same faith can share the same rituals, heroes, and values. I think this is extremely important in a globalized world where our identifiers are either shallow (consumer choices, baseball team, etc.) or not important. I think people should discuss issues between one another (that means outside of your safe communities), but a community is important to bind you to people who can help shelter you from and shape you for that world. That's what Marquette High gave me and I have yet to find it in full form again.
2 comments:
I don't think that people come together only in hard times. I brought it up as an extra example because the other community building attributes I mentioned previously didn't seem to work for you.
Losing faith and gaining reason doesn't have to destroy your sense of identity or community. I know exactly what to call myself and what that means. I am a humanist and I am both atheist and agnostic. To break that down: I don't have any active belief in god but I acknowledge the theoretical possibility that one could exist. Humanism is my life philosophy. It gives me purpose, direction, meaning and it is definitely the more important half of my philosophical classification. As for community, I have strong ties to friends who are also non-believers and who have experienced the same persecution that I have. There are a number of wonderful non-theistic groups that one could belong to. If I wanted to I could also attend a Unitarian "church". Don't be afraid of examining your views because you think that you will lose your sense of community. Us non-believers are the fastest growing community in the nation.
I liked your example of people coming together in hard times. It is very true. It's strange though that we are going through hard times right now and I don't see an overwhelming growth in organizations, bowling etc. Activities that really exemplify community bonding.
I think for me losing my faith would restructure my entire belief system. I personally do not think I would be fulfilled being a humanist. I still have my core beliefs in the Catholic Church. I'm just looking for a proper faith community to express it in.
I do admire and honor humanist though. When I said "Camus-like" I was signifying that I liked your comment. It reminded me of the Plague. I really liked that book.
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