I’ve spent a lifetime around very religious people and non religious all in the same gumbo pot. I have fundamentalist Christian friends, some “I’m more Jewish than you” family members and friends, and other (combining my Mormon, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist friends in this group) and have partnered with atheists almost all my life. I’ve observed, lived, discussed, pondered and dissected the religion question every which way and I have to say that what I have witnessed in my life about religion is it creates an us versus them quotient that I do find distasteful. What I like about new age spirituality is that it is an everyone is divine inside and therefore the divine is us, all of us.
At the Waldorf school they practice spirituality and believe that each child is more than just his mind and body, but also a spirit within him and they acknowledge that either by saying thanks to the one who prepared their food as they sit down for a meal, or thanks to the one who brought treats for the class, or thanks in general for the gifts that come our way in life.
Religion vs spirituality is a tough cookie. I remember reading Barbara Tuchman’s quote that every time she brought up God at a party, people moved away from her. I rarely hear my friends speak about god in any sort of meaningful way. I’ve made a decision to not teach Tin Judaism as a religion, but offer it up as a history of my own background and the one he has inherited by being my son.
So it’s with great interest that I watch Big Love about plural marriages and eternal salvation and watch this family dive into prayer as a matter of course – and this is on television. Usually when you see a Christian, he’s a nutball, or a Jew, he’s Hassidic, rarely do you watch a television program that puts religion on the table first and foremost as the thing, not a side thing, much like religion was for my family when I was growing up an Orthodox Jew.
But I have to admit it does matter to me that Tin understands the universe is larger than what we know, that you do need faith to take great leaps into the unknown, and specifically, everyone else does matter. We’re building a family for Tin of people who will be his influencers, at times his caretakers, and always support network so that as he develops he will understand how he is connected to each and every person he meets along his journey. I hope all of this reinforces his connection to the spirit world and that he understands how Mimi (my deceased mom) is as much a part of his life as Tete (Tatjana’s living mom).