08:58 pm
Truth in Spiritual Advertising
Ezra Klein has a new post on Al Sharpton’s latest call to religious leaders to knock off the homophobic preaching. I appreciate what Sharpton has to say, but I don’t like his suggestion that homophobic ministers are all closeted gays:
“I am tired,” he went on, “of seeing ministers who will preach homophobia by day, and then after they’re preaching, when the lights are off they go cruising for trade. . .
That too is a stereotype that needs to get deep-sixed. But I do agree with much of the rest of what he says. I applaud Sharpton for having the courage to stand up for equality for all Americans, and for his continued, if angry, persistence in doing so. Some issues must be inflammatory to get the attention needed to activate change, or counteract equally inflammatory nonsense.
While I greatly appreciate Rev. Sharpton’s unwavering support for equal rights and his work in education, I believe that Klein’s response is the real story here. Klein’s does not hesitate to name the elephant in the pulpit: religion is a commercial venture, and like all such goods and services, it is market driven.
Particularly insightful is Klein’s recognition that fundamentalism, marketing, and homophobia are interconnected:
[P]eople are less comfortable digging through the implications of a market-driven religion. . . . Preachers obsess over homosexuality for the same reason that newscasters talk about polls rather than policies: It gets ratings. It arouses passions. It ensures relevance. It’s not about religion, or justice. You can’t read the Bible and honestly decide its primary political imperative is to block gay marriage. . . .
This stuff is not about the judgment of the divine but the demands of the market. And that’s okay, I guess, [but] it’s just a bit weird we make it tax exempt to sell a market good so long as you make God part of your sales pitch.
As a gay Christian who believes in the value of all faiths that want you to love your neighbor, I’ve long recognized that churches, temples, and mosques need to market themselves to stay fiscally sound. When marketing and religion collide, there is great potential for lack of truth in spiritual advertising.
It’s a tricky line for any religious leader to walk. Without exception, they want to see their flock grow. But more than a few cross the line from proselytizing to marketing. And when such efforts turn into little more than an effort to improve attendance and donations (a.k.a. ratings and sales), then you start running into problems.
Isn’t it time that we ask ourselves how our place of worship is benefiting from a given view or stance? Are such positions really what I believe? Are they really in line with the spirit of my religious text? Does my religion’s sacred text actually embrace intolerance, hate, rigidity and intemperance, or is my preacher trying to bump up his “ratings”?
If your answers surprise you, talk to your faith leader. They need your help as much as you need theirs.