Recognizing and Validating the Diverse Religious Practices During the Holiday Season
What makes this country great? What makes it teem with life, energy, soul and beauty? The spiritual and religious beliefs that the people are able to freely experience and enjoy.
In our country, there are so many religions and spiritual beliefs that have come to become known and respected by so many. It does not matter if you are a Christian or a Jew, you have certainly heard of the Bahai, the Scientologist, the Buddhist, the Wiccan, and so on. Maybe you have even had opportunity to explore other religions than your own. Maybe you have changed your religious belief in your lifetime, or maybe you have been more able to grow in your own belief because you have found items of interest in the belief system of another that actually helped you re-align to your own faith.
Whatever the scenario is, we have one very great aspect to our country which has caused so many to experience so much more. Yet, we also still have a mostly Christian country, with the Christian holidays recognized most often and most broadly – this has caused people of other religions to sometimes feel that there is not such freedom for religions in our country, and they have begun to take steps to bring about a more equal representation of the many religions by various government officials.
As we have all seen, however, this is not always openly accepted, yet I believe it is important to understand this. The point of acceptance that gets disputed is not in fact because the person of a non-Christian belief wants recognition. It is because somehow his desire for recognition threatens the traditional Christian ritual that has been practiced for so many hundreds of years.
Our government has not quite figured out that the religions all have their traditions, their celebrations, and their traditional rituals that bring great comfort and joy to the parishioners, and that these cannot be joined together under one umbrella and renamed.
I have met many Jewish people who celebrate Hanukah and many Christians who celebrate Christmas. I have never met any person of the Jewish belief who put up a Hanukah tree, and lit 8 Christmas candles over a period of 8 days. I have yet to meet a Christian who put a holiday tree in his home or had a Winter party for the recognition of Christ’s birthday. The point is that the religions cannot be “glommed under one title”, and when our government attempts it, there is always unhappiness and unrest.
Let’s learn from them and not repeat this in our own work environment.
People are very proud and committed to their religions and their practices, teachings and traditions. They do not want Kwanzaa to be one more holiday stuck into Christmas season and Christmas renamed to Holidays. They want their practice and rituals recognized for what they are – it is a way we show respect for the religious beliefs of others.
The point of all this is that each religion has its uniqueness. Take a moment to find out from your coworker what his religious belief is and respect it. Be willing to share with him your religious belief – briefly. Take a moment to recognize and understand each person’s celebration and call it by the right name. If he is a good friend at work and a gift is appropriate, give it to him in recognition.
Don’t just expect everybody to be satisfied with a holiday season dominated by a Christmas tree that the government is calling a holiday tree. Appreciate and respect those unique things that make this country with all its religions great.