Private Religion

In his Philosophical Investigations (1953) Ludwig Wittgenstein expands on what is commonly called his private language argument. Although there are many ways of interpreting Wittgenstein's work it can be argued that he does not believe a private language could exist, the main purpose of language being communication. One of the questions raised by this argument is how we communicate our inner experiences, which we alone feel, such as pain, colours, feelings, etc.

For me this question also relates to religion and spirituality; to what extent can two or more people share the same spiritual experience? How do they know whether they do feel the same? Does this make the idea of a religious community based on a shared spiritual experience somehow false? People know the language to use in order to talk meaningfully about their experience so does it even matter if their experience is private or different to everyone else? Is this perhaps the future, the purpose of religion online or more private, commodified spirituality? "The sacrilisation of utilitarian individualism"? (Carrette and King).

Sources:

http://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2012/03/01/00/57/private-19858_640.jpg
Wittgenstein, Ludwig (1953/2001). Philosophical Investigations. Blackwell Publishing.

Carrette J and R King. 2102. Spirituality and the Re-branding of Religion. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 59-70. London and New York: Routledge.

Jesus Christ Superstar

In the 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice Judas sings:

Ev'ry time I look at you

I don't understand

Why you let the things you did

Get so out of hand

You'd have managed better

If you'd had it planned

Now why'd you choose such a backward time

And such a strange land?

If you'd come today

You could have reached a whole nation

Isreal in 4 BC

Had no mass communication

Of course, as technology has progressed it is easier than ever to reach the whole world or become an internet sensation through mass communication. But I wonder if Jesus would have success today, even with the help of the internet. It is true that it is easier than ever to create a global phenomenon but, perhaps as a consequence of our post-enlightenment ideals, people in the west have become at times cynical and/or apathetic towards organised religion. The availability and freedom of ideas and beliefs on the web means that someone who was heralded as the Messiah by one group probably wouldn't gain as much of a following as Jesus and Christianity has in the last 2000 years.

Having said that, the prevalence of religion and spirituality online has meant that it is easier than ever to hear a genuine Christian message; but is it as sacred as the original message? Or does it not even matter?

Popular Music, Affective Space and Meaning

In the article Popular Music, Affective Space and Meaning (2012) Partridge explores how music creates identity, meaning and emotion beyond the lyrics and the authorial intent of the song. A large portion of the article discusses the different meanings of the bass guitar; how in some cultures it signifies a masculine, warlike element in the song and other times it can be a feminine sound, feeling as though it comes from the earth itself. This works for many other instruments and sounds: a Gregorian choir instantly conjures image of monks in a cathedral while a sitar signifies ethnicity. Another example is the snake charmer; the sound is very distinctive but in reality the snakes actually follow the movement of the charmer himself, regardless of whether the music plays or not. However, the image of a snake charmer would not be complete without the musical element.

Sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gScBzmKXTE

Partidge C. 2012. Popular Music, Affective Space and Meaning. In Lynch G. and J Mitchell with A Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 182-193. London and New York: Routledge.

Spirituality and the Re-branding of Religion

Carrette and King's article Spirituality and the Re-branding of Religion (2012) describes the changes that have occurred in the common view of religion and spirituality. They say that in contemporary society spirituality has replaced institutionalised religion as people pick and choose the elements they want. They say the change in attitudes began in the enlightenment period where science began to replace theology and in more recent times economics has replaced science. This has led to what they call capitalist spirituality and prosperity religion. This type of commodification and sacrilisation of utilitarian individualism can be seen in many places in modern society. Massages are sold as a spiritual experience, statues of Buddha are sold at market stalls, crystals with healing properties are sold in jewellery shops which is nothing beside the commodity that is televangelism.

Sources:
http://pixabay.com/en/photos/get_image/17508/?t=1333773827&c=9c4ea099a3c9de7c08aa&ext=jpg

Carrette J and R King. 2012. Spirituality and the Re-branding of Religion. In Lynch G. and J. Mitchell with A. Strhan. Eds., Religion, Media and Culture: A Reader. 59-70. London and New York: Routledge.