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Copyright Darren Witwer 2001
Polycentric
Discourse
More
than two Metaphysical Principles
Perhaps the most important place where we see polycentric or
pluralistic discourse occurring is in the context of the complex
American melting pot of religions. In a country where some
tens of thousands of Protestant denominations outnumbered Roman
Catholics and Jews, a variety of immigrants are bringing many
new religions like Hmong shamanism, Islam, Buddhism, Chinese secular
(Confucian) culture, Eastern Orthodox Catholicism... Further,
many people are choosing to leave traditional religions for new
religions. American religious topography is becoming extremely
complex, and potentially explosive. Fortunately there are
attempts to bring people together. For example, in May of
1999, the Barker Center at Harvard University hosted an astonishing
variety of religious representatives for a meaningful discussion.
Click
here for a report.
Hinduism and East Indian religion.
A wide variety of manifestations typify the religion of the
Asian Sub-continent. [Click
to visit the Unit Two: East Indian Religions Resource Page]
Rather than present a superficial summary of this complex, henotheistic
and polytheistic religion, I recommend that you explore these
web sites. The most interesting feature of Hinduism, in
my opinion, is its broad tolerance of various forms of religion.
A Hindu could tell you that Judeo-Christian and Islamic religions
are forms of Bakhti Yoga (devotion to a deity, accompanied by
strict observances and worship). While Hinduism acknowledges 333
million gods, they also clearly understand a monistic reality
(the ultimate
unity of Brahman and Atman) or deity behind all of that.
Some forms of Hinduism and other Indian religions are intensely
dualist in nature as well. In other words, Hinduism is perhaps
one of the most complex and diverse religions on the planet.
It includes conservative fundamentalists and ultra-libertine hedonists.
Paganism--[Click
to visit Unit One Web Resources page] Multiple deities were
worshiped in these rural fertility religions that flourished before
the advent of Christianity.
The omnipresence of sexuality, birth, death and rebirth
in creation produces social practices that Christianity found
objectionable and worthy of extermination.
However, the Catholic Church tolerated many of these practices
by absorbing them into their symbolism.
It wasn't until the Inquisition (after 1492) that the organized
effort to eliminate paganism began.
It wasn't until the late 18th Century that the project
was more or less completed.
These traditions have left very few traces, most of which
exist within the symbolism and festivals of Christian religion.
Christmas and Easter were pagan holidays assimilated by the Church
to attract pagans to their services. The oldest Christian Churches are almost invariably built on top of
destroyed pagan temples and sacred sites. Images and statues
of pagan deities were also adopted, the names changed, and used
to attract the pagans to the new Christian churches.
Attempts
to reconstruct these religions have been full of fiction and speculation.
Interesting and fruitful ideas have come out of the revisionist
history of the Neopagans.
The period in Christian history when the witches were burned is
often described as "The
Burning Times." Many women and men were tortured and
killed. (See the
film “The Burning Times”)
Greek
and Roman religion before Christianity is complex. Click
for Greco-Roman Web Resources
The
distinction between these polytheistic religions and monotheistic
religion is, however, more complex than it appears. Comparative
religious studies indicate that the mystic roots of religions
(see the Describing Religions page)
lead to a monotheistic conception that underlies or subsumes the
multiplicity of divinities. However, it is clear that tribal,
pre-urban, pre-literate cultures place a great deal more ceremonial
and practical importance on the many smaller deities because of
their intimate connection to their daily lives, and the generally
abstract, distant nature of the monistic conception of deity.
It is also fairly common that polytheistic religions will divide
these supernatural beings up into two classes: benevolent and
malevolent or prankish spirits. Hence, there is often a
dualistic element to these religions. The term "henotheism"
is useful to describe polytheistic religions with a strong conception
of a unitary Deity behind the multiplicity--such as Hinduism.
Egyptian
Religion: [Click
to visit Unit One Web Resources page] A
complex, polytheistic religion with many regional differences,
historical changes and multiple influences, the Egyptian pantheon
is perhaps one of the best known in the world. Besides having
a profound influence on Greco-Roman culture, the birth of archeology
in the 18th Century led to a revival of Egyptian religious elements
in Freemasonry and occultism. Egyptian art and architecture
is still impressive and beautiful, inspiring artists and interior
designers.
Tribal
Religion:
[Click to visit Unit
One Web Resources page] The reliance on a local (tribal)
shaman or wise person for works of healing, childbirth and
other issues of domestic and agricultural concern.
In many villages, a local midwife delivered babies, produced
medicines and provided consultation and inspiration to the people.
Oral stories, myths and traditional spells and recipes
were exchanged and communicated.
The ancestors and various spirits are the only objects
of metaphysical concern.
They must be appeased and fed.
The shaman is typically somebody who has had a traumatic,
near death experience, and returned to the world with the power
to heal and communicate with the spirit world.
One of the more interesting modern manifestations of Shamanism
is found in the writings of Carlos
Castaneda. There
is also a strong tradition of Shamanism in Hindu religion.
See: Amarananda Bhairavan’s Kali’s Odiyya: A Shaman’s
True Story of Initiation.
The Hmong who have emigrated to the Twin Cities come from a Shamanic
traditional religion. Many of those who have come to
the United States have been brought here by Christian missionaries,
hence they are now Christians. In modern times, truly shamanic
religions are rare, and are generally considered diabolical by
Jews, Christians, Muslims and the Chinese (who have been oppressing
the Tibetans, and within Tibet, the Buddhists have oppressed the
Bon-Po shamans. )
This extensive persecution of shamanic religions has diminished
their numbers around the world.
The
Dogon people are discussed briefly in our text. I have provided
a rather large collection
of links to Dogon-related sites. Huib Blom's site provides
Outstanding
photographic portrayal the Dogon.
(also of Niger
and Lobi)
If you go to one website on this entire page, go here. It
is large, beautiful and shows the geography, architecture and
people. See also the African
links on the links page. African religion in general
can be considered a diffused monotheism--one deity or divine principle
presides over a host of minor deities, but these minor deities
are more important to the religious experience of the people.
Robert Bly has done much toward creating an eclectic men's movement
that derives much from the Native American traditions of Shamanism.
(Here is a
typical example.)
Theosophy:
This school probably belongs in all three modes--Monist, Dualist,
Polycentric. Founded by the fascinating
Madame H.P. Blavatsky, this society inspired a large portion
of the current new age movement. Some of the famous names
include:
Alice Bailey, Charles Leadbeater, G.
I. Gurdjief [brief
summary of Gurdjieff], Rudulf
Steiner (Anthroposophy and Waldorf Education founder).
Basically, the Theosophy
movement harmonized various esoteric teachings from around the
world with a heavy emphasis on Hinduism and Christian ideas.
Neopaganism:
Wicca,
Celtic and Teutonic Witchcraft, technoshamans,
Jewish Paganism, etc.
[ Click here for the Unit
Six Resources page. ] A movement that began in
the 1950’s that is an attempt to weave together the remnants of
pre-Christian religion with the counterculture philosophies that
have appeared since then.
In other words, it
has evolved over time to include feminism, eco-feminism, Native
American beliefs, computer technology, sexual liberation and deviation
from traditional forms of religion, prevalence of "hippy"
aesthetics, Gothic aesthetics, organic food, leftist activism,
etc. Neopagans seem to belong
to two different types or classes: those who work primarily on
an independent basis as solitary witches, and those who are
members of very closely-knit groups known as a Coven.
There are several large organizations of Neopagans now that have
legal status as religions.
There are VAST internet resources available.
While these people are often erudite scholars of history, some
of them should not be considered as reliable sources of information
about actual pagan religion and history. Much
of Neopagan religion is a creative invention of this Century,
based fancifully on what little we do know about the pre-Christian
religions. Hence the term Neopagan is more appropriate.
Click
here for my page on "The Burning
Times", which discusses the history of the oppression
of Witches, and the brutal techniques of the Catholic Inquisition
and Protestant Witch Hunts.
I
have also provided an extensive discussion of why Wicca is becoming
so popular, click here.
Relativism:
There is no single truth.
(Look at that statement closely).
Everybody has their own truth and we shouldn't force ours
upon them. If taken
at its word, it would be necessary to leave Hitler and the Serbians
to do as they please because it's "their trip, man."
Even most self-proclaimed relativists usually reserve some
domains of ethics for some absolute notions of right and wrong.
Unlike the Monist mystic, they tend to be tolerant, but
do not see everything as a manifestation of a single divine principle.
Otherwise, they are similar.
Relativism is a philosophical concept that appears throughout
all of these polycentric discourses.
Among occultists and ceremonial magicians, relativism finds
its clearest manifestation in Thelema,
which is the philosophy of Aleister Crowley.
Many internet resources are available.
Humanism:
This is an old tradition born in Classical Rome and Greece.
It disappeared until the Renaissance, and then became an important
influence in politics, philosophy and arts up to the present.
The web link I provide at the beginning of this paragraph is the
best source of background information.
Basically,
humanism places
faith in the essential goodness and creativity of mankind.
Humanism tends to criticize organized religion for its anti-humane
practices. This philosophy has produced idealistic philosophies
like Marxist communism.
Socialism is also based on humanistic principles with its
emphasis on social reform, equality, reason, peace, environmental
concerns, etc. The faith
in a utopian model for society would make humanism an extension
of Rational Deism mentioned earlier, but the social concerns are
emphasized over free markets.
In
spite of the ranting and raving of fundamentalist Christian reactionary
conservatives like
Lyndon LaRouche and the John Birch Society, all college professors
are not humanists nor are all humanists also communists and communists
are certainly not Satanists.
Human
Potential Movement:
Often referred to as "Self Religions", George
Chryssides points out that many of these groups provide us
good examples of the problems involved in the very word "religion."
Many of them claim not to be religions, and are the subject of
attacks from outsiders who accuse them of being a religion.
Others claim to be religions, and their critics attempt to deny
that they really are religions. There are many of them.
The most popular include:
Scientology/Dianetics
est
I still can't find any links to this. Stay tuned.
Transcendental Meditation
Eckankar
Headquartered in Chanhassen, MN, this new age religion blends
together ideas from Christianity, Yoga and New Age.
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Eckankar
Official Web Site at the Temple of ECK in Chanhassen (the
one that looks kind of like a pyramid on the suburban prairie). With
an iPIX download, you can take a virtual tour. |
Quantum
physics:
Although this branch of theoretical science has long been the
domain of a small number of people in solid state electronics
and astrophysics, the last several years have witnessed a wild
insurgence of a watered down quantum theory in nearly every branch
of psychology, health, religion and occultism.
Quantum physics examines probabilities or possible universes
rather than strict relations of cause and effect.
It has been used, rather incorrectly, to "prove"
that magic is possible and that we all create our own universes.
The watered down version stresses such paradoxical ideas
as: "There is no reality."
Perhaps quantum physics has become the last hope of a generation
disillusioned by the chaos and terror of the modern world.
Here are some examples for you to look at: [example
1] [example
2] [example
3]
A very similar appropriation of Chaos theory took place
during the late 1980's and exerted a great deal of impact on postmodern
thought. The indeterminacy
and psychedelic fascination with computer images and natural phenomena
has had an incalculable impact on the MTV video barrage technique.
The cut-up
literary style of Bryon Gysin and William
S. Burroughs was quite comfortable with chaos theory and many
modern writers, artists and musicians, adopted it.
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