Bahá’í in Vogue
Bahá’í in Vogue: A Secular Analysis of Trendy Religions
Kelsey Kreyche, Class of 2015
Bonchek College House
Presented November 9th, 2014
Kelsey Kreyche majored in Biology and minored in Music Performance at Franklin & Marshall
College. She participated in five ensembles in the Music Department, in addition to regular piano
accompaniment for various club and campus events. Kelsey served as an Executive Officer for
the student-run service group Catastrophic Relief Alliance, which provides aid to disasterstricken areas in Lancaster and the Eastern US. She was also elected Co-President of the
Benjamin Rush Honors Society for pre-health students, and wishes to pursue a career as a
physician. Before medical school, she plans to continue her leadership in Intervarsity Christian
Fellowship as a staff member of the F&M chapter, while growing in character and in relationship
with the Lancaster community.
Bahá’í in Vogue
We find ourselves living in a point in time where we, as a species, can look backwards
and forwards simultaneously. The 21st Century has the vantage point of at least 2000 years of
past documented history, as well as the assumption of many future years. This situation, to some
extent, allows our era to observe and predict trends. Of course, many gross generalizations must
be made to even synthesize a trend and analyze it, but the definition of ‘trend’ leaves room for
specific inaccuracies…
Trend: a general direction in which something is developing, a
prevailing tendency, a shift in overall course (Merriam-Webster;
Dictionary.com).
Notice the implied ‘wiggle room’ in each of these definitions. Trends are inherently in
flux, which is fitting of the world that creates them... That is, if one accepts the notion that the
world is not fixed in its existence. To make the term ‘trend’ relevant, one must work off the
assumption that the world is a dynamic place. If the world is in flux and all things of the world
are in flux with it, then all things of the world have trends.
Members of the Western world particularly emphasize various trends in culture. The
reason for this is probably two-fold; Western societies tend to be rooted in philosophies that
assume the world is dynamic, and Western societies tend to prioritize progressivism. Many
things we associate with the words ‘trend,’ ‘trendy,’ and ‘trending,’ therefore stem from Western
culture. For instance, we daily hear about what’s ‘Trending Now’ on Twitter, who’s designing
the most trendy clothing, and how’re our politicians responding to the latest ‘Topic Trends.’ Any
object, lingual phrase, or idea can be described by trend.
So how can such a dynamic and all-encompassing word be analyzed in a comprehensible
way? At the very least, a trend has two sides to it: external and internal. This is the first
dichotomy I will employ to help analyze ‘trend,’ and I will later introduce a second dichotomy
that is useful in conjunction with the first…
The external refers to the physical manifestations of the trend, which can be noticed by
any observer. The observer is not necessarily educated about the trend in any way, but still
retains the capacity to discern the trend. For example, an individual notices the prevalence of
objects boldly stating “KEEP CALM CARRY ON” but is unaware of why the WWII
propaganda has been commercialized. The underlying ‘why,’ rather, is included in the internal
aspect of a trend. The internal refers to the significance of a trend that is not readily perceptible
to the observer. In the same example, the individual has the capacity to learn from more than just
observation that the phrase has resurfaced to relate the British spirit of hope to today. The
internal and external aspects of a trend are neither mutually exclusive nor codependent; an
individual can be aware of either aspect alone. A dichotomy forms between these two aspects,
though each naturally informs the other.
This first dichotomy, again, can be applied to any trend. I would like to explore a trend
unconventionally analyzed in this way- religion. Because many religions are rooted in an eternal
truth, they tend to be dissociated from anything ineternal, or in other words, in flux. Despite the
fact that some of the most popular religions arose in [Western] cultures that are based on the
Bahá’í in Vogue
principle of a dynamic world, members of these cultures generally consider each religion to be
nondynamic (Greene, 2009). Excluding religion from the dynamic nature of the world, however,
is an unfair partition from a secular standpoint. The caveat here is to not equate a secular
viewpoint with an unbiased viewpoint. A secular viewpoint, just like a sacred viewpoint, has its
own assumptions and biases. It is easy to mistake the most prevalent viewpoint for the baseline
against which we compare. For 21st Century Western societies, secularism has permeated the
culture, and is most at risk of being considered the zero bias standard. However, it is because of
the prevalence and permeation of secularism into Western societies that this viewpoint is a
helpful comparison- so long as we retain an awareness of each viewpoint having its own biases.
Therefore, the rest of this paper will explore sacred viewpoints from a secular one.
Without attempting to balance or neutralize all bias in the comparison of religious trends
to secularism, we can hypothesize that religion is indeed in flux with the rest of the world. We
can analyze this hypothesis though dichotomy to tackle bigger questions: But how can religion
be trendy? And how can a religion be trendy?
A second dichotomy for trend analysis would be most helpful if it is specific to the trend
because the first dichotomy applies to trends in general. To develop a useful second dichotomy
for analyzing trendy religions, one must consider what religion most basically includes…
Religion: the worship of and belief in a faith, a system of
practices and beliefs, a set of beliefs involving ritual observances
(Merriam-Webster; Dictionary.com).
The binary structure of these definitions suggests that religion already contains a
naturally-established and well-recognized dichotomy. To condense the main ideas, there is
belief, and there is practice. This should be unsurprising, as Western culture contains a lot of this
type of distinction. The notions of “[if you know it,] just do it,” “in thought... and deed do
everything,” and “think before you speak” are trademarks of the origins of secularism and
Western society. For the purposes of creating a simple dichotomy, the two aspects can be
generalized as ‘what we think’ and ‘what we do.’ Interestingly, the two initial ideas that were
presented, belief and practice, are also perfectly aligned with the first dichotomy. The distinction
seems to be that one aspect refers to the intangible side of religion, belief or ‘what we think,’
while the other refers to the tangible side, practice or ‘what we do.’ Already, the trend-describing
dichotomies are working nicely together because religion is a trend. To combine dichotomies one
and two, a summary of the four combinations would be clarifying…
In the context of analyzing religion, the external aspect of ‘what we do’ may manifest in
many ways, including ceremonies, attire, holidays, and types of food. The internal aspect of
‘what we do’ may include how people respond to situations and to others. The external aspect of
‘what we think’ may be manifest in the formal doctrine of the group, and rules to abide by. The
internal aspect of ‘what we think’ might include true belief in the religion, and grounds for blind
faith.
With these criteria in mind, we can now explore more specific questions: What are the
trendy religions right now? Why? We’ll tackle these questions by outlining ideas via the
Bahá’í in Vogue
dichotomy method for each of the trendiest religions of the modern day. In other words, we’ll
discuss the top 5 most popular religions in the US. The discussion will be limited to the US as
opposed to the world for several reasons. Firstly, the US Census can be taken more consistently
than the World Census because dissemination, collection, and data analysis is easier with a
smaller polling population and US infrastructure. These factors, in turn, allow for the reissuing of
the US Census more regularly than the World Census, so the US Census is generally more up-todate. Secondly, the data on religion according to the US Census and World Census are very
similar in terms of popularity of religions but do differ slightly in order and percentage.
The most popular religions in order, according to the US Census 2010 are as follows:
Christianity, Unaffiliated (Agnostic, Atheist), Hinduism, and Buddhism (Pew Research, 2009).
These top five religious groupings account for 90% of the US population, as well as the world
population (Pew Research, 2012).
The number of people in the US that identify as Christians outweighs the rest of the
religions by percentage; approximately one third of the surveyed population falls under a
Christian denomination (Pew Research, 2009). Around the globe, the gap between Christianity
and Islam narrows, but Christianity is currently the ‘trendiest’ religion (Association of Religion
Data Archives, 2005). Let’s explore this using the dichotomy system…
The external aspect of ‘what Christians do’ spans a 2000 year human history and the
diverse scape of multiple well-established denominations. Many of these aspects are made
manifest in a Western culture, which can divorce the practice from the belief. Some examples
include the holiday season centering on Christmas, the architectural achievements of a number of
churches, and the origins of music in Western civilization. The internal aspect of ‘what
Christians do’ is slightly less apparent, and is an outgrowth of Christian theology. Some of the
hallmarks of Christian behavior are repentance, humility, and forgiveness. While acting on these
things is a part of ‘what Christians do,’ it is internal in the sense that one cannot see them as
visibly as a tradition. The external aspect of ‘what Christians think’ is slightly different in each
denomination, but on the whole, focuses on the sovereignty of God, the necessity of Jesus’ role
in salvation, and the authority of the Bible. The way in which this is external tends to be more
obvious in the response of the Church Universal to the world: the conviction to love everyone, to
seek reconciliation, and to bring justice where there is inequality. The internal aspect of ‘what
Christians think’ is, by nature, more difficult to explain. From a secular viewpoint, one can only
point out the ways in which true belief inhabits people. Even to analyze other trendy religions,
we will have to rely on this mechanism. That being said, Christians can point to a personal
relationship with the triune God, witness to transformation of another person, or experience a
God-granted miracle.
As previously alluded, Islam has become increasingly trendy during the 20th and 21st
Centuries (Association of Religion Data Archives, 2005). Although it would be interesting and
enlightening to look at why Islam is recently so trendy, the dichotomy system is not equipped
enough for that. However, one may infer the answers to those types of questions through the
current analysis.
Bahá’í in Vogue
The external aspect of ‘what Muslims do’ varies within the free-standing theology and
the number of theocracies dominating the Eastern world. However, it generally encompasses an
integrative prayer life, modest attire, and celebrations of feasting and fasting. The internal aspect
of ‘what Muslims do’ includes loyalty, commitment, and servanthood. These values are the
driving forces behind the practices of Islam. The external aspect of ‘what Muslims think’
emphasizes the clear and directional guidelines set out in the Koran, including the Five Pillars of
Islam. The internal aspect of ‘what Muslims think’ can be found in communication with God in
azan (tonal speech prayers), or an encounter with Prophet Muhammad. Similar to Christianity
and any other religious trend, it’s very difficult to have any surety in how real the faith of the
follower is. The inherent biases of a secular analysis are more visible here when it limits the
discussion to a point of delegating some aspects to their own ends.
Individuals that posit their religious grouping as ‘unaffiliated’ require some amount of
explanation. The term ‘unaffiliated’ neither means ‘none of the above’ nor ‘all of the above,’
necessarily. Despite what many people would prefer to say about themselves, no one has no
spiritual background; ascribing to any set of beliefs and practices, regardless of who established
them or who agrees with them, forces an individual to have some form of religion. For the
purposes of applicable discourse, however, a focus on the two trendiest ‘unaffiliated’
subgroupings, Agnosticism and Atheism, will be made in the analysis. To be clear, there is no
intention or assumption that all ‘unaffiliated’ religions are equivalent in one way. Rather,
grouping them all together is a reflection of the population Census data.
The external aspect of ‘what unaffiliated individuals do’ is ubiquitous. A more helpful
explanation of the dichotomy would be ‘what unaffiliated individuals do not do;’ carry out the
practices of one distinguished religion exclusively. This may look like going to Christmas parties
at the office after practicing alpha omega chants during meditation on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem,
as a flamboyant example. The internal aspect of ‘what unaffiliated individuals do’ is similar;
they do not respond to situations in a way that is in specific accordance with one distinguished
religion. The external aspect of ‘what unaffiliated individuals think’ is particularly difficult to
explore because anyone under the umbrella of ‘Unaffiliated’ can have a different doctrine. Even
within the categories of Agnosticism and Atheism where there are a number of shared basic
notions, few categorizable guidelines form beyond that. The internal aspect of ‘what unaffiliated
individuals think’ is founded on the basis of logic, reason, and observation of the world; true
belief stems from how well the malleable doctrine of the individual aligns with his or her
observations of the world.
Moreso than any other top trending religious grouping, Hindusim has the most cultural
traditions and ties due to both its theology and time of integration in human civilization. This is
all the more reason to break down the trend of Hinduism and explore each of the pieces.
The external aspect of ‘what Hindus do’ seems ubiquitous in South Asian culture. There
are many feast celebrations, dances, and colors used in decoration and clothing associated with
the practices of Hinduism. The internal aspect of ‘what Hindus do’ tends to include behaviors
that are characterized as welcoming and integrative, as much of the practice occurs in the context
of family and community gathering. The external aspect of ‘what Hindus think’ can be boiled
down to a moral lifestyle that recognizes the universe as reincarnational and governed by a
Bahá’í in Vogue
multiplicity of gods. Because there are so many unique deities, a general style of moral living is
more feasible than drawing out specific rules. The internal aspect of ‘what Hindus think’ tends to
occur in the physical world; true belief in Hinduism occurs when the gods make a conspicuous
difference in the life of a believer, such as bringing prosperity to a family or healing the sick.
Buddhism is the last of the top five trending religions, but conspicuously unique from the
other trendy religions in a number of ways. Buddhism has a largely philosophical texture to it,
even up front. Buddhism is also nontheistic, which allows a supreme value or doctrine to form
the basis of the religion rather than a deity. Despite the controversy over whether Buddhism can
be defined as a religion, it can still be defined and analyzed as a trend.
The external aspect of ‘what Buddhists do’ is rather elusive in this particular religious
trend because Buddhism places a lot of weight on separation of the physical world and the
spiritual world. The practices of Buddhism are outgrowths of working toward the Eight-Fold
Path. For example, depending on alms, limiting speech, and meditating in the wilderness help
train a Buddhist to reach Right Livelihood, Right Speech, and Right Concentration, respectively
(Encyclopaedia Britannica). The internal aspect of ‘what Buddhists do’ includes patience, selfdenial, and wisdom. The external aspect of ‘what Buddhists think’ is largely summed up in the
Four Noble Truths and Eight-Fold Path. The internal aspect of ‘what Buddhists think,’ like
Hinduism, largely occurs in the physical world; true belief stems from personal transformation of
thoughts and behaviors despite the same suffering of earth.
The five trendiest religions have a number of very different aspects that can contribute to
how and why they acheived popularity in the 21st Century. The presence and consistency of huge
distinctions among the reasons for trendiness behind each religion suggests that this somehow
contributes to popularity. Perhaps Christianity, Islam, Unaffiliated, Hinduism, and Buddhism all
simultaneously compete for trendiness because they complement each other; each trendy religion
fills a certain niche that satisfies the set of practices and beliefs that humans seek in spirituality.
While the niches are not precisely defined, the lack of overlap is conspicuous. Additionally,
while few of the aspects are mutually exclusive, is does not seem possible for a single trendy
religion to fill every niche. Rather, the next trendy religion will fill a niche that is currently
unfilled or not adequately filled. However, because it is impossible to pin down the niches of
spirituality created by human civilization, envisioning the next trendy religion is difficult,
especially coming from a secular viewpoint of analysis. For this reason, the next trendy religion
will not be fabricated, but spring up naturally into human civilization.
Bahá’í in Vogue
References
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