Preface: Our goal for this trip to Indonesia and this part of the grant is to observe the use of our collaboratively developed curricula. The curriculum was developed over the last year with 16 Indonesian teachers and 4 US teachers (you know two of the others- Mr. Fricke and Ms. Iverson). Our curriculum is based on democracy, the freedom of religion and religious pluralism.
We have arrived in Balikpapan, Kalimantan (Borneo). Our first task was to get the lay of the land…is this possible to do in 24 hours? No way!
My favorite way to get oriented is by going to the local traditional market. This way I can see what local fruits and vegetables are available, what kinds of meats people eat and what greetings and questions people use to interact with me. “Mau Kemana?” was the first main question I heard on the streets of Balikpapan. The meaning of this directly translated is “Want to go where?” Now, imagine being asked this question on the streets of the US! Greetings are strange no matter where you go. We say “How are you?” in passing and never expect to stop and listen to the answer. For some reason, however, when learning another language the only thing you can do is take the meaning literally…for my Anthropology students…you can only hear the message and not the metamessage. The meaning of the metamessage comes much later. So, the answer to the question “Mau Kemana?” tells the asker a lot about the person responding. The reality here is that you are supposed to say “Jalan jalan, saja,” ,which means ‘just walking’ or ‘North,’ which really means ‘I’m in a hurry and don’t have time to engage with you.’ Now if you stop to really respond you will be met with delight and maybe an offer of some tea or coffee. If this is the case what is the metamessage actually? Well, I believe it is a genuine curiosity about foreigners by Indonesians.
This curiosity emerged in our first school visits. Our arrival in schools certainly did not end the interesting greetings. “Hello Mister” is another personal favorite that I heard every two minutes from the students. In the Indonesian language there is not the same differentiation between the words “he” and “she,” so therefore “Hello Mister” is perfectly appropriate for a 30 something woman…don’t you think?
Anyway, we were given tours of schools, asked to sit with administrators and were welcomed as guests in many classrooms. In every school (well in every place…even the gas station) you will find a place for Muslim Prayer. These prayer rooms are always oriented to Mecca and you will know which direction to pray when you see the word Kiblat with an arrow pointing in the correct direction. These places of prayer exist in every school no matter what kind it is (public, private or Islamic boarding academy). Now, this might be confusing to a resident of the United States where there is a constitutional separation between church and state, but it makes perfect sense to an Indonesian. This is also a great starting point for the discussion of religious pluralism and freedom of choice. I have learned recently that in each of these schools there are students of other religions (Christian, Buddhist and Hindu) and these students also have prayer space. However, their prayer time is designated by the Muslim call to prayer. The most challenging question that I get at every single school is “As a religion teacher, how can you teach students to pray in every single religion?” Does anyone have the answer? Well, I hope my World Religion students are able to articulate the difference between an academic study of religion and a devotional one. Now, the task at hand is to articulate this difference to an Indonesian High School student. I have not found the best answer for this question yet. Maybe my Indonesian language skills are at fault here. Anyway, some other interesting questions I have received: “What does snow feel like?” “What do teenagers do after school in your town?” “Why are the religious people in the US so old?” and my personal favorite: “How does an American without religion find the meaning of life?”
If any of you can answer these questions feel free to drop me a line and I will spread the news!
Hey Ms Camera!
ReplyDeleteI think one of the best descriptions of snow is very cold, wet, light sand.
Do most religious leaders here have to go to thoelogical school? That might be why they're "old". But how old is old? Are the religiuos leaders there young in comparison?
All the best,
Lydia
Emma Anderson here.
ReplyDeleteAs a non-religious American... I have no idea what the meaning of life is, but I would look for it in my part and place in society. Humans came to be through unconscious, unguided evolution - millions of little accidents of nature (which is itself pretty amazing) - and society is an almost artificial human construct. From what I understand, an important part of religion is knowing one's place in something much larger than oneself, and that comes close to "the meaning of life." For me, that larger thing is that miraculous human construct of society. People influence each other; people's lives and experiences depend on other people. For me, what is important is knowing that I add some colour to this tapestry, that I somehow make other people's lives a little better or a little more interesting. I believe in humanity enough that I do not feel a personal need for a deity or higher power.
I do not identify as an atheist - I have no right to dismiss the existence of deities I do not worship - but a friend of mine who does goes further to say that he finds fulfillment in knowing his place in the scientific, physical universe as a whole, and knowing how that universe works.
This is really fascinating. As a language geek... what other sorts of answers might one give to "mau kemana"? Would they also be sort of metaphorical - about physical direction? And is there any further significance to "north" being the standard answer?
Actually, Emma brings up an interesting point. Do they assume that, since they have religion so ingrained in their life, that everyone has to be religious? Does the concept of athiesm exist? Or does it seem entirely ridiculous?
ReplyDeleteDoes the fact it's a relatively large city have any impact on their tolerence and beliefs? It sounds like they're still having a hard time grasping the difference between practicing religion and studying it.
You might be able to help them understand the concept more easily by saying something like 'it's like the difference between studying history and reenacting it' maybe with a specific event they would all know? Just a thought.
Dear Emma and Lydia-
ReplyDeleteThank you sooooo much for your thoughts. Your points are spectacular and your ideas truly worth sharing with my Indonesian friends. Emma--'North' suggests a spiritual place. The mountains are considered holier than the ocean and are indeed 'north'. Frequently, demons live in the ocean which is considered 'south'.
Hey Samantha,
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredible mission! It's so cool that you are bringing your students into your experience via this blog.
Re: the meaning of life. Hmm. Maybe there's something about the SEARCH for the meaning that we non-religious folks like here.
Safe travels!
Jeff
Religion in this question has become so political in our society that, it seems to me, to have become outside the realm of any pure discussion. The closest to I can come to your students question is the well used term of"spirituality". Many claim to be "spiritual" without any commitment to religion. Atheism is clear but I believe, due to our insane politics, this seemingly innocent question from your student becomes quite murky in this American society. My question however is.. how can one be "spiritual" without the input of "religion" of some form be it Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddist , Muslim etc.??? This cycle only leads back to the students original question. The answer???
ReplyDeleteYour friend the seminary student chiming in for fun...don't know what your students will think of this, but I would argue all humans are religious and the distinction of "spiritual but not religious" is really only about those scarred by traditional religion not wanting to associate with particular religious expressions.
ReplyDeleteThe Americans who consider themselves non-religious are religious in very non-traditional ways. Many articulate their religious sentiments in the ways Emma did--evolution, one small part of a glorious whole--others through languages of energy and interconnection. Many find meaning in service to others or in contemplating the grand arc of time. These thoughts have been given religious expression in religious humanism among other streams of expression. (Tell your students to look up Ken Patton's writings...) Unlike many traditional religions the meaning of life is found in the now, not in a life after this one.
The interesting thing is that these emerging religious perspectives, because of the relatively recent events that sparked them, these perspectives are quite diverse and have not collasced into a recognizeable religious form. (Reading the history of liberal theology in the USA, I'd argue the largest sparks contributing to today's situation are the effect of the German Romantic movement influencing the transcendentalists leading to a personal experiential and not necessarily organized experience of religion (protypically Emersonian, of course), the discovery of viruses and germs (therefore not God's punishment), evolution, and WWI and WWII, which flattened the emerging "The Kingdom of God is around the corner" moment).
As a culture, we typically identify religion as something that can be separated from the rest of life. This makes it hard for us to identify kinds of religion in our culture that are not set apart from life and labeled with traditional religious language. However, I have yet to meet anyone whose basic beliefs and life orientation cannot be stated as a faith statment (using "faith" more as the ancient Hebrews, early Christians, Hindus, and Buddhists do, as verb and way of orienting to life than we post-enlightment folks use it to mean a codified belief).
Perhaps in two or three hundred years, we will be able to better enunciate what the "non religious" religion is.
Imagine trying to describe Christianity in the year 150 ce!?! First it was considered atheistic because "God" wasn't something the kind of God anyone else believed in. Second, groups ranged in great diversity from those who were also practicing Jews to those who were melding the mystery cults with Christianity to those who were melding the funeral cults of Rome with Jesus to a huge number of other diverse groups we have only slight clues about--those who followed the Gospel of Thomas for instance.
That's where I think we are with this "non religious" thing. A few hundred years hence scholars of religion will be able to clearly see a religion that many of us now are too immersed in to be to be able to clearly see it.
(cont)
ReplyDeleteAs I see the emerging outlines, because this "non religion" focuses on the here and now and makes meaning out of what we do with our lives to make a difference, I'd argue everything from book clubs to protest marches are actually forms of contemporary religious expressions even though we rarely name them that.
What always makes it hard to enunciate this kind of religious experience to those focused on a deity and an afterlife is that the ground of the whole system is entirely different--it's grounded in immediate experience, relationship with other humans and the natural world, and assumptions about the natural state of humans (usually as good, even if prone to selfishness and blindness, but I've met a few who seem to have held on to some Augustine and Calvin and believe us entirely selfish and greedy...). Most religious systems are grounded in revelation, but much of this kind of religious thought seems to me grounded in an assumption that the only truth we really have access to is our own experience--however flawed and subjective that is--and that all other religious truth is only other humans' flawed and subjective experience. This is a profoundly different methodological approach to discerning truth.
...and don't get me started on US civil religion...
I'm really interested in the question about the meaning of life. I would love to ask the students why this is important and what exactly does "meaning" mean to them. I would somehow wonder with them if other animals besides human beings need to know the meaning of life, and if not, why? I think as I asked these questions, more would appear to me. I also imagine, that being as ignorant as I am, I would ask them a lot of questions about what religion means to them as well. I wouldn't offer them an answer to their question until I knew more about these things. I would love to have that discussion with them.
ReplyDeleteOops, that post should have read: "Ger said"
ReplyDelete